The Travels of Marco Polo records the extraordinary journey of the Venetian merchant Marco Polo, who left Venice in 1271 and spent twenty-four years travelling across Central Asia, China, and the Indian Ocean world, serving at the court of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. Dictated in a Genoese prison around 1298, the account introduced medieval Europe to the scale and sophistication of the wider world — from the silk roads of Persia to the cities of Cathay.
Whether read as adventure narrative, historical document, or early travel literature, The Travels of Marco Polo remains one of the most remarkable books ever written. This first volume is available as a free EPUB download, inviting modern readers to set off on one of history’s greatest journeys.