Tracking Marco Polo

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Tim Severin took up the challenge offered from antiquity by Marco Polo. Using the great explorer's journals as a route guide, Severin followed him all the way from Venice to Afghanistan - on a motorbike. This is his witty and enthralling account of a latter day caravan through Armenia and Persia, across deserts and mountains, as Severin and his companions overcome crashes, floods, sandstorms and linguistic muddles with zest and ingenuity. Ancient and modern jostle for attention in the bustling towns and panoramic landscapes of Turkey and Afghanistan. Seeking out thirteenth century Asia, they pass through he Valley of the Assassins to find the village of the Magi. And even with his foot in plaster, Severin takes a camel ride high into the Deh Bakri Pass in search of the famed apples of paradise.