In the Footsteps of Marco Polo (eBook)

Ardent explorers and adventurers Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell followed Marco Polo's route from beginning to end-starting in Venice and trekking through Central Asia, Afghanistan, and ultimately China-traveling 33,000 miles through 20 countries over two years; in jeeps, trains and rickshaws; astride horses and camel; and on foot. The authors artfully weave their own adventures with Marco Polo's descriptions and experiences. Richly illustrated with Belliveau's award-winning color photography, this compelling book documents two journeys of a lifetime, undertaken centuries apart, yet joined by unbreakable bonds of shared experience.

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Did Marco Polo reach China? This richly illustrated companion volume to the public television film chronicles the remarkable two-year expedition of explorers Denis Belliveau and Francis ODonnell as they sought the answer to this controversial 700-year-old question. With Polos book, The Travels of Marco Polo, as their guide, they journeyed over 25,000 miles becoming the first to retrace his entire path by land and sea without resorting to helicopters or airplanes. Surviving deadly skirmishes and capture in Afghanistan, they were the first Westerners in a generation to cross its ancient forgotten passageway to China, the Wakhan Corridor. Their camel caravan on the southern Silk Road encountered the deadly singing sands of the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts. In Sumatra, where Polo was stranded waiting for trade winds, they lived with the Mentawai tribes, whose culture has remained unchanged since the Bronze Age. They became among the first Americans granted visas to enter Iran, where Polo fulfilled an important mission for Kublai Khan.Accompanied by 200 stunning full-color photographs, the text provides a fascinating account of the lands and peoples the two hardy adventurers encountered during their perilous journey. The authors experiences are remarkably similar to descriptions from Polos account of his own travels and life. Laden with adventure, humor, diplomacy, history, and art, this book is compelling proof that travel is the enemy of bigotrya truth that resonates from Marco Polos time to our own.