Marco+Polo-JM

Hello! Good day to you. My name is Marco Polo. Welcome to Venice ,Italy. Whoa! That cart and donkey came way to close! As I was saying. The year is 1271. Today I embark on a dangerous journey with Father and Uncle. I was always adventurous but i never dreamed that i would be traveling to Cathay and the Indies! I have gotten a very good education here in Venice, Italy. Now it is time to put my brain to the test. I am excited to be going on a long journey to Cathay and the Indies but I mostly am coming because Father and Uncle forced me to. I am seventeen and have finished my schooling. Italy is sponsoring out trip. Good day my friend. Pray to the Lord that I return safely.

1275 Dear Journal, IT has taken us four long, harsh years to reach Cathay. We had to cross mountains and deserts to reach our destination. I will write soon but Father is calling me. Please countinue praying to the Lord that i return safely.

Dear Journal, Today i vist the Kublai Khan in Bejing. I can not say half of what I have found in Cathay! Black small lumps that make fire, gold beyond your imagination, jewels that shine as fierce as the sun itself ....... I can't explain what I have found in this vast country. Spices that make spoiled food taste better and fresher are very valuble. I have found silk so soft it feels as though it might slip right through your hands,Jade as beautiful as the sparkling green ocean. Wish me luck with the Khan.

Marco Polo

Dear Journal, We have returned to Italy. I am 41 years old. It took Father, Uncle, and I 24 years to go to Cathay and back. We have brought back some things from Cathay but still no one will belive my stories of the vast wondeful land. They think I am lying and that my stories are false.

EPILOUGE Marco Polo died of natural causes in 1324. When he was in his death bed, a priest came to him and asked if he wanted to confess that his stories were false. He responded " I have not told half of what I saw." Those were his last words. About 200 years later his journal was published and many explorers read it and many people wanted to go that Cathay (China). The small black lumps that make fire that he told of was coal. His stories are true and later people proved it by reading his journal and taking the dangerous Silk road to Cathay and the Indies. Without Marco Polo many explorers would not have even bothered to explore and therefore much land would have gone unexplored.

Diseases-JM