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One of the most well known Europeans to travel the Silk Road in Medieval times.

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In Venice, Italy 1245

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In Venice, Italy 1324

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His family were Venetians, but it’s unclear if he was actually born in Venice or if the birth took place on the island of Curzola off the Dalmatian coast, where his father and uncle had established a trading post.

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We do know that Marco Polo spent at least part of his childhood in Venice, which was at the time a city state heavily engaged in international commerce . He received a good education that included, among other things, classes in French and Italian.

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Eventually, a Mongol ambassador arrived to Bukhara, asking the brothers to go to the Hulagu Khan who was interested in meeting the exotic foreigns. Consequently, the brothers started traveling even further to the east, via Samarkand and then through the dangerous Gobi dessert.

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In 1271, the Polo brothers embarked on a new journey, and this time the took Marco with them.

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The Polo family pushed on without them, traveling through Armenia, Persia and Afghanistan, and following a route that went over the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia to get to China.

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The Polos weren't trailing in their own footsteps from the past, because instead of goin g the same way as last time, they made a wide swing to the north, into the southern Caucasus and Georgia, before heading for Tabriz, the Ilkhanid Mongol capital of Azerbaijan.