Fascinating Travel Accounts
Marco Polo's the fearless traveller, spent almost
twenty-five years in Asia during the later part of the 13th century. His
wonderlust could well have been inherited from his father. Yong Marco
Polo left Venice in the year 1271 with his father and uncle. The Three
together travelled through persia and Afghanistan to the "roof of the
world" , The main unknown Pamir Plateau. After crossing the wind-swept
Gobi desirt, they reached Kublai Khan's place and remained in China for
over twenty years. On his way back home, he stopped in Sumatra, Java,
India and Ceylon.
The great travellers who ventured to explore distant land had fascinating accounts of their travels. Even if we go back just a few hundred years to the third century A.D. since the first exploration of Alexander the great ,or only about seven amazing explorations crossing many lands, we get fascinating accounts of travellers of these great persons.
The first medieval travel to reach the orient was probably jenjamin of Tudela, a Jewish scholar, who left Saragossa in the year A.D. 1160. He wrote a detailed account of his thirteen year long journey through Europe, Persia and India, giving information on the Jewish communications, and the geography of various places he had visited. Yet another famous traveller who recorded interesting account of his travel experieces was Ibn Batuath. Ibn Batutah wrote a detailed dairy of his travel experienced. He was born at Tangier in A. D. 1304. In the year A.D. 1325, he left his home and passing through various contries in Africa and West Asia, crossed the Sindhu in A.D. 1333. His travels took him to as far places as Indonesia and China. Out of a total of more than 17,000 miles, he covered more than 14,000 miles in the course of his travels through India, The Maldives and Ceylon.
Marco Polo's description of a place Zipangu (The present Day Japan) in his memmoirs, set the course for columbus on his historic journey in 1492. Two of columbus's contemporaries who also became famous and wrote excellent account were vasco da Gama - who opened the sea route from western Europe to India in 1498 - and Ferdinand Megellan whose ship sailed around the world.
We also have account of some more travellers from Europe who visited India during the period discribed above. Francisco Friar, John of Monte Corvino, visited India on his way to and back from China during the last decade of the thirteenth century. Mention may also be made of the famous Portuguese chronicle the Commentaries of the Great Alfonso D' Albuquerque.
Later on , in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many more European monks, travellers and adventurers visited India and many other places in search of knowledge. The first great sailor to do a westward circumnavigation of the world was Francis Drake who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in the year 1581. From 1768 to 1779 Captain James Cook made three long voyages to the Pacific in search of a non-existent southern continent mentioned by Ptolemy who earlier in the 2nd century A.D. had travelled widely and who wrote an eight - volume work on geography.
The great travellers who ventured to explore distant land had fascinating accounts of their travels. Even if we go back just a few hundred years to the third century A.D. since the first exploration of Alexander the great ,or only about seven amazing explorations crossing many lands, we get fascinating accounts of travellers of these great persons.
The first medieval travel to reach the orient was probably jenjamin of Tudela, a Jewish scholar, who left Saragossa in the year A.D. 1160. He wrote a detailed account of his thirteen year long journey through Europe, Persia and India, giving information on the Jewish communications, and the geography of various places he had visited. Yet another famous traveller who recorded interesting account of his travel experieces was Ibn Batuath. Ibn Batutah wrote a detailed dairy of his travel experienced. He was born at Tangier in A. D. 1304. In the year A.D. 1325, he left his home and passing through various contries in Africa and West Asia, crossed the Sindhu in A.D. 1333. His travels took him to as far places as Indonesia and China. Out of a total of more than 17,000 miles, he covered more than 14,000 miles in the course of his travels through India, The Maldives and Ceylon.
We also have account of some more travellers from Europe who visited India during the period discribed above. Francisco Friar, John of Monte Corvino, visited India on his way to and back from China during the last decade of the thirteenth century. Mention may also be made of the famous Portuguese chronicle the Commentaries of the Great Alfonso D' Albuquerque.
Later on , in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, many more European monks, travellers and adventurers visited India and many other places in search of knowledge. The first great sailor to do a westward circumnavigation of the world was Francis Drake who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in the year 1581. From 1768 to 1779 Captain James Cook made three long voyages to the Pacific in search of a non-existent southern continent mentioned by Ptolemy who earlier in the 2nd century A.D. had travelled widely and who wrote an eight - volume work on geography.
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