Marco polo and his Travel

Marco Polo was born in 1254 to a family of merchants. His home was Venice, Italy.In 1269, Marco’s father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, returned to Venice after visiting China. In China, they had met the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan. The khan invited the Polos to return. He asked them to bring Christian scholars to explain the Christian religion to him.In 1271, Niccolò and Maffeo set out for China again. Marco, then 17 years old, joined his father and uncle for the trip.

It took the Polos four difficult years to reach China. The journey led across deserts and high mountains. They passed through wild countryside where bandits lurked, ready to rob and kill. They braved heat and cold, floods, deep snowdrifts, and blinding sandstorms. At last they reached the summer palace of Kublai Khan at Shangdu.

The khan welcomed the Polos warmly. He offered Marco a job. Marco accepted, and the Polos lived in China for the next 17 years.In 1292, Kublai Khan asked Marco to escort a Mongol princess to Persia. The Polos traveled by ship from China to the Persian Gulf. Then the Polos headed for Venice, finally reaching home in 1295.
in 1298, he became a prisoner of war. He shared his cell with a writer named Rustichello, who helped Marco turn his stories into a book. Rustichello added some details of his own. But much of Marco’s book seems to be true!

Marco Polo returned to Venice after his release from prison. He died in 1324. But his book remained popular for centuries.