MARCO POLO

Marco Polo, an Italian merchant was probably the first explorer and travel writer to write an exhaustive travel account. Born in the year 1254 in Venice (Italy), Marco Polo travelled from Europe to Asia in 1271-95. He travelled to China for seventeen of those years. His Il million (The Million), known in English as the “Travel of Marco Polo”, is a classic of travel literature.

 Marco Polo’s family was wealthy and rich that is because he received a good education and he learnt about classical authors, the theology of the Latin Church, and both Italian and French. Marco Polo hailed from a family of sailors. In ancient Venice, he started his first voyage along with his father Niccolo and his uncle Maffeo at the age of seventeen in 1271 A.D. From Venice, they passed through Armenia, Persia and Afghanistan and over the Pamir Mountains to reach china through the Silk Route. They also travelled to Istanbul and then reached the kingdom of Gorgia in Southern Caucasus.

When Marco Polo passed through the great Gobi Desert, which is more than 500,000 square miles (805,000 kms) of sand, he described its vastness in the following words: “This desert is reported to be so long that it would take a year to go from one end to another end, and at the narrowest point it takes a month to cross it. There is nothing at all to eat”. Gobi Desert was part of the Mongolian Empire ruled by the great Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis khan and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in 13^th century China). After passing through the Gobi Desert, Marco Polo with his father and uncle went to Schow (Duhuang) in Tangut province, which is today known as Tangku, a major city in China. They  stayed there for a year and later Marco Polo was appointed by Kublai khan as a courtier in Cambaluc or Khanbalig (meaning “The city of Khan”) which later became the part of Beiging. Marco Polo was also provided a linguist in Kublai Khan’s capital. Kublai Khan had presented them with a golden tablet ( 1 foot long and 3 inches wide) inscribed with these words: “ By the strength of the eternal heaven, holy be the Khan’s name, let him that pays him not reverence be killed.” This golden tablet was like a VIP passport, authorizing the travelers to receive horses, lodging, food and guides as they required. They stayed there for seventeen years and Marco Polo had mastered four languages at that time. He learnt about trade, industry and new paper currency that were much easier to transport than heavy gold or silver.

In 1293, they began their journey towards their home by ship. They took a sea route and passed the South China Sea to Samarta and the Indian Ocean and finally reached Hormuz. The voyage took two years and they are believed to have then visited Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Sri Lanka enroute to India. He also touched several coastal cities of India, such as, Madras (now Chennai), Calicut on the Malabar Coast in Kerela, and Thane near Mumbai.

They returned to Venice in A.D. and stayed there. Marco Polo died on January, 1324 at the age of seventy and on his deathbed he uttered his famous last words: “I have only told the half of what I saw”.

His book called “The Description of the World” or “The Travels of Marco Polo” was one of the most popular books in Medieval Europe and became a best seller, even though some people thought his stories were too incredible to be true.

 

JAMMU AND KASHMIR (Paradise on Earth)

Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost Union Territory of India. It is situated in the Himalayan Mountains. Jammu and Kashmir is situated on the top most part of the country. The majestic Himalayan Mountain in Jammu and Kashmir represents the jaw-dropping supremacy, beauty and opulence of Nature. The lush green valleys are a rare spectacle to behold. The beautiful gardens built by the Mughals are one of the major attractions of Jammu and Kashmir. Another major attraction of this state is the picturesque lakes and the house boats. These are considered as the most interesting aspect of Jammu and Kashmir tourism. Due to its striking geographical locations, adventure sports are a big rage here.     

Jammu and Kashmir consists of three regions: Jammu, valley of Kashmir and Ladakh. Kashmir is famous for its beautiful and picturesque mountainous landscape, Jammu’s numerous temples attract thousands of Hindu pilgrims every year. Ladakh, also known as “Little Tibet” or “The Hermit City”, is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and Buddhist culture.

Jammu and Kashmir is embedded with stunning green landscapes, beautiful Mountains, Rivers, Streams, Snow Deserts and verdant Forests that are home to a variety of flora and fauna species. This “paradise on Earth” is famous worldwide for its mesmerizing and enchanting beauty.

It is abundant with natural resources and blessed with a pleasing salubrious climate that lures tourists to its abode. Jammu and Kashmir is abound with a number of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and forest reserves that are enclosed with large hectares of heavily forested areas within the lowlands of the Himalayan mountains and wetlands of the region. Dotted with monasteries, shrines, mosques and temples, Jammu and Kashmir has a spiritual appeal apt for pilgrim tours.  

The lifestyle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir is completely different. The food they eat, the costumes they wear, the languages they speak is all different and unique. Ladakh region shows a strong resemblance of Tibet in all things. Due to such confluence of many cultures, religions and ethnic groups, Jammu and Kashmir has been appropriately described as the heart of Asia.

FIRST RECORDED TRAVEL

The first journey is believed to be made by Queen Hatshepsut to the land of "Punt" on the east coast of Africa (modern day Somalia or Eritrea), for the purpose of peace and tourism in 1480 B.C. (Goeldner and Ritchie, 2003). It is also considered as the first recorded cruise tour. The descriptions of this tour have been recorded on the walls of the Temple of Deit El Bahari at Luxor. 

The land of Punt (also known as "land of God" or "God's land" ) was regarded as the land of plenty, with rich resources. It is now called as Ta Netjar. 

In this tour, there were five ships and 210 men, who sailed from Egypt to Punt for the purpose of making trade relations. They traveled down the Nile across land to the Red Sea. The trip took about 25 days. They returned from Punt carrying vast wealth including ivory, ebony, gold, wild animals and plants, elephant tusks, leopard skins and incense etc. 

Queen Hatshepsut became the first pharaoh (the title for the king of ancient Egypt) in about 1470 B.C. She reigned between 1473 B.C and 1458 B.C. and is considered as the longest reigning female pharaoh in Egypt.