Shizu, better known as Kublai Khan, as he would have appeared in the 1260s (Image credit: public domain, painting by Anige of Nepal) Khan was impressed and eventually appointed Marco the position of special envoy. Marco immersed himself in Chinese culture, quickly learning the language and taking note of customs. He invited them to stay and for Niccolo and Maffeo to become part of his court. In Xanadu, with Kublai Khanįinally, the Polos reached Beijing and met Kublai Khan at the summer palace, Xanadu, a glorious marble and gold structure that enchanted young Marco.
Nevertheless, young Marco Polo enjoyed a keen sense of adventure and curiosity, taking in the sights, smells and cultural phenomena with wonder. Polo described there being "nothing at all to eat," in the Gobi Desert. Marco Polo contracted an illness and was forced to take refuge in the mountains of northern Afghanistan for an extended period of time. The journey took three or four years and was rife with hardships and adventure. Then, they cut across the vast Gobi Desert to Beijing. The Polos continued, traveling primarily overland and swinging north and south through Armenia, Persia, Afghanistan and the Pamir Mountains. They had brought two friars - the best they could do for Kublai Khan's request - but upon getting a taste of difficult travel life, the friars turned back. The party sailed south from Venice across the Mediterranean to the Holy Land. This time, they took 17-year-old Marco with them. Though the pope did not grant their request, the Polo brothers decided to return to Asia. When Marco was 15, his father and uncle returned home. In turn, Khan was able to take advantage of the knowledge of these foreigners in enormous projects such as efforts in water management and hydraulic engineering and warfare and siege engineering and other endeavors." The Polos were one family that Khan trusted and learned from. Khan himself was an expert in Chinese poetry. He patronized scholars, scientists, astronomers, doctors, artists and poets. "He opened up the Mongol and Chinese empires to travelers and traders.
"Khan was an exceptional ruler for many reasons," said Abernethy.
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