<p>In the year 1271 Marco Polo, age 17, set out from Venice with his father and uncle on a journey across Asia. Marco’s account of his 24-year odyssey would reveal a world never before described. Traveling by caravan, the Polos followed ancient trade routes through lands that still evoke Marco’s amazing finds.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Though he revealed little of himself in his widely translated book, <i>The Description of the World</i>, Marco is idealized as a learned explorer on a mosaic in Genoa, Italy, pictured here.</p> <p><i>These photos and captions were published in a 2001</i> National Geographic <i>magazine series on Marco Polo</i>.</p>