In The Footsteps of Marco Polo
We just finished watching an amazing movie called In The Footsteps of Marco Polo. It is about two amazing people, Denis and Francis who decided to make a journey retracing the route taken by Marco Polo back in 1271.
Even although they did not complete the exact same path as Marco Polo due to visa and passport border issues, Denis and Francis learned a lot about the countries they visited. They were held back in certain places as well, such as Iraq and Iran. The duo went through many of the same countries that Marco Polo passed and they had many goals they tried to complete. They tried to be featured in all the local newspapers and they also tried to bring back similar items that Marco Polo found. After 712 days, the journey was finally over and Denis and Francis returned to Venice by a different route just like Marco Polo did. They asked the Mayor of Venice to see Marco Polo’s will as they had been denied before the journey kicked off.
We learned a lot from the Marco Polo movie. There were a lot of hardships during the trip and Denis and Francis had to be very tough to complete this journey. There were many times when they wanted to give up but they kept on going and we were very inspired by this. We learned a lot about the different cultures along the Silk Road and how different towns greet tourists in a variety of ways. It was surprising to us that Denis and Francis were the first Americans to cross into Turkmenistan.
It is remarkable that Marco Polo made this journey so long ago…or did he??? Some of us think he did and some think he only made it part way. He knew a lot about the cultures, traditions and trade but he did not mention the Great Wall (the part that was built then), the binding of women’s feet and Kublai Khan did not mention Marco Polo. So what do you think???
What did we learn from Denis and Francis?
We should never give up on our dreams.
Here are our letters to Denis and Francis