The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.

Derivation[link]

Look up Orient, orient, Oriental, or oriental in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The term "Orient" derives from the Latin word oriens meaning "east" (lit. "rising" < orior "rise"). The use of the word for "rising" to refer to the east (where the sun rises) has analogs from many languages: compare the terms "Levant" (< French levant "rising"), "Vostok" Russian: Восток (< Russian voskhod Russian: восход "sunrise"), "Anatolia" (< Greek anatole), "mizrahi" in Hebrew ("zriha" meaning sunrise), "sharq" Arabic: شرق‎ (< Arabic yashruq يشرق "rise", shurooq Arabic: شروق‎ "rising"), "shygys" Kazakh: шығыс (< Kazakh shygu Kazakh: шығу "come out"), Chinese: 東 (pinyin: dōng, a pictograph of the sun rising behind a tree^[1]) and "The Land of the Rising Sun" to refer to Japan. Also, many ancient temples, including pagan temples and the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, were built with their main entrances facing the East. To situate them in such a manner was to "orient" them in the proper direction. When something was facing the correct direction, it was said to be in the proper "orientation".

The opposite term "Occident" is derived from the Latin word occidens meaning "west" (lit. "setting" < "occido" "fall/set"). This term was once used to mean the West (where the sun sets) but has fallen into disuse in English.

History of the term[link]

Harem Pool by the Orientalist painter Jean-Léon Gérôme c. 1876; naked females in harem or bathing settings are a staple of much Orientalist painting

In the later Roman Empire, the Praetorian prefecture of the East, the Praefectura Praetorio Orientis, included most of the Eastern Roman Empire from the eastern Balkans eastwards; its easternmost part was the Diocese of the East, the Dioecesis Orientis, corresponding roughly to Greater Syria. Over time, the common understanding of 'the Orient' has continually shifted eastwards, as Western explorers travelled farther into Asia. It finally reached the Pacific Ocean, in what Westerners came to call 'the Far East'. These shifts in time and identification sometimes confuse the scope (historical and geographic) of Oriental Studies. Yet there remain contexts where 'the Orient' and 'Oriental' have kept their older meanings, e.g. 'Oriental spices' typically are from the regions extending from the Middle East to sub-continental India to Indo-China. Travellers may again take the Orient Express train from Paris to its terminus in the European part of Istanbul, a route established in the early 20th century.

In European historiography the meaning of "the Orient" changed in scope several times. Originally the term referred to Egypt, the Levant, and adjoining areas.^[2] Later the term became synonymous with Islam and its scope expanded both eastward and westward to include all non-European areas of Eurasian civilization, including North Africa as far west as Morocco.^[2] During the 1800s India, and to a lesser extent China, began to displace the Levant as the primary subject of Orientalist research. By the mid-20th century Western scholars generally considered "the Orient" as just East Asia, Southeast Asia, and eastern Central Asia.^[2] As recently as the early 20th century the term "Orient" continued to often used in ways that included North Africa and even parts of southeastern Europe. Today the term primarily evokes images of China, Korea, Japan, and peninsular Southeast Asia.^[2] Throughout the history of the changing sense of the term, "the Orient" was never equivalent to Asia as a whole. "The Orient" being largely a cultural term, large parts of Asia—Siberia most notably—were excluded from the scholarly notion of "the Orient".^[2]

Equally valid terms for the Orient still exist in the English language in such collocations as Oriental studies (now Asian Studies in some countries).

The adjectival term Oriental has been used by the West to mean cultures, peoples, countries, and goods from the Orient. "Oriental" means generally "eastern". It is a traditional designation (especially when capitalized) for anything belonging to the Orient or "East" (for Asia), and especially of its Eastern culture. It indicated the eastern direction in historical astronomy, often abbreviated "Ori."^[3] In contemporary English, Oriental usually refers to things from the parts of East Asia traditionally occupied by East Asians and most Central Asians and Southeast Asians racially categorized as "Mongoloid". This excludes Indians, Arabs, most other West Asian peoples. Because of historical discrimination against Chinese and Japanese, in some parts of the United States, the term is considered derogatory; for example, Washington state prohibits use of the word "Oriental" in legislation and government documentation, preferring the word "Asian" instead.^[4]

In more local uses, "oriental" is also used for eastern parts of portions of the Mediterranean Sea, for example Morocco's Oriental Region. Oriental is also used as an adjective akin to "eastern," especially in the Spanish-speaking world. For example, the Philippine islands of Mindoro and Negros are each divided into two provinces whose titles include the words "oriental" and "occidental" respectively. The official name of Uruguay is the República Oriental del Uruguay or Oriental Republic of Uruguay because it is east of the Uruguay River.^[5]

Since the 19th century, "orientalist" has been the traditional term for a scholar of Oriental studies; however, the use in English of "Orientalism" to describe academic "Oriental studies" is rare: the Oxford English Dictionary cites only one such usage, by Lord Byron in 1812. Orientalism is more widely used to refer to the works of the many 19th century artists who specialized in "Oriental" subjects, often drawing on their travels to North Africa and Western Asia. Artists as well as scholars were already described as "Orientalists" in the 19th century. In 1978, Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said published his influential and controversial book, Orientalism; he used the term to describe a pervasive Western tradition, both academic and artistic, of prejudiced outsider interpretations of the Arab and Muslim worlds, shaped by the attitudes of European imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries.^[6]

Current usage[link]

American English[link]

While a small number of reference works used in the United States describe Oriental as pejorative, or antiquated but not necessarily offensive, the American Heritage Book of English Usage notes that:

It is worth remembering, though, that Oriental is not an ethnic slur to be avoided in all situations. It is most objectionable in contemporary contexts and when used as a noun, as in the appointment of an Oriental to head the commission. But in certain historical contexts, or when its exotic connotations are integral to the topic, Oriental remains a useful term.^[7]

Random House's Guide to Sensitive Language states that "Other words (e.g., Oriental, colored) are outdated or inaccurate." It suggests the use of "Asian or more specific designation such as Pacific Islander, Chinese American, [or] Korean".^[8] Merriam-Webster describes the term as "sometimes offensive."^[9]

British English[link]

In British English, the term Oriental is not considered pejorative or offensive, and refers to people from East and Southeast Asia. Asian is generally used only to mean people from South Asia.^[10] This usage reflects historic immigration into the UK, since more than 50% of the non-European population is from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Burma, (in British English terminology called British Asian), whereas East and Southeast Asians comprise only 5-6% of the non-European population. Of those, the majority are of Chinese descent.^[11]

Australian English[link]

In Australian English, the term "Asian" generally refers to people of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese ethnicity. Australians generally refer to people of Korean, Japanese, or Chinese descent as Asian, and persons of Indian, Pakistani or Sri Lankan descent by their respective demonym but without explicit knowledge, are indeterminately inferred as Indian.

The word Oriental, in place of Asian, is seldom used in colloquial conversation in Australia and is understood, but considered anachronistic rather than offensive.

Canadian English[link]

In Canadian English, as with Australian English, "Asian" most often refers to people of eastern or southeastern Asian descent. It can be expanded, however, such as when referring to colonial times, to include south Asian countries such as India and Sri Lanka, as is common usage by South Asians themselves. In modern Canadian usage, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, the term "Oriental" is considered offensive when applied to a person of East Asian ancestry.^[12]

German[link]

In German Orient is usually used synonymously with the Arab World and Persia. The term Asiaten means the people of East Asia and Southeast Asia. Another word for Orient in German is Morgenland (now poetic), which literally translates as "morning land".

See also[link]

• Asian
• Metonymy
• Levant
• Land of the Rising Sun
• Orient Express
• Orientalizing Period of Archaic Greek art
• Political correctness
• School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London

Notes[link]

References and further reading[link]

• [Ankerl, Guy] Coexisting Contemporary Civilizations: Arabo-Muslim, Bharati, Chinese, and Western, INUPRESS, Geneva, 2000. ISBN 2-88155-004-5
• The American Oriental Society
• The Oriental Instititute at University of Chicago
• On Asian and Oriental Model Minority posting by Alan Hu.
• Banned Words For comparative analysis: a list "banned" words (including Oriental) as documented by Diane Ravitch.
• The Critic in the Orient by George Hamlin Fitch
• German Orient Gate
• What's the Matter with Saying the Orient? by Christopher Hill for "About Japan: A Teacher's Resource"

Rachel Brice
Background information
Born	(1972-06-15) June 15, 1972 (age 40) San Francisco, California, USA
Associated acts	The Indigo Belly Dance Company Bellydance Superstars
Website	RachelBrice.com

Rachel Brice is a contemporary performer in Tribal Fusion Style Belly Dance based in Portland, Oregon. She is the artistic director and choreographer for The Indigo Belly Dance Company and a frequent performer with the Bellydance Superstars.

She has performed and toured nationally and internationally since 1992. As a member of the Bellydance Superstars Brice made numerous appearances on Bellydance Superstars DVDs, as well as a multitude of television and radio appearances worldwide, most notably Live with Regis and Kelly in the US and Blue Peter in England.

As a teacher and movement arts pedagogue, Brice has released instructional videos focusing on Yoga and Belly Dance, and has given workshops throughout the United States and Europe. Brice also teaches Yoga and Belly Dance for Pixar Animation Studios and gives workshops annually at Elevation "belly dance extravaganza" in Golden, Colorado.

From Brice's website:

"Rachel Brice first fell in love with Belly Dance after watching the famous Hahbi'Ru at the Northern California Renaissance Faire in 1988 and began taking classes right away. In 1999, she decided to study full time, and relocated for the University program in Dance Ethnology at San Francisco State University. In 2003 she was discovered by rock mogul Miles Copeland and began touring internationally with his company, Bellydance Superstars. Also in 2003 she founded The Indigo Belly Dance Company. 2007 marks The Indigo's first full-length touring show, Le Serpent Rouge, presented by Miles Copeland. When home, Rachel studies Belly Dance with her teachers Suhaila Salimpour, and creator of American Tribal Style, Carolena Nericcio, and Yoga with Gary Kraftsow."

Filmography[link]

Performance[link]

• "Bellydance Superstars Live in Paris: Folies Bergeres"
• "Bellydance Superstars Solos in Monte Carlo"
• "Bellydance Superstars"

Instructional[link]

• "Tribal Fusion: Yoga, Isolations and Drills a Practice Companion with Rachel Brice"
• "Rachel Brice: Belly Dance Arms and Posture"
• "SERPENTINE: With World Dance New York"

Musical collaborations[link]

• "Sa'iyr - A Tribal Metamorphosis" (2005) - Pentaphobe (also known as "A Tribal Metamorphosis")
• "Bellydance Superstars volume 1" - Musical Selection
• "Bellydance Superstars volume 2" - Musical Selection
• "Bellydance Superstars volume 3" - Musical Selection
• "Le Serpent Rouge: Musical Selections from the Knockdown Revue" - Compilation

External links[link]

• Rachel Brice website
• The Indigo Belly Dance Company website
• BDSS on "Live with Regis & Kelly video clip (with Amar Gamal, Rachel Brice and Ansuya) Friday 9-10am E/T April 8, 2005
• Bellydance Superstars website
• "Snakecharmer" video
• Rachel Brice interview in Japan Times, August 3, 2005 by Giovanni Fazio '"Tribal Power: Bellydance superstar Rachel Brice"'
• London Sunday Times Magazine review of Rachel Brice and the Bellydance Superstars, October 10, 2004 "Shake, Ripple, and Roll"
• Elevation website

Loreena McKennitt
Background information
Birth name	Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt
Born	(1957-02-17) 17 February 1957 (age 55) Morden, Manitoba, Canada
Origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Celtic, world, New Age
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Voice, piano, harp, accordion
Years active	1985–present
Labels	Quinlan Road, Warner Bros., Verve Forecast/Universal
Website	quinlanroad.com

Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals.^[1] She has sold more than 14 million records worldwide.^[2]

Early life[link]

McKennitt was born in Morden, Manitoba of Irish and Scottish descent to parents Jack (died 1992; a livestock dealer) and Irene McKennitt (1931-2011; a nurse). She moved to Stratford, Ontario in 1981, where she still resides.

When Loreena was young she wanted to become a veterinarian but she found that music chose her rather than she it.^[3] Developing a passion for Celtic music, she learned to play the Celtic harp and began busking at various places, including St. Lawrence Market in Toronto in order to earn money to record her first album.^[4]

Career[link]

McKennitt's first album, Elemental, was released in 1985, followed by To Drive the Cold Winter Away (1987), Parallel Dreams (1989), The Visit (1991), The Mask and Mirror (1994), A Winter Garden (1995), The Book of Secrets (1997), An Ancient Muse (2006), A Midwinter Night’s Dream (2008), and The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2010). All of her work is released under her own label, Quinlan Road.

In 1990, McKennitt provided the music for the National Film Board of Canada documentary The Burning Times, a feminist revisionist account of the Early Modern European witchcraft trials. The main theme would later be rerecorded by her and her band and called "Tango to Evora", a track that appears on her album The Visit.

In 1993, she toured Europe supporting Mike Oldfield. In 1995, her version of the traditional Irish song "Bonny Portmore" was featured in the Highlander series. McKennitt's single "The Mummers' Dance" received airplay in North American markets during the spring of 1997, and was used as the theme song for the short-lived TV series Legacy. It also saw use in the trailer for a wide-release 1998 Drew Barrymore film Ever After.^[5]

Her music appeared in the movies The Santa Clause, Soldier, Jade, Holy Man, The Mists of Avalon and Tinkerbell; and in the television series Roar, Due South, and Full Circle (Women and Spirituality).

Personal life[link]

In 1998, McKennitt's fiancé Ronald Rees, his brother Richard and their close friend Gregory Cook drowned during a boating accident on Georgian Bay. She was deeply affected by the event and subsequently founded the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund for Water Search and Safety in the same year.

At the time of the incident, she was working on a live album of two performances called Live in Paris and Toronto. The proceeds from this album were donated to the newly created memorial fund, totaling some three million dollars.^[6] After the release of the live album, McKennitt decided to substantially reduce the number of her public performances and did not release any new recordings until the studio album An Ancient Muse in 2006.

Honours[link]

• Juno Award, Best Roots/Traditional Album 1992, for The Visit.
• Juno Award, Best Roots/Traditional Album 1994, for The Mask and Mirror.
• Billboard Music Award for International Achievement, 1997.
• Headline performer for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at The Golden Jubilee Celebrations, Province of Manitoba, 2002.
• Honorary Doctor of Letters, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2002.
• Member of the Order of Manitoba, July 2003.
• Member of the Order of Canada, July 2004.
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Manitoba, June 2005
• Canadian Ambassador, Hans Christian Andersen Bicentennary, June 2005
• Honorary Doctor of Laws, Queen's University, October 2005
• Investiture as Honorary Colonel, 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, December 2006
• Nominated for a Grammy award, Best Contemporary World Music Album, in 2007
• Western Canadian Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, September 2009
• Performed at Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, Opening Ceremonies, February 12, 2010
• Honorary Bachelor of Applied Business, George Brown College, June 2010

Genre and work[link]

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McKennitt's music has generally been classified as World / Celtic music even though it contains aspects and characteristics of music from around the globe and is sometimes classified as Folk music in record stores.^{[citation needed]}

Before McKennitt composes any music, she engages in considerable research on a specific subject which then forms the general concept of the album.^{[citation needed]} Before creating Elemental and Parallel Dreams, she traveled to Ireland for inspiration from the country's history, folklore, geography and culture. The album The Mask and Mirror was preceded by research in Spain where she engaged in studying Galicia, a Celtic section of Spain, along with its abundant Arabic roots.^{[citation needed]} The result was an album that included elements of Celtic and Arabic music. According to the jacket notes, her album An Ancient Muse was inspired by travels among and reading about the various cultures along the Silk Road.

McKennitt is compared to Enya,^{[citation needed]} but McKennitt's music is more grounded in traditional and classical invocations,^{[citation needed]} using literary works as sources of lyrics and springboards for interpretation such as "The Lady of Shalott" by Lord Tennyson, "Prospero's Speech" (the final soliloquy in William Shakespeare's The Tempest), "Snow" by Archibald Lampman, "Dark Night of the Soul" by St. John of the Cross, Dante's Inferno, William Blake's "Lullaby", Yeats' "The Stolen Child", "The English Ladye and the Knight" by Sir Walter Scott and "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes.

Court case[link]

In 2005, McKennitt was involved in an acrimonious court case in Britain when her former friend and employee, Niema Ash, published a book that contained intimate details of their friendship. McKennitt argued that much of the book contained confidential personal information that Ash had no right to publish. The British courts found that there had indeed been a breach of confidence and a misuse of McKennitt's private information, and the case is likely to set important precedents in British law on the privacy of celebrities.^[7] The House of Lords affirmed the lower court's decisions in 2007.

2006 and later[link]

In September 2006, McKennitt performed live at the Alhambra. The performance premiered on PBS and in August 2007 was released on a three-disc DVD/CD set titled Nights from the Alhambra.

In 2008, McKennitt wrote and composed a song she titled "To The Fairies They Draw Near" as the theme song for Disney's direct-to-video animated film Tinker Bell. She also provided the narration for the film.^[8]

In early 2008, she returned to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios to record A Midwinter Night’s Dream, an extended version of her 1995 mini-album A Winter Garden: Five Songs for the Season. The album was released on October 28, 2008.^[9]

Since the release of An Ancient Muse, Loreena has toured consistently, with a European and North American tour in the spring of 2007, an extensive cross Canada and United States tour in the fall of 2007, a summer tour of Europe in 2008 and a Mediterranean tour in the summer of 2009 with stops in Greece,^[10] Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Hungary and Italy.

On September 17, 2009, McKennitt announced that she planned to release a two-disc album titled "A Mediterranean Odyssey" in the fall of 2009. The first CD, "From Istanbul to Athens," consisted of ten new live recordings made during McKennitt’s 2009 Mediterranean Tour, including songs she had never before recorded in concert. The second CD, "The Olive and the Cedar," had a Mediterranean theme which McKennitt herself curated. It contained previously released studio recordings created between the years of 1994 and 2006.

November 16, 2010 saw the US release (November 12 for Europe) of McKennitt's latest studio album, "The Wind That Shakes the Barley." Recorded at the Sharon Temple, Ontario, it consists of nine traditional Celtic songs. "Every once and again there is a pull to return to one's own roots or beginnings, with the perspective of time and experience, to feel the familiar things you once loved and love still," says Loreena.

Documentaries[link]

Late in the 1990s, McKennitt created No Journey's End, a half-hour documentary, for American television. In it, she discussed the influences behind her music. No Journey's End contained excerpts from several songs from the albums Parallel Dreams, The Visit, and The Mask and Mirror. It also shows live performances of the songs "The Lady of Shalott," "Santiago," and "The Dark Night of the Soul." It was later released on DVD and VHS, the former also containing music videos for "The Mummers' Dance" and "The Bonny Swans." A bonus copy of the DVD was included with the 2004 remastered versions of McKennitt's CDs.

In 2008, Loreena released A Moveable Musical Feast, based on her 2007 An Ancient Muse tour. The DVD included interviews with Loreena, her band, crew, fans and professional colleagues from the Canadian music industry.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Live albums[link]

Compilations[link]

EPs[link]

Boxed sets[link]

• The Journey Begins (2008)

Singles[link]

Videos[link]

• H.M.S. Pinafore Live performance recorded during the 1981 Stratford Festival in Stratford Ontario, Canada, starring Michael Burgess, Katherine Terrell, Eric Donkin, Kenneth Pearl, Jim White, et al.; Loreena McKennitt performed in the chorus. (CBC VHS 1986)
• The Mummers' Dance (1997)
• The Bonny Swans
• Nights from the Alhambra (2007, Live concert in Spain premiered on PBS)^[22]
• A Moveable Musical Feast (2008, A tour documentary from Loreena's 2007 North American Tour)^[22]

Other[link]

• No Journey’s End (half-hour profile, aired on PBS; DVD)
• Heaven on Earth (TV Movie 1987 - played "Lady Traveler")
• Highlander III (Soundtrack contribution)
• The Santa Clause (Soundtrack contribution, "The Bells of Christmas")
• Léolo (Soundtrack contribution)
• Una casa con vista al mar (Soundtrack contribution)
• The Mists Of Avalon (Soundtrack use)
• The Burning Times (Soundtrack contribution)
• Due South (Soundtrack use)
• Northern Exposure (Soundtrack use)
• Tinker Bell (Direct to DVD movie, 2008 - Narrator)
• Soldier (Soundtrack use)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Loreena McKennitt

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Loreena McKennitt

• Official website
• Loreena McKennitt interview from the echoes public radio show

Marco Polo
Portrait of Marco Polo[Note 1]
Born	c. 1254 presumably in Venice, Italy
Died	January 9, 1324(1324-01-09) (aged 69) Venice, Venetian Republic
Resting place	Church of San Lorenzo 45°15′41″N 12°12′15″E / 45.2613°N 12.2043°E / 45.2613; 12.2043
Occupation	Merchant, Explorer
Known for	The Travels of Marco Polo
Spouse	Donata Badoer
Children	Fantina, Bellela, and Moretta
Parents	Mother: Unknown Father: Niccolò Polo

Marco Polo (ⁱ/ˈmɑrkoʊ ˈpoʊloʊ/; Italian pronunciation: [ˈmarko ˈpɔːlo]; c. 1254 – January 9, 1324)^[1] was a Venetian merchant traveler^[2][3] from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had three children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo.

Their pioneering journey inspired Christopher Columbus^[4] and others. Marco Polo's other legacies include Venice Marco Polo Airport, the Marco Polo sheep, and several books and films. He also had an influence on European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.

Life[link]

Early life and Asian travel[link]

The exact time and place of Marco Polo's birth are unknown, and current theories are mostly conjectural. One possible place of birth is Venice's former contrada of San Giovanni Crisostomo, which is sometimes presented by historians as the birthplace, and it is generally accepted that Marco Polo was born in the Venetian Republic with most biographers pointing towards Venice itself as Marco Polo's home town.^[5] Some biographers suggest that Polo was born in the town of Korčula (Curzola), on the island of Korčula in today's Croatia, however there is no proof to this claim.^[6][7] The most quoted specific date of Polo's birth is somewhere "around 1254".^{[Note 2]} His father Niccolò was a merchant who traded with the Middle East, becoming wealthy and achieving great prestige.^[8][9] Niccolò and his brother Maffeo set off on a trading voyage, before Marco was born.^[9] In 1260, Niccolò and Maffeo were residing in Constantinople when they foresaw a political change; they liquidated their assets into jewels and moved away.^[8] According to The Travels of Marco Polo, they passed through much of Asia, and met with the Kublai Khan.^[10] Meanwhile, Marco Polo's mother died, and he was raised by an aunt and uncle.^[9] Polo was well educated, and learned merchant subjects including foreign currency, appraising, and the handling of cargo ships,^[9] although he learned little or no Latin.^[8]

Map of the journey

In 1269, Niccolò and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time. In 1271, Marco Polo (at seventeen years of age), his father, and his uncle set off for Asia on the series of adventures that were later documented in Marco's book. They returned to Venice in 1295, 24 years later, with many riches and treasures. They had traveled almost 15,000 miles (24,000 km).^[9]

Genoese captivity and later life[link]

Upon the Polos' return to Italy, Venice was at war with Genoa.^[11] Genoese admiral Lamba D'Oria overwhelmed a Venetian fleet at the Battle of Curzola near the island of Korčula, and Polo was taken prisoner.^[11] He spent several months of his imprisonment dictating a detailed account of his travels to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa,^[9] who incorporated tales of his own as well as other collected anecdotes and current affairs from China. The book soon spread throughout Europe in manuscript form, and became known as The Travels of Marco Polo. It depicts the Polos' journeys throughout Asia, giving Europeans their first comprehensive look into the inner workings of the Far East, including China, India, and Japan.^[12]

While Polo's book describes paper money and the burning of coal, it fails to mention the Great Wall of China, chopsticks, and footbinding, making skeptics wonder if Marco Polo had really gone to China, or wrote his book based on hearsay.^[13] Yet, if the purpose of Polo's tales was to impress others with tales of his high esteem and fond regard in an advanced civilization, then the shrewd thing for Polo to do would be to omit those details that would cause his listeners to scoff at the Chinese with a sense of European superiority. Furthermore, researchers note that the Great Wall familiar to us today is a Ming structure, post-dating Marco Polo's travels by more than two centuries. The Yuan rulers whom Polo served, as well as the preceding Jin and Liao Empires controlled territories both north and south of the today's wall, and would have no reasons to maintain any fortifications that may have remained there from the earlier dynasties.^[14] Other Europeans who traveled to Khanbaliq during the Yuan Dynasty, such as Giovanni de' Marignolli and Odoric of Pordenone, said nothing about the wall either.^[14] Finally, the hearsay theory does not explain the absence of chop stick or foot binding reports. University of Tübingen researcher Hans Ulrich Vogel stated that Polo's description of paper money and salt production supported his presence in China.^[15]

Polo was finally released from captivity in August 1299,^[9] and returned home to Venice, where his father and uncle had purchased a large house in the central quarter named contrada San Giovanni Crisostomo. The company continued its activities and Marco soon became a wealthy merchant. Polo financed other expeditions, but never left Venice again. In 1300, he married Donata Badoer, the daughter of Vitale Badoer, a merchant.^[16] They had three daughters, called Fantina, Bellela and Moreta.^[17]

Death[link]

San Lorenzo di Venezia church in the sestiere of Castello of Venice, where Polo was buried. The photo was taken after the church was rebuilt.

In 1323, Polo was confined to bed, due to illness. On January 8, 1324, despite physicians' efforts to treat him, Polo was on his deathbed. To write and certify the will, his family requested Giovanni Giustiniani, a priest of San Procolo. His wife, Donata, and his three daughters were appointed by him as co-executrices. The church was entitled by law to a portion of his estate; he approved of this and ordered that a further sum be paid to the convent of San Lorenzo, the place where he wished to be buried.^[1] He also set free a "Tartar slave" who may have accompanied him from Asia.^[18]

He divided up the rest of his assets, including several properties, between individuals, religious institutions, and every guild and fraternity to which he belonged. He also wrote-off multiple debts including 300 lire that his sister-in-law owed him, and others for the convent of San Giovanni, San Paolo of the Order of Preachers, and a cleric named Friar Benvenuto. He ordered 220 soldi be paid to Giovanni Giustiniani for his work as a notary and his prayers.^[1] The will, which was not signed by Polo, but was validated by then relevant "signum manus" rule, by which the testator only had to touch the document to make it abide to the rule of law,^[19] was dated January 9, 1324. Due to the Venetian law stating that the day ends at sunset, the exact date of Marco Polo's death cannot be determined, but it was between the sunsets of January 8 and 9, 1324.^[1]

Travels of Marco Polo[link]

A miniature from Il Milione.

An authoritative version of Marco Polo's book does not exist, and the early manuscripts differ significantly. The published versions of his book either rely on single scripts, blend multiple versions together or add notes to clarify, for example in the English translation by Henry Yule. Another English translation by A.C. Moule and Paul Pelliot, published in 1938, is based on the Latin manuscript which was found in the library of the Cathedral of Toledo in 1932, and is 50% longer than other versions.^[20] Approximately 150 variants in various languages are known to exist, and without the availability of a printing press many errors were made during copying and translation, resulting in many discrepancies.^[21] Polo related his memoirs to Rustichello da Pisa while both were prisoners of the Genova Republic. Rustichello wrote The Devisament du Monde in Langues d'Oil, a lingua franca of crusaders and western merchants in the orient.^[22] The idea probably was to create a handbook for merchants, essentially a text on weights, measures and distances.^[23]

Narrative[link]

A page from Il Milione, from a manuscript believed to date between 1298–1299.

The book starts with a preface about his father and uncle traveling to Bolghar where Prince Berke Khan lived. A year later, they went to Ukek^[24] and continued to Bukhara. There, an envoy from Levant invited them to meet Kublai Khan, who had never met Europeans.^[25] In 1266, they reached the seat of the Kublai Khan at Dadu, present day Beijing, China. Khan received the brothers with hospitality and asked them many questions regarding the European legal and political system.^[26] He also inquired about the Pope and Church in Rome.^[27] After the brothers answered the questions he tasked them with delivering a letter to the Pope, requesting 100 Christians acquainted with the Seven Arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, arithmetic, music and astronomy). Kublai Khan requested that an envoy bring him back oil of the lamp in Jerusalem.^[28] The long sede vacante between the death of Pope Clement IV in 1268 and the election of his successor delayed the Polos in fulfilling Khan's request. They followed the suggestion of Theobald Visconti, then papal legate for the realm of Egypt, and returned to Venice in 1269 or 1270 to await the nomination of the new Pope, which allowed Marco to see his father for the first time, at the age of fifteen or sixteen.^[29]

Polo wearing a Tartar outfit, age of print unknown.

In 1271, Niccolò, Maffeo and Marco Polo embarked on their voyage to fulfill Khan's request. They sailed to Acre, and then rode on camels to the Persian port of Hormuz. They wanted to sail to China, but the ships there were not seaworthy, so they continued overland until reaching Khan's summer palace in Shangdu, near present-day Zhangjiakou. Three and a half years after leaving Venice, when Marco was about 21 years old, Khan welcomed the Polos into his palace.^[9] The exact date of their arrival is unknown, but scholars estimate it to be between 1271 and 1275.^{[Note 3]} On reaching the Yuan court, the Polos presented the sacred oil from Jerusalem and the papal letters to their patron.^[8]

Marco knew four languages, and the family had accumulated a great deal of knowledge and experience that was useful to Khan. It is possible that he became a government official;^[9] he wrote about many imperial visits to China's southern and eastern provinces, the far south and Burma.^[30]

Kublai Khan declined the Polos' requests to leave China. They became worried about returning home safely, believing that if Khan died, his enemies might turn against them because of their close involvement with the ruler. In 1292, Khan's great-nephew, then ruler of Persia, sent representatives to China in search of a potential wife, and they asked the Polos to accompany them, so they were permitted to return to Persia with the wedding party – which left that same year from Zaitun in southern China on a fleet of 14 junks. The party sailed to the port of Singapore, travelled north to Sumatra, sailed west to the Trincomalee port of Jaffna under Savakanmaindan and to Pandyan of Tamilakkam. Describing the Pandyan kingdom under Lord Emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I as the richest empire in existence, Polo arrived during the reign of Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, son of Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and one of five brother kings on the continent.^[31] Eventually Polo crossed the Arabian Sea to Hormuz. The two-years voyage was a perilous one – of the six hundred people (not including the crew) in the convoy only eighteen had survived (including all three Polos).^[32] The Polos left the wedding party after reaching Hormuz and travelled overland to the port of Trebizond on the Black Sea, the present day Trabzon.^[9]

Legacy[link]

Further exploration[link]

Handwritten notes by Christopher Columbus on a Latin edition of Polo's book.

The Fra Mauro map, published c. 1450 by the Venetian monk Fra Mauro.

Other lesser-known European explorers had already travelled to China, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, but Polo's book meant that their journey was the first to be widely known. Christopher Columbus was inspired enough by Polo's description of the Far East to visit those lands for himself; a copy of the book was among his belongings, with handwritten annotations.^[4] Bento de Góis, inspired by Polo's writings of a Christian kingdom in the east, travelled 4,000 miles (6,400 km) in three years across Central Asia. He never found the kingdom, but ended his travels at the Great Wall of China in 1605, proving that Cathay was what Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) called "China".^[33]

Commemoration[link]

The Marco Polo sheep, a subspecies of Ovis aries, is named after the explorer,^[34] who described it during his crossing of Pamir (ancient Mount Imeon) in 1271.^{[Note 4]} In 1851, a three-masted Clipper built in Saint John, New Brunswick also took his name; the Marco Polo was the first ship to sail around the world in under six months.^[35] The airport in Venice is named Venice Marco Polo Airport,^[36] and the frequent flyer program of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific is known as the "Marco Polo Club".^[37] The travels of Marco Polo are fictionalised in Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne's Messer Marco Polo and Gary Jennings' 1984 novel The Journeyer. Polo also appears as the pivotal character in Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities. The 1982 television miniseries, Marco Polo, directed by Giuliano Montaldo and depicting Polo's travels, won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for six more.^[38] Marco Polo also appears as a Great Explorer in the 2008 strategy video game Civilization Revolution.^[39]

Cartography[link]

Marco Polo's travels may have had some influence on the development of European cartography, ultimately leading to the European voyages of exploration a century later.^[40] The 1453 Fra Mauro map was said by Giovanni Battista Ramusio to have been partially based on the one brought from Cathay by Marco Polo:

That fine illuminated world map on parchment, which can still be seen in a large cabinet alongside the choir of their monastery (the Camaldolese monastery of San Michele di Murano) was by one of the brothers of the monastery, who took great delight in the study of cosmography, diligently drawn and copied from a most beautiful and very old nautical map and a world map that had been brought from Cathay by the most honourable Messer Marco Polo and his father.

—Giovanni Battista Ramusio^[40]

See also[link]

Venice portal

• Chronology of European exploration of Asia
• Silk Road, which Marco Polo traveled.
• 1284 Yuan expedition to Sri Lanka
• Did Marco Polo go to China?

Notes[link]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

Further reading[link]

• Marco Polo (1918). William Marsden. ed. The Travels of Marco Polo. LONDON: J.M. Dent & Sons. p. 461. http://books.google.com/books?id=VovVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 2011-05-29. (Original from the University of Wisconsin – Madison)
• Daftary, Farhad (1994), The Assassin legends: myths of the Ismaʻilis (2 ed.), I.B. Tauris, p. 213, ISBN 978-1-85043-705-5 
• Hart, H. Henry (1948), Marco Polo, Venetian Adventurer, Kessinger Publishing 
• Otfinoski, Steven (2003), Marco Polo: to China and back, New York: Benchmark Books, ISBN 0-7614-1480-0 
• The Travels of Marco Polo – Volume 1^[1] and Volume 2,^[2] written by Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa, were published by Project Gutenberg
• Yang, Dori Jones (2011-01-11), Daughter of Xanadu, Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, ISBN 978-0-385-73923-8  (Young Adult novel)
• Dalrymple, William (1989), In Xanadu 

Television[link]

• In the Footsteps of Marco Polo is a 2009 PBS documentary about two friends (Denis Belliveau and Francis O'Donnell), who conceived of the ultimate road trip to retrace Marco Polo's journey from Venice to China via land and sea.^[3]
• A 1982 miniseries featured Ken Marshall and Ruocheng Ying.^[4]
• The 2007 television miniseries, Marco Polo, starring Brian Dennehy as Kublai Khan, and Ian Somerhalder as Marco, portrays Marco Polo being left alone in China while his uncle and father return to Venice, to be reunited with him many years later.^[5]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marco Polo

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Marco Polo

• Marco Polo's house in Venice, near the church of San Giovanni Grisostomo
• National Geographic Marco Polo: Journey from Venice to China
• In the Footsteps of Marco Polo: A Journey through the Met to the Land of the Great Khan
• Marco Polo at the Open Directory Project
• Works by Marco Polo at Project Gutenberg
• Marco Polo at the Internet Movie Database

Enrico Macias
Enrico Macias in Tel Aviv 2011
Background information
Birth name	Gaston Ghrenassia
Born	(1938-12-11) 11 December 1938 (age 73) Constantine
Origin	French Algeria
Genres	Chanson
Occupations	Composer, singer, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar
Website	Enrico Macias Official Website

Gaston Ghrenassia, known by his stage name Enrico Macias, (born 11 December 1938 in Constantine, then in French Algeria) is an Algerian French Pied noir singer and musician. He is popular throughout the world and has travelled extensively for fifty years, from the early 1960s to the present.

Early years[link]

He was born to a Jewish family in Constantine, Algeria, and played the guitar from childhood. His father, Sylvain Ghrenassia (1914–2004),^[1] was a violinist in an orchestra that played primarily maalouf, Andalo-Arabic music. Gaston started playing with the Cheikh Raymond Leyris Orchestra at 15.^[2]

He pursued a career as a school teacher, but continued practicing the guitar. In 1961, the Algerian War of Independence was raging, and the situation became untenable for the Jewish and European residents of Constantine. Of immense effect on Gaston Ghrenassia was the assassination in 1961 of his father-in-law and musician Cheikh Raymond Leyris by the National Liberation Front (FLN). Gaston left Algeria with his wife, Suzy, on 29 July 1961, eleven months before the end of the Algerian War of Independence, and went into exile in mainland France. He has not been permitted to return to Algeria ever since.He was a member of a militia as part of the french army during the Algerian War of Independence which committed crimes.