12th-century map of the worldBorn in Venice in the Middle Ages, Marco Polo was a Christian, a fact that comes through in his writing. However, his religion only appears to color his writing some of the time. Near the beginning of Part 1, Marco Polo’s writing seems to convey Kublai as religiously tolerant, and Marco Polo writes in a way that suggests that he has no problem with this tolerance tolerance. Marco Polo writes that Kublai celebrates in some way all of the religions represented in his empire: “Saracens,” Jews, “idolaters,” and Christians. Marco Polo includes a quote by Kublai, which states his reasons for participating in four religions instead of choosing one:

“There are four great prophets revered and worshipped by different classes of mankind…I respect all the four, and seek aid from them, as any one of them may really be supreme in heaven.”

It seems clear from this quote that Kublai was more interested in covering his bases in the event that one of these religions was the “right” one. A variety of Internet sources (although with varying degrees of trustworthiness) claim that Kublai promoted religious tolerance in his empire, although one site claims that for Kublai, religion was “chiefly a political engine.”But despite Kublai's possible insincerity, Marco Polo writes that if the Pope would send envoys that could rival the “idolaters,” as Kublai asks, Kublai would convert to Christianity, the religion “for which he certainly entertained a strong predilection."

It appears to me that, in fact, Marco Polo had a strong predilection for Kublai, because he isn’t so forgiving of some non-monotheistic members of Kublai’s court. Marco Polo writes that Kublai employed men called Tebet or Quesmer whose job it was to use spells or rituals to get rid of unfavorable weather. Of these men, Marco Polo writes: “These are idolaters, and more skilful in diabolical arts and enchantments than any other generation; and though they do it by the art of the devil, they make other men believe it is due to their great sanctity and by the power of God.” Despite his apparent disapproval of the Tebet and Quesner, Marco Polo goes on to describe other non-Christians, such as the sensi ascetics, fairly objectively when writing about their customs and way of life. Marco Polo’s objectivity seems somewhat on-again-off-again, and the reasons for his acceptance or condemnation is unclear from the text. My best guess would be the most obvious answer: the people and groups Marco Polo liked were those he wrote about positively (it probably made a difference that Kublai hosted Marco Polo in his court,) and those who he didn’t like were practicing “the art of the devil.”

Marco Polo's WillDenis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell have achieved ranking among the world’s greatest travelers. Their journey, which retraced the steps of Marco Polo in the early 1990’s, propelled them to this standing, but not because of distance traveled or countries visited. Rather, the two men are great travelers due to the display of wit that they exhibited throughout their expedition, which is a characteristic of every renowned traveler in both fiction and reality. From Odysseus to the self acclaimed “prudent and learned” Marco Polo, all successful voyagers must embody a certain cleverness that transcends cultural and linguistic barriers. This wit remains strong in even the direst of situations, and is not only used to trick others but capitalize on opportunities.

In the beginning of Belliveau and O’Donnell’s documentary, “In the Footsteps of Marco Polo,” however, one can’t help but be amazed at how untrained and seemingly under qualified the two men appear. Both graduates of New York’s School of Visual Arts, they have no degrees in history, foreign language, or foreign relations. The men had not received any grant to finance their trip, nor were they privately wealthy. Nevertheless, each of them had the ability to think under pressure, read people without speaking their language, and take hold of a good prospect.

Just as the Polo family ceased the opportunity to escort the Mongol princess Kokachin to Persia in order to be granted leave of Kublai Khan’s palace, the two modern travelers used all their connections and knowledge of their environment to make it across all of Asia.

In today’s world travel is in many respects infinitely easier and in other cases undoubtedly harder than in the time of Marco Polo. Automobiles, trains, and motorized boats (as well as aircraft, which was not used by Belliveau and O’Donnell) have made traveling faster and more safe. Political conflict and the nationalist movements of the twentieth century, however, have made certain areas of the world virtually inaccessible. Belliveau and O’Donnell’s journey exposed these differences, but more importantly showed that, despite what era, great travelers are not so different.

Marco Polo Marco Polo There were a few things that interested me in The Travels one thing that stood out was the presence of religious conflict even in the 1200’s. At the time of Marco polo the bible was the most widely circulated book and had been translated into Greek and Latin, among other languages. Even in the 11th century Polo was recording conflicts of religion. One of his tails recounts that in 1225 in Baghdad there was a Caliph who did not care for Christianity and who found a passage stating that Christians of true faith could join two mountains. Taking this to heart he charged the Christians with moving a near by mountain. The Caliph added that if they failed he would make all of them die, “an evil death” [Polo, 54]. Sure enough the Christians prevailed the mountain crumbled and Jesus came out on top. What do we have to show for 800 yeas of progress? Though Marco Polo himself seems to tell of the worshipers of Mahomet without any particular religious bias he does note Christianity frequently. The inclusion of this story shows (like in Herodototus) the distinction of the “us” versus the “them” and the Us, in this case Christians, always come out on top. Another Instance of this is in the inclusion of biblical references throughout the book. These references include the mountain on which Noah’s arc supposedly rested, the story of the three kings, and the inclusion of the Garden of Eden. Interestingly, however, the biblical places and stories are not recounted exactly as they are recorded in the bible but as Polo heard them told. Also, the conflict of war is what initially prevents Marco Polo from returning to Venice the way he came and to this day the area that Marco Polo traveled through continues to be riddled with war. Polo travels through the Middle East and records the people, religious preferences, and every day practices of the people he sees. I would have thought that with nearly 8 centuries worth of written history about the religions and conflicts and societies of the Middle East that conflict could have resolved itself. I was discouraged that despite the attempts and sociological and historical research about those residing in this area of the world for hundreds of years the same sort of conflict ensues. It is still “us” versus “them,” Jesus versus Muhammad, west seeing east as the odd.

Voltaire: Voltaire's "Candide" from uhseport.net

"The Travels of Marco Polo" is strikingly similar at times to Voltaire's "Candide." Both are books recounting relatively short stories of what would today be considered extraordinary travels.Of course, Voltaire's story is frankly insane. Unbelievable things happen to Candide. But they also happen in Marco Polo. In the prologue alone his brother and uncle sail for days on end, and meet a Prince and his people who essentially fall in love with the brothers because they are Latin. "And when the Envoys beheld the Two Brothers they were amazed, for they had never before seen Latins in that part of the world."But does Marco Polo have as much social commentary as Voltaire's work does? I realize Candide's original political point is not as relevant today, but the underlying point remains. That is, essentially, you might question someone who refuses to compromise a theory on life (like a theory about always living in the "best of all possible worlds" even when you believe your lover has just died and you have nearly been killed and all your money has been lost).But where is the political statement in Marco Polo?I hope there is some subtle political statement in quotoes like this one, where the Prince is speaking with the brothers early in the prologue:"He begged that the Pope would send as many as an hundred persons of our Christian faith; intelligent men."I'm not sure though, if the Khan's obsession with the Latin people and associating Christian faith with intelligent men is a social comment at all. I wonder if really the only commentary is in the larger sense. Kublai Khan doesn't want his favorite and only Latins to leave:"They applied to him several times for leave to go, presenting their request with great respect, but he had such a partiality for them, and liked so much to have them about him, that nothing on earth would persuade him to let them go."But, of course, eventually they do get to leave (the book is called "The Travels"). But Khan takes a particular liking to Marco Polo (even going so far as to christen him as such), though, and there's always a return to him. Is the commentary on learning about other cultures — the "Latin" Marco Polo teaches so much about his life to Kublai Khan who is so very curious; in turn Marco Polo shares with outsiders stories of his time with Prince. Perhaps I'm not reading carefully enough and I'm missing something. To jump back to the first quotation — "And when the Envoys beheld the Two Brothers they were amazed, for they had never before seen Latins in that part of the world." I think this is also appropriate here. It's the same as with Herotodus. Because the King and his Envoys have never met a Latin, are they ignorant? Was Herotodus ignorant for being so astounded by cannibalism? I don't like to say "ignorant" because it has such a negative connotation about it. Is it bad to not know something when you haven't been given an opportunity to learn (the idea is ridiculous)?

Lord's Prayer: Amen?

As a Catholic school veteran, I cannot help but get a warm fuzzy feeling inside whenever topics of Christianity appear in my readings. Because I’m not necessarily a religious person, and my experiences in Catholic school left much to be desired, the feelings are mixed—ranging from disgust with the seemingly arbitrary rules to get into Heaven to the surprisingly fulfilling discussions on what it means to be a good person. In spite of all those touchy feely religion classes tinged with blind prejudice concerning certain groups of human beings, my favorite religion related discussions focused mostly on its history, origins, and transformation throughout the years. I was fascinated by the politics of the Church—the ecumenical councils that decided the rules that the Church has followed for hundreds of years, differences in geographic allegiances to various men claiming to be the rightful Pope or Bishop, the Great Schism, and the conversion of service from Latin to vernacular, just to name a few. Now, I can add the story of the illustrious Kublai Khan and his predilection towards Christianity to my list.

I must admit, Kublai Khan seems a fascinating person. This comparison may be far fetched, but I imagine him to be quite similar to Jose Arcadio Buendia of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. In this story, Jose Arcadio Buendia, patriarch of the Buendia family in Macondo, a town which he happened to found, is perpetually and incessantly fascinated by the various toys, gadgets and bits of science that gypsies parade through the town every so often. Like Kublai Khan, Jose Arcadio Buendia is charged with the task of democracy, innovation and mediation. He keeps peace among groups, he makes sure that decisions and distribution are equitable, and most of all, his curiosity helps to advance his little town of Macondo into a veritable Mecca for scientific and economic growth.

Of course, there are many more literary and real life characters I could compare to Kublai Khan. I guess my point here is that the history of Christianity is almost mystic to me. In a way, it’s almost novel like—and maybe not so far from magical realism itself. Basically, Kublai Khan fell in love with the idea that there is this God, whose son came down to the Earth, whose blood we drink, who made wine out of water and fed thousands with only one loaf of bread and a few fish. If we don’t think about it too hard, the stories of Christianity are not so different from those that we consider fairy tales, or even the stuff of books like One Hundred Years of Solitude. Corny as it may sound, it seems to me that a lot of great leaders, Kublai Khan and the fictional Jose Arcadio Buendia have abided by a simple, but profound question—What would Jesus do?

This kindergartner performs the classic experiment with the addition of syrup as an extra layer

Just about every third grader in America has done it.

Take equal parts oil and water; pour each into a clear jar and shake. Initially, small droplets of oil gather at the top. Within an hour, the oil and water will have separated. Besides indicating differences between the molecular properties of the two compounds, the simple experiment also symbolically elucidates the two greatest struggles worldwide: one for oil and the other for water.

In Marco Polo's travel narrative, water is a key element of the storyline. When war between “certain kings of the Tartars” breaks out and disrupts land travel, the Great Kubilai Khan enlists Marco Polo and co. to escort the Lord of Levant’s new wife via sea. Marco Polo’s journey, as well as just about any travel narrative worth telling, takes on more legs than originally planned. The map below shows what a significant portion of his travel took place by means of ship.

Marco Polo's Journey

During the portion of his journey through the Middle East, Marco Polo was one of the first to make record of the region’s (now waning) oil reserves. In awe, he noted: “Near the Georgian border there is a spring from which gushes a stream of oil, in such abundance that a hundred ships may load there at once…Men come from a long distance to fetch this oil.”

An eerie chill ran through me as I read this passage. It seems as though not much has changed; today, men still come from a long distance to retrieve this oil. However, today’s oil trade comes in the midst of growing concerns over the scarcity of our most luxurious natural resource and the massive fighting that has resulted from said limited supply in recent years (America’s two latest wars: the Gulf and Iraq). Surely, Marco Polo had no sense of the gravity of what he was recording and its ongoing significance to future generations. A timeline of important events to the world petroleum industry includes Marco Polo’s reference (as well as one made by Herodotus!).

tan=limited/no groundwater, green=moderately productive aquifer, navy=highly productive aquifer, red=oil or gas field

Although less mentioned in the nightly American news broadcasts, water--or lack thereof--serves as an equally noteworthy topic in studying the region that intrigued Marco Polo centuries ago. The map on the left highlights the Middle East's limited freshwater repository (Abu Dhabi is also featured on the map, in case anyone’s still wondering as to the location of our controversial future sister-campus). Clearly, its dwindling oil supply is just one of the problems that the Middle East faces in upcoming decades. The National Geographic website, where I found the map, has a brief description of it that ominously concludes: “Without oil, the Middle East cannot live well; without water it cannot live.” 

As phrases like “our planet is in peril” become commonplace, Marco Polo’s travels seem even more relevant. In them, we can trace the history of our mistakes—mindlessly abstracting and using as much oil as possible—as well as the ongoing pertinence of the natural resources that shape life in the twenty-first century.

Marco Polo Bling? Messer Marco Polo was a man who loved the finer things in life. He loved his jewels, his wine, his fine fruit, his gold, and most definitely his silk. You should see the highlighting of my book as it weaves through his narrative detailing the luxury of the Eastern world – the man was obsessed. And rightfully so! He was traveling at a time when bartering and merchants flooded the harbors and the deserts like New York knock-off purse stands. But while I was prepared to construct this entire post around the extravagance of his travels (why did Polo chose only to tell us of the finest cities? I quite like Herodotus’ odd cultural explorations…) – I have decided to take a slight detour.

A huge part of my concentration is poetry – the construction of it, the audience of it, the way in which the format so aptly tells a story and why it is able to do so. Thus, I am always on the look out for writers that make me want to be a better wordsmith. Enter: Daneen Wardrop, a literature professor at Western Michigan University (if I would’ve known that in high school – perhaps I would have just stayed in the Midwest…hm, on second thought…maybe not.) How ironic that his poetry is lovely AND comes from a collection entitled, The Silk Road: Marco Polo’s Wife. Out of the selection of poems that I read, each piece carries its own voice. Sometimes, Wardrop addresses Polo head-on and in others, he places himself amidst Polo in the thirteenth century – listening and taking in his tales. In one, from the perspective of the Silk Road, Wardrop writes – “Marco, when you, Niccoló, and Maffeo returned after twenty years/ In rags, at first not recognized. / jewels sewn in the hems of you Tartar clothes—/ the seams of your clothes, highways/ you passed around ginger, ginseng, / then jade, lapis / and I, not yet your wife, / scorned the jewels / that reflected the moon but were not the moon itself.” Later on, the Silk Road questions, “Did I want some east?” I found this passage to be extremely poignant and to give such character to Polo’s accounts. To me, the poem is such a commentary to the Eastern commodification of luxury items. What would this invasion of extravagance have been like to experience? Why seek beauty in jewels and gems when the moon, the stars, and the sun were the original inspiration for such pieces in the first place?

In another poem, Wardrop speaks to and questions the power of Marco Polo’s storytelling. “Back at the house, today as every day, travelers come from all maps to ask Marco for his tales/ Marco’s stories have become stories of stories/ Perhaps one day a visitor will ask of my journey walking past archways on my way from outside to in/ I can sit next to Marco now and no longer miss myself/ When I catch my breath I will finger the elephant, buy peaches, go home.” I think this piece really speaks to the glorification of “celebrities.” Yes, I understand that Brad Pitt volunteered in Indonesia…but so did I (not really, but for my point’s sake, go with me here). But have you read about it? Most definitely not. Our culture loves to fuel the fire of the privileged. Traveling is a privilege and those who are privy to the experience are the ones that come back with the stories. Wardrop highlights this in his poetry and parodies how a “normal” day consisted of fingering the elephant, buying peaces, and going home. We elevate Marco Polo for the historical travel accounts he brought back to Venice – but if Kublai Khan worshipped the ground that I walked on – I most certainly would be bringing back embroidered curtains from Persia for all.

I could really praise Daneen Wardrop for quite a while but I won’t put you through anymore of this public love fest. However, I will leave you with one final snippet of his work – “The thousand Buddha Caves, westernmost outpost of China/ where Turquoise paintings that after months of eastward sliding, Taklimakan sand/ almost took your eyes out with disbelief/ If Buddha had been Christian, you say, he’d have been a saint/ And in a mural crowd of stone people one man, a round-eyes, was painted in the middle: / someone there before you, Marco.” I don’t know if Polo found himself to be entirely original in his findings (he was extremely removed from his narrative), but he certainly wasn’t the first to tell the story of a culture. And with that, I am off to buy some peaches.

It has been said that one of the reasons Kubilai Khan loved Marco Polo so much was because of his story-telling ability. After twenty-four years of traipsing around Asia, he had a lot of stories to tell Rustichello of Pisa when they were in jail together, and they were generally very interesting, informative, and entertaining. While there were many parts that I thought were interesting enough to warrant further research, these are just a few examples of my findings:

The Cathedral of Saint Simon in Mokattam MountainThe Middle East

The story of the Caliph who hated Christians and the one-eyed shoemaker whose faith moved a mountain and saved them is actually based on the Fatimid Caliph Al-Muizz Li Deenillah, Mokattam Mountain, and Saint Simon the Tanner. While there was confusion as to the date of the event in the book, the legend places the miracle sometime during the tenth century, which was more than two hundred years before 1225 or 1275. And the unnamed Caliph in Polo’s story hates Christians and uses the biblical claim that a small amount of faith can move a mountain to disprove the word of their God and justify an elimination of all Christians from his city. In reality, Al-Muizz was very tolerant of and curious about different religions, and often invited religious leaders to Egypt to debate the topic. Jewish Yaqub ibn Killis didn’t do so well in his debate against the Coptic Pope Abraam the Syrian (also known as Abraham of Alexandria), so he challenged the Pope to prove that Christianity was right by demonstrating an excerpt from the Bible where Jesus says to Matthew, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove.” The Caliph told the Pope to move the mountain, and if he failed to do so then Christianity was wrong and wouldn’t be allowed in Egypt. Three days of intense prayer lead the Christian people to Simon, who is able to move Mokattam Mountain with his faith and the Caliph secretly converts to Christianity (although this is only mentioned in the context of this story—all other sources about Al-Muizz make no mention of him becoming a Christian).

The Road to CathayPrester John's massive kingdom supposedly bordered the Garden of Eden Prester John was first known as a wise and generous Christian king in land filled with Muslims and pagans somewhere in the east. He was supposedly a descendent of one of the three wise men who visited the baby Jesus after he was born, and his kingdom was home to all kinds of fabulous things, like the Fountain of Youth and the Garden of Eden. In 1221, a French bishop traveled east for the Crusades, and returned to Europe telling a story about a descendent of King David who had taken over Persia and would bring glory to the Christians in the region, but really it was Genghis Khan conquering the world and changing the perception Prester John. Somehow, Prester John was no longer thought of a religious leader, but rather a regular human king who was an enemy of the Mongols. He somehow became confused with Genghis’ adopted father Toghrul, who wouldn’t let his daughter (Sorghaghtani Beki, Kubilai’s mom) marry Genghis’ son, so they had to go to war and Genghis won and Toghrul died.

Kubilai Khan

This one was a little difficult to figure out, but the closest real life thing to the high-rolling, spell-casting, womanizing right-hand-man Ahmad was Ahmad Fanakati, who actually doesn’t seem that bad. Kubilai’s wife Chabui really liked and trusted him, and Kubilai put him in charge of the whole financial branch of government. He made huge amounts of money for the ruling family (mostly by taxing salt at the expense of the Chinese) and when the financial section merged with the administrative section, he had a lot more power to control things that happened in the country. And although the Muslims liked him well enough, he was very, very unpopular among Chinese (Polo called them Cathayans). When Chabui died, important Mongols (like the prince Zhenjin) thought he had too much power and all the Chinese people hated him. Of course, he was killed. So even though there’s not really a lot of historical evidence that he was making all this money and keeping it for himself or raping everything that moved or was killed in some elaborate plot to rid China of all non-Chinese, he is remembered as evil and tyrannous, especially by the Chinese.

EntourageMarco Polo must have been a really likable guy. Kublai Khan really liked Marco Polo. He liked him so much, he helped him travel the world and gave him insider access to his royal lifestyle. Marco Polo was basically Kublai Khan’s Turtle. He entertained Kublai Khan so Khan let him follow him around most of the time.

Something that really fascinated me in Marco Polo’s description of Kublai Khan was his astute understanding of politics. He, like any successful modern leader, was a shrewd politician. Sure, Kublai Khan believed in Christianity more than all the other religions. However, he was smart enough to know that if he admitted this he would be taking a huge political risk. Thus, he kept quiet and laughed at the suggestion that he do so. He pretended to be something he wasn’t. It is amazing the power religion played during those times. Kublai Khan was a man who could take a father’s daughter with no protest. He could crush any slight upheaval or rebellion easily, even when most of his army was at war. But if he was to choose an unpopular religion, it would have been political suicide and his power would have disappeared. For instance, we may have passed many barriers when it comes to holding higher office, such as race and gender. However, I don’t think we have come close to getting over the religion litmus test for higher office. Our leaders are expected to be religious. If you are an atheist or agnostic you have no chance of being president in this country, at least if you admit it. And you better know what your religious leaders are preaching, or it could cost you your political career, as almost happened with Obama and his infamous Revered. Kublai Khan understood all this and he didn’t even have to win general elections. Kublai Khan was also a shrewd leader because he knew how to spot talent. Those who succeeded with a 1,000 man army, got promoted to a 100,000 man army. It seems Kublai Khan surrounded himself with talented people and not necessarily just friends he owed favors to. A modern example of this would be President Obama with his “Team of rivals”. He is surrounding himself with experienced people such as Hillary Clinton, but not necessarily his best friends. On the other hand, when a leader surrounds themselves with old buddies, we see what can happen ala Bush.

Was the mutual hostility inflicted by the Crusades a factor in Polo's travels?At Gallatin, we often find ourselves scratching our heads over the seemingly haphazard, somewhat bizarre combinations of interdisciplinary curriculum that amount to our fellow students’ majors. Far beyond the typical arts-and-sciences conundrums, we have the mixed blessing of cultivating a concentration that may combine any number of personal and academic interests, ranging from the somewhat oversimplified (the growing number of “creativity” majors) to the impossibly specific (the fabled “gargoyles” student?). The luxury and liberty of designing our own course of study is often coupled with tireless explanations of our scholastic and professional aspirations, as well as a saturation of skepticism from parents and non-Gallatin students (“Oh, that sounds intriguing…but what are you going to do with that?”).

I’m sure that many of my fellow students will agree with my preamble. But what does this have to do with The Travels? For me, the excerpts from Marco Polo’s journeys unite my own slightly random concentrations: Iconography and Travel Journalism. Though my studies began at Gallatin with a distinct basis in religious art history, they have evolved to use religion as a lens through which culture and art are viewed: hence, the inclusion of Travel Journalism in the title of my developing thesis/colloquium. Marco Polo’s accounts do not have an overbearingly Christian bent, but he does spend a significant amount of time describing the religions and belief systems of the “idolaters” he encounters on his travels. As a quasi-religion major, these segments grabbed my interest.

Particularly intriguing are the Polos’ retelling of early eastern Christian history (the verity of these events is debatable in each circumstance), including the terrorism of the Christian masses by the Caliph of Baghdad in 1225 (p.53). Here, the sanctity and truth of the Christian faith is brought into question by the Muslim leader, who ultimately falls into agreement with the tenets of the religion and the might of the God after witnessing what could be described as a mystical miracle: the moving of a mountain by the pious.

As the editor of the Penguin version of The Travels, R.E. Latham, illuminates in his introduction, Polo treats the Muslims “whom he persists in describing as ‘worshippers of Mahomet’, [with] the traditional Christian hostility” (p. 21). Though Latham does not include a direct reference, it is relatively indisputable that this “hostility” he notes is the result of anti-Islamic sentiment fueled by the Christian crusades that had dominated western ecclesiastical history from the mid-11^th century. By the time that Marco Polo reached the Middle East, the Muslims had been subject to an onslaught of violent religious “campaigns” designed partially with the intent of reclaiming the Holy Land. The Saracens that Polo describes are indeed identified as “Muslims, especially of the time of the Crusades”.

The belief-based hostility was not solely possessed by the Christians, as Latham notes; in his summary, Polo recounts that the Caliph and his advisors “all joined…in wishing ill to the Christians; indeed, it is a fact that all the Saracens in the world are agreed in wishing ill to all the Christians in the world” (pp. 53-4). Given such a broad statement, it is even more difficult to ignore the tense religious atmosphere at the time of Polo’s travels and how it may have colored his opinions of the foreign cultures. Here, Polo has painted the Christians as a sovereign nation, highlighting their power against persecution and intimidation, and their favorable position with a strictly monotheistic God. The Caliph’s ultimate conversion only further emphasizes the power of Christianity, and surely the story pandered nicely to the western readers of Polo’s travels.