Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Conservation
  • Privacy
  • Travel Writing Competition 2025
  • Reviews
  • Travel Resources
  • T&C
  • Contact Us
  • Conservation
  • Privacy
  • Travel Writing Competition 2025
  • Reviews
  • Travel Resources
  • T&C
  • Contact Us
Pure Travel
Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Did You Know?

Marco Polo: The Greatest Explorer In History?

  • September 6, 2013
  • Jules

Venetian adventurer Marco Polo traversed the globe for 24 years, travelling from Europe to Asia and we celebrate his birthday on 15 September. The exact year of Marco Polo’s birth is uncertain, although it’s thought to be circa 1254.

The Travels of Marco Polo

Just the mere mention of the name ‘Marco Polo’ conjures up vivid images of rugged travel adventures across vast mysterious lands. And although his birth is thought to have occurred more than 750 years ago, his legacy and incredible feats have inspired many travellers over the years, including one Christopher Columbus!

Born in Venice in Italy, Marco Polo was raised by his close family and educated on the subjects of currencies, trading, languages and cargo ships. He didn’t meet his father until he was 15, as he’d been travelling as a merchant trader. He arrived with tales of exotic faraway lands, curious cultures and mesmerising dynasties. You could say that exploring was in Marco Polo’s blood from birth.

Aged seventeen, Marco Polo, his father and uncle set sail for Asia in a journey that would last for 24 years and cover more than 15,000 miles (24,000 km). He also became one of the most beloved (if not the first) travel journalist, penning ‘Il Milione’ better known as ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’ in English. In fact the book is still in print and is dubbed the first great travel book within Western literature. Pick up a copy as he recounts vivid tales of heady spices, rare jewels, colourful characters and exotic animals.

Marco Polo journeyed to the eastern court of the Mongol Empire of Kublai Khan via the Western Galilee city of Acre, the Kingdom of Ormuz in the Persian Gulf and Kashgar on the China border. In all the epic journey lasted twenty four years, with 17 years spent in Cathay (China). Marco Polo’s diary told of his dangerous and exhausting encounters with fierce mountain ranges, death-defying avalanches, debilitating sandstorms, wicked floods and torrential rain storms.

The trio covered ancient Turkey, Ukraine, the rugged Caucasus mountains of Georgia and Armenia and the now-legendary Silk Road. This great trade route led the family into Iraq, Iran and Uzbekistan and further overland into the fierce Gobi Desert of Mongolia and finally the little-known land of China. Il Milione tells of encounters with fearsome crocodiles in the Pagan Kingdom of Burma (Myanmar) and wild yaks as big as elephants in the Karakorum mountain range.

You too can travel sections of Marco Polo’s epic journey – although in slightly less time than 24 years!

Map Image Credit; Travels_of_Marco_Polo.svg

Share
Tweet
Related Topics
  • Asia
  • China
  • Europe
  • great travellers
  • greatest explorers
  • Il Milione
  • inspirational figures
  • Italy
  • Marco Polo
  • Marco Polo birthday
  • The Travels of Marco Polo
  • Venice
Jules

Previous Article
  • Travel Resources

Top 7 Cruise Destinations for Beginners

  • September 5, 2013
  • Jules
View Post
Next Article
  • Travel Resources

Credit Card Safety Tips for Travelers

  • September 6, 2013
  • Jules
View Post
You May Also Like
Napoli
View Post
  • Did You Know?

Do You Know Which European Volcanoes are Active? Get Ready to Discover Them

  • Jules
  • May 27, 2025
what noise does a cheetah make?
View Post
  • Did You Know?

Video: What noise does a cheetah make?

  • Robert
  • April 10, 2025
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Reviews

Are These the World’s Worst Airlines? Here’s Why Travelers Are Complaining

  • Robert
  • March 8, 2025
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Tips & Advice

Navigating the skies: the role of aircraft management services in supporting business and leisure travel

  • Jules
  • October 17, 2024
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Tips & Advice
  • Travel Resources

Seattle Slip and Fall Accidents on Vacation: Protecting Your Rights and Ensuring Your Safety

  • Jules
  • July 8, 2024
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Travel Resources

Cruise Ship Accidents and How to Deal with Injuries and Seeking Damages

  • Jules
  • July 3, 2024
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Tips & Advice
  • Travel Resources

Flight Delay Compensation Calculator: Check Your Flight and Claim Up to £520!

  • Jules
  • June 25, 2024
View Post
  • Did You Know?
  • Lifestyle
  • Planes, Trains & Automobiles: Tips & Advice

Some Of The Various Seafarer Jobs On Container Ships

  • Jules
  • June 20, 2024
Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Pure Travel
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}