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Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC

History magazine.

You may be familiar with the name Marco Polo, the 13th century Venetian merchant who

travelled through Asia along the Silk Road and spent time at the court of the Mongol Emperor Kubla Khan.

Famously, he documented his experiences in a detailed account that's inspired many

travellers since. In today's episode, Emily Griffith speaks to Sharon Kynashita to follow

in Polo's footsteps, exploring the medieval world

through his eyes.

Marke Paolo is a name that I'm sure many of our listeners will have heard of, but how much do we

actually know about the man himself?

We actually know tantalizingly little about Marco Polo.

He left, you know, very few documents.

There are very few points in the historical record from his lifetime. He left a will, so we

know what he had at his death. And then there are several legal type papers, contracts, and so

forth, less from him than from members of his family during

his lifetime. But aside from that, we know very little, which is, I think, why it's a blank slate

...