Satellite image of the island of Madagascar. Photo Credit: Pinterest via Nikhil Advani
Marco Polo, the Venetian, is often held up as the most wholesome descriptor for a curious explorer and traveler because the man who bore the name continues to be revered as one whose travelogue and insights are unrivaled by any since the Middle Ages.
We have previously submitted that Polo’s allure seems to remain a result of the uncritical appreciation of the 14th-century Berber explorer Ibn Battuta who traveled more miles and to more places than Polo did. Unfortunately, even for those who are aware of Battuta’s feat, there is a temptation to describe him as “the Marco Polo of North Africa or the Middle East”.