ABSTRACT
Though most people know the name of Marco Polo, very few, if challenged, admit to having actually read his book. Leaving the academic doubts of contemporary scholars and the problems of spaghetti and ice-cream aside for the moment, Marco Polo's own book and the claims made in it are enormously important, for most of what we know (or are told) about Marco Polo is to be found in one or more versions of his own work. The Mongol wars drove the two Polos further eastwards until they found themselves in Karakorum, the home base and capital city of the Mongols, who already controlled much of Central Asia and were beginning to threaten Eastern Europe. In Karakorum once more, the Polos were welcomed with 'mirth and merrymaking' and Qubilai was much taken with the 'young stripling' Marco.
