2021-09-04 Sat

Born in the Republic of Venice in 1254, Marco Polo, his father Niccolo, and his uncle Matteo crossed the Silk Road and reached China. His observations and discoveries are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo. A book that described to Europeans the then mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China in the Yuan Dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries. His voyages and the famous Fra Mauro map of the world provided a lot of information to future explorers like Christopher Columbus. Though he was not the first European to reach China, Marco Polo was the first to explore some parts of Asia and to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. This account of the Orient provided the Europeans with a clear picture of the East's geography and ethnic customs and was the first Western record of porcelain, coal, gunpowder, paper money, and some Asian plants and exotic animals.

Marco was appointed to serve as Kublai Khan's foreign emissary, and he was sent on many diplomatic missions throughout the empire and Southeast Asia, such as in present-day Burma, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. As part of this appointment, Marco also travelled extensively inside China, living in the emperor's lands for 17 years and seeing many things that had previously been unknown to Europeans. Around 1291, the Polos also offered to accompany the Mongol princess Kokochin to Persia; they arrived around 1293. After leaving the princess, they travelled overland to Constantinople and then to Venice, returning home after 24 years. Marco Polo has been featured on many stamps issued around the world. One of these stamps was issued by Monaco on the occasion of the 750th Birth Anniversary of Marco. This stamp of value 0.50 Euros depicts his portrait and Chinese landscape. Image Courtesy: wiki