Following Marco Polo's Silk Road Journey from Venice to Mount Ararat | Marco Polo Reloaded (1/4)

Bradley Mayhew begins his journey in Venice during carnival, searching for the house of Marco Polo. He looks for traces of Venice’s golden age, when powerful families like the Polos traded silk, spices, and precious stones brought by caravans along the Silk Road. Bradley meets a costume designer who shows him medieval clothing and stops at a bookshop to uncover old manuscripts of Marco Polo’s travels. From there, he sets out by ferry across the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

His next stop is Acre, Israel. Once the capital of the Christian Kingdom in the Holy Land for over a century, Acre eventually fell in 1291 when the Crusaders lost control of the city. Bradley continues on to Jerusalem, in search of holy oil, before heading north.

On Syria’s Highway Number One, he plans to travel overland toward China, just as Marco Polo once did. The camel caravans are long gone, replaced by old buses and bustling modern life. In Aleppo, Bradley explores the ancient bazaar and discovers the challenges faced by people in the city today.

Moving into Turkey, he visits Yumurtalık—once known as Layas in Marco Polo’s time—before continuing east by bus and hitchhiking. In Erzincan, he experiences the traditional “Cirit” horseback game, then heads to Erzurum to explore an abandoned blackstone mining village. His journey takes him further to Ani, the deserted and ruined capital of Greater Armenia, before finally reaching Mount Ararat, his last destination in Turkey.

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Chapters
▷ 00:00 - Intro
▷ 01:14 - Venice
▷ 10:43 - Acre
▷ 16:25 - Jerusalem
▷ 18:51 - Syria
▷ 20:13 - Aleppo
▷ 25:54 - Turkey
▷ 30:47 - Divrigi
▷ 34:57 - Cirit
▷ 38:54 - Erzurum
▷ 51:27 - Credits