On the Road with Marco Polo: From Venice to Hormuz
Marco Polo's father and uncle returned to Venice when he was 15 years old.
Two years later, when they set off again for China, they decided to take Marco
with them. The Polos began their long journey by sailing across the Mediterranean
to Acre (in modern Israel).
Student Activity:
Tell the students that they will take an imaginary or “virtual”
trip with Marco Polo from Venice to China and back. The first leg of the journey
ends at Hormuz. Have your students download and print (or hand out print copies
of) the PDF Marco Polo: From
Venice to Hormuz, which has a chart for taking notes, guiding questions
as well as a map activity and a "postcard" template for the final assessment.
From Acre, they sailed up the Mediterranean coast to modern Turkey. They then
followed a trade route across Turkey and Armenia.
- Access the map
of the Middle East available through SARAI.
Find modern Israel; then trace the route taken by the Polos up the coast to
Turkey and Armenia.
Guiding Questions for Discussion:
- Why did the Polos begin their journey to China by sea?
- How would you describe the geography of the regions of Turkey and Armenia
that the Polos traveled through?
- What might have been their means of travel from Acre through Armenia?
From Armenia the Polos turned south and proceeded through Persia (modern Iran)
to the port of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. Iran is an elevated
plateau with an average height of over 3000 feet above sea level. The Zagros
Mountains cover much of the western half of the country. The only fertile area
is in the north, along the coast of the Caspian Sea. The flatter regions in
the center of the region are arid deserts.
Student Activity:
Learn more about the terrain of this region by accessing the following websites:
Have the students trace the route taken by the Polos from Acre to Hormuz on
the large map in the classroom. Have them explain why they took this rather
indirect route. (By doing so, they avoided two large rivers (the Tigris and
Euphrates) as well as the towering Zagros Mountains of Persia).
Guiding Questions for Discussion:
- What are the geographic features of modern Iran?
- What factors determine the easiest route from Acre to Hormuz?
Since ancient times, sheep and goats have grazed in the mountains of Persia.
Their wool is used for clothing and blankets, but a Persian specialty has long
been the woven carpet. In fact, the tomb of Persia's King Cyrus, who died in
549BC - 25 hundred years ago, was covered with precious carpets. In medieval
times, Persian carpets were greatly admired in other parts of the world and
were a major item of trade. You can learn more about the history of Persian
carpets by accessing the following sites available through the Internet
Public Library.
Assessment:
Instruct the students to each create a picture postcard that a medieval traveler
might have sent home from Persia. One side should contain a picture (downloaded
or drawn freehand) of a geographical feature or a local product. The other side
should contain a brief message describing some of the highlights of a journey
from Acre to Hormuz.
The PDF Marco Polo: From Venice to Hormuz has a simple template and instructions for the postcard activity. Alternatively, you might hand out large, unlined index cards for your students to use as postcards.
Selected EDSITEment Websites
Asia Source
Ask Asia
Internet Public Library.
SARAI
Standards Alignment
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