Marco Polo

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In this extreme tip of Iran, the wind and water provide a comfort the interior lacks.
Traditional fishing in the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar i Abbas.
Rich with copper, the sulfurous water in Cheshme Genu is effective against skin diseases.
Bam's walls enclose the world's largest citadel.
Mighty Bam was built by the Zoroastrians in the twelfth century.
One of Kerman's oldest hammams, (Turkish baths) still in use today.
Sunset inflames the crescent symbol atop the dome of the Jame Masjid.
The Jame Masjid (Friday Mosque) is a masterpiece of elegant polychromy.
Yazd bristles with dozens of Towers of the Wind.
Votive Chapels at the base of the Zoroastrian funerary platforms.
Alamut, Castle of the Assassins, aerial view
The bazaar in Tabriz is still famous for its jewelery and gold and silver ornaments.
Still inhabited, the ancient houses in Kandovan are dug out of cones of eroded rock.
The Marsh Arabs, who once occupied the marshlands of the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, built houses out of woven reeds. ...
Skipping rope in the ancient Arab quarter of Ashar in Basra.
Children's games beneath the magnificent spiral minaret in Samarra, 1100 years old.
Everyone was celebrating in Tikrit but that day the guest of honor did not show up for the festivities.
Gold-hunters sieve the river for waste from the nearby goldmiths' souk.
Trying on a new garment in the Al Saati market in Baghdad, Iraq. The abah must fall perfectly.
A two-hour service tests the devotion of the youngest members of this Nestorian congregation in Iraq.
Christian children pray in a home for impoverished families in Baghdad, Iraq.
In the Fourteenth Ramadan Mosque, the faithful prostrate themselves. It is Friday, the Moslem holy day.
At dawn, Khadimain Mosque is shown in its full splendor.
The double dome in Baghdad, Iraq is dedicated to the dead in the war against Iran.
The expanse of low buildings in Mosul cannot have changed much since Marco's time.
A wedding in Jundian: flakes of shaving foam rain down on the newly weds.
Kurds celebrate Nawruz, the festival of spring, on the Little Zab, a tributary of the Tigris.
With his AK-47 in hand, a Kurd shepherd leads his flock to pasture. Ruwanduz, Iraq.
The vast mountain range in Ruwanduz, Iraq.
In the Old City the traditional architecture crumbles from neglect.
Despite the happy occassion, war is never over for these wedding guests in Jundian, Iraq.
At dawn, worshippers enter Khadimain Mosque in Baghdad
During the Regatta, the canals are crowded with traditional gondolas.
A deserted St. Marks Square: as rare today as it was in Marco Polo's lifetime.
The map of the world drawn by Fra Mauro was based on the information provided in The Travels of Marco Polo.
A silk cloth showing the Polo family crest.
Berthed at a quay, boats are harbored after a hectic day.
The Grand Princess appears in the setting of Saint Mark's Square.
The Polo's house probably faced onto the thirteen century Corte del Milione.
A Palace in Cannaregio is reflected in the Lagoon, Venice
An aerial view of the city of Venice.
A camel and merchant are immortalized on the facade of a palace in Cannaregio.
Heedless of a blizzard, monks await the start of morning prayers. Labrang Monastery, Tibet.
Tajik school girls wait for their lessons to start. In this corner of the world, males wear blue, while females wear red.