The Venetian traveler, Marco Polo travels in the Muslim World

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On April 24, 1271 AD, the Venetian traveler, Marco Polo, started his journey to China at the age of 17 through Anatolia, Iran, and Turkestan, in the company of his father Nicolo and uncle Maffeo, after they had returned from a historic trip by any Italian to the court of the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan, in Khanbaliq (present day Beijing).
They stayed in China for 21 years, departing in 1292 by sea through Southeast Asia as escorts for Princess Kokachin, whom the Great Khan sent to Iran as a bride for his grand nephew, Arghun Khan, the Ilkhanid Mongol ruler of Iran-Iraq. It took two years for Marco Polo and the bridal party to reach Hormuz on the Persian Gulf, where they learned Arghun Khan had died and was succeeded by his son, Ghazaan Khan, who had converted to Islam and changed his name to Mahmoud (he eventually married the Princess in his capital Maragheh).
Marco Polo continued his journey and in 1295, after 24 long years and 24,000 km of travelling by land and sea, he finally returned to his hometown, Venice, which was at war with Genoa. Marco was taken prisoner and during imprisonment, related his memoirs to Rustichello da Pisa, mentioning his observations of the lands he had visited, including the use of paper money in China, which made the Italians mock and ridicule him as a madman.