The Travels of Marco Polo (1271-1295)

1. 1. Venice

   Today: Venice, Italy · Arrived 1 January 1271 · position reconstructed

   Marco Polo, along with his father Nicolo and uncle Maffeo, returned to Venice after their journey to Acre and Jerusalem, before setting out again for the court of the grand khan.

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?Why is this position reconstructed?

2. 2. Acre

   Today: Acre (Akko), Israel · Arrived 1 January 1271

   The Polos returned to Acre from Venice, bringing young Marco Polo with them; under the sanction of the papal legate they visited Jerusalem to obtain oil from the lamp of the holy sepulchre as directed by the grand khan, then returned to Acre before proceeding onward.

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

3. 3. Laiassus (Ayas)

   Today: Yumurtalık (ancient Ayas), Adana Province, Turkey · Arrived 1 January 1271 · position reconstructed

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

4. 4. Tauris (Tabriz)

   Today: Tabriz, Iran · Arrived 1 January 1272 · position reconstructed

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

5. 5. Hormuz

   Today: Hormuz Island, Hormozgan Province, Iran · Arrived 1 January 1272 · position reconstructed

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

6. 6. Kierman

   Today: Kerman, Iran · Arrived 1 January 1272 · position reconstructed

   Marco Polo's party, after crossing a desert region famous for its wild asses, arrived at the kingdom of Kierman (ancient Karmania) on the southern route through Persia, a land noted for its fossil and mineral productions and manufactures.

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

7. 7. Balashan (Badakhshan)

   Today: Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan · Arrived 1 January 1273 · position reconstructed

   Marco Polo and his party traveled through Persian Irak, Khorasan, and the city of Balkh into the country of Badakhshan, near the sources of the Oxus, where they remained for about twelve months, possibly due to Marco's illness or the need to wait for a caravan escort before crossing the mountains.

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

8. 8. Pamer

   Today: Pamir Plateau (Roof of the World), Tajikistan/Afghanistan border region · Arrived 1 January 1273 · position reconstructed

   After leaving Vokhan (Wakhan) and ascending for three days through mountain after mountain, Marco Polo's party reached the elevated plateau where the surrounding summits seemed the highest lands in the world, finding a large lake feeding a river that ran through a lush plain.

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

9. 9. Kashcar

   Today: Kashgar, Xinjiang, China · Arrived 1 January 1273 · position reconstructed

   Marco Polo's party reached Kashcar, a large and prosperous city under the dominion of the grand khan, whose Muslim inhabitants subsisted by commerce and manufacturing, especially cotton goods, and cultivated gardens, orchards, and vineyards.

   The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

   The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

10. 10. Lop

    Today: Lop Nur region / Ruoqiang, Xinjiang, China · Arrived 1 January 1274 · position reconstructed

    Marco Polo describes arriving at the city of Lop on the edge of the great desert, where travelers rested and provisioned themselves with camels and a month's supply of food before crossing the desert of Lop.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

11. 11. Kampion

    Today: Zhangye, Gansu Province, China · Arrived 1 January 1274 · position reconstructed

    Marco Polo describes arriving at Kampion, the principal city of the province of Tanguth, noting its size and magnificence and its jurisdiction over the whole province, as well as the mix of idolaters, Muslims, and Christians living there.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

12. 12. Shaudu

    Today: Xanadu (Shangdu ruins), Inner Mongolia, China · Arrived 1 May 1275 · position reconstructed

    Marco Polo describes arriving at the city of Shaudu, built by Kublai Khan, where the Great Khan had constructed a magnificent marble palace enclosed within a sixteen-mile walled park.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

13. 13. Kanbalu (Cambaluc)

    Today: Beijing, China · Arrived 1 January 1275 · position reconstructed

    After a year-long journey delayed by snow and flooded rivers, Niccolò, Maffeo, and Marco Polo arrived at the imperial residence of the Great Khan Kublai in Cathay (northern China), where they were received and honored at his court.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

14. 14. Karazan (Kara-jang)

    Today: Yunnan Province, China · Arrived 1 January 1283 · position reconstructed

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

15. 15. Mien

    Today: Ava (near Mandalay), Myanmar · Arrived 1 January 1280 · position reconstructed

    Marco Polo describes reaching the city of Mien, capital of the kingdom, after a fifteen-day journey through depopulated forests full of elephants and rhinoceroses, following the Great Khan's conquest of the territories of the king of Bangala and Mien.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

16. 16. Kin-sai

    Today: Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China · Arrived 1 January 1280 · position reconstructed

    Marco Polo describes reaching the noble and magnificent city of Kin-sai, whose name signifies 'the celestial city,' noting its unmatched grandeur, beauty, and abundant delights, and recounts that he visited it frequently and recorded detailed observations about it.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

17. 17. Zai-tun

    Today: Quanzhou, Fujian, China · Arrived 1 January 1292 · position reconstructed

    Marco Polo and his companions, escorting a Mongol princess to Persia, departed China from the great port of Zai-tun in the province of Fo-kien, a city famed for its trade with India and its rich merchandise.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

18. 18. Tsiampa (Champa)

    Today: Coast of Central Vietnam (former Champa kingdom, near Qui Nhon) · Arrived 1 January 1292 · position reconstructed

    On the return voyage escorting the Mongol princess, the fleet carrying Marco Polo passed along the coast of Cochin-China and touched at the country of Tsiampa (Champa), a land Marco Polo notes he had previously visited in 1280.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

19. 19. Java Minor

    Today: Sumatra, Indonesia · Arrived 1 January 1292

    On the homeward voyage from China, Marco Polo's fleet reached the island the Venetians called Java Minor (identified by the editor as Sumatra), landing on its north-eastern coast where they were forced to remain for five months awaiting favourable winds to cross the Bay of Bengal.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

20. 20. Zeilan

    Today: Sri Lanka (Ceylon) · Arrived 1 January 1293

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

21. 21. Malabar

    Today: Malabar Coast, Kerala, India · Arrived 1 January 1293 · position reconstructed

    Marco Polo describes the kingdom of Malabar on the western coast of Greater India as an independent realm with its own king and language, noting astronomical observations (the height of the north star) and the danger posed by pirate fleets operating along that coast and neighboring Guzzerat.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

22. 22. Hormuz

    Today: Hormuz Island, Iran · Arrived 1 January 1293 · position reconstructed

    After an eighteen-month voyage through the Indian seas escorting the Mongol princess, the Polo party's fleet made landfall at Hormuz, where they learned that Arghun, the king for whom the princess had been intended as bride, had died, and that the kingdom was ruled by a regent while Arghun's son Ghazan awaited his chance to claim the throne.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

23. 23. Trebizond

    Today: Trabzon, Turkey · Arrived 1 January 1295

    Returning from their long sojourn in the Mongol court, Marco Polo and his father and uncle reached the Black Sea port of Trebizond, from which they continued via Constantinople and Negropont to Venice, completing a twenty-four-year absence.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

24. 24. Venice

    Today: Venice, Italy · Arrived 1 January 1295 · position reconstructed

    After twenty-four years away, Nicolo, Maffeo, and Marco Polo finally arrived back in their native city of Venice, having traveled from Trebizond through Constantinople and Negropont; their relatives initially failed to recognize them.

    The surviving testimony does not cover this stage — help us find one.

    The record survives. Why is this stage empty?

Published under CC BY-SA 4.0. Sources keep their own open licences. See the Magna Carta of the Seas for how this was verified.