💡 Marco Polo

An AI generated depiction of Marco Polo!

Marco Polo (1254–1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer, and writer who became famous for his travels through Asia and his detailed accounts of the cultures, people, and lands he encountered. His journey to Asia lasted 24 years, and he is best known for his time spent at the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor and founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China.

“I speak and speak, [...] but the listener retains only the words he is expecting. [...] It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear.”

+ a bonus quote that isn’t officially attributed to him, but is one which I believe he’d share with us if he were with us now.

“As you journey through life, choose your destinations well, but don’t hurry there. You will arrive soon enough. Wander the back roads and forgotten paths, keeping your destination in your heart like the fixed point of a compass. Seek out new voices, strange sights, and ideas foreign to your own. Such things are riches for the soul."