Roots and Wings Co-Op

San Marco Church
Rick Steves (Travel Guide) on St Mark’s Basilica (3 min video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE1f8kkx5jE
A longer documentary (50 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKUd8QbLp3U

Venice, Italy
Look this up in any atlas.
What do kids notice? - Venice is actually built on a group of about 120 small islands
Identify the ocean in which Venice is situated

Venice waterways
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbl4JmNCh6M
https://www.viator.com/en-NZ/tours/Venice/Venice-Walking-Tour-and-Gondola-Ride/d522-2495TOUR2

Gondola’s
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/venice\

Arsenal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8cRrACSvms

Doge’s Palace
Rick Steves Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_u3js2DSM

The Lion of Saint Mark
Symbolism
St Mark, represented as a lion, is derived from Mark’s description of John the Baptist as
"...The voice of the one who cries in the wilderness: Prepare Ye the way of the Lord, make
straight his paths”, which artists compared to a roaring lion. The wings come from Ezekiel
1:10 and the application of the prophet's vision of four winged creatures to the evangelists.
These appear again in Revelation 4:7.
A second connection of St. Mark and lions comes from a tale recounted by Severus Ebn-El-
Mokafa: "Once a lion and lioness appeared to John Mark and his father Arostalis while they
were traveling in Jordan. The father was very scared and begged his son to escape, while he
awaited his fate. John Mark assured his father that Jesus Christ would save them and began
to pray. The two beasts fell dead and as a result of this miracle, the father believed in
Christ."
In some depictions the lion rests his front paws on the ground, often in cities with rivers or
in ones close to water, indicating the Venetian balanced power on land and sea.

Galley Ship
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by rowing. The galley is characterized by
its long, slender hull, shallow draft and low freeboard (clearance between sea and railing).

Tides in Venice
Interesting pictures of a flooded Venice after unusually high tides - this phenomenon
is known as the Aqua Alta, and results in the occasional flooding of the lagoon.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2018/oct/29/venice-flooded-by-high-tide-in-pictures

Chapter 2

Places of interest
Baghdad, Alexandria, Golden Kanbalu in Cathay (ancient name for China), Persia
(now Iran)
Find these on the map

Kublai Khan
Emperor of Cathay
Kublai Khan (September 23, 1215–February 18, 1294) was a Mongol emperor who founded
the Yuan Dynasty in China. He was the most famous grandson of the great conqueror
Genghis Khan, expanding his grandfather's empire and ruling the vast territory. He was the
first non-Han emperor to conquer all of China.

An interesting article on him (only if kids interested)
https://www.thoughtco.com/kublai-khan-195624

Chapter 3

Marco left Venice in 1271 at the age of 17.

Golden tablet

To make sure the brothers would be given every assistance on their travels, Kublai
Khan presented them with a golden tablet (or paiza in Chinese, gerege in
Mongolian) a foot long and three inches wide (30cm wide 8cm thick) and
inscribed with the words: "By the strength of the eternal Heaven, holy be the
Khan's name. Let him that pays him not reverence be killed." The golden
tablet was the special VIP passport, authorizing the travelers to receive
throughout the Great Khan's dominions such horses, lodging, food and
guides as they required. It took the Polos three full years to return
home, in April 1269.

Kublai Khan
Curious about European religion, Kublai Khan apparently requested that the travelers bring
him 100 Christian men from whom to learn more about the religion, as well as some holy oil of the lamp in Jerusalem. Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Europe where they picked up
the young Marco Polo and somehow procured the oil, but not the 100 Christians, requested
by the emperor, before journeying East again.

Location of Port
Acre, near Jerusalem

Tartar language
The Tatar language is a Turkic language spoken by Tatars mainly located in modern
Tatarstan (European Russia), as well as Siberia.

Yurt

Possible Narration Ideas
These ideas come from:
https://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/narration/

What have you learned about the character of Marco Polo so far?
Describe seeing the Golden Tablet for the first time and what it means to you.
Can you think of a character from another story who could’ve been a kindred spirit to
Marco Polo as a 17 year old adventurer? Why?
Write a newspaper report of the return of Niccolo Polo to Venice. Include ads, weather, and
any other elements that would give the feel of the time period.
Draw a galley ship.
Draw a map of the start of the journey.

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