Marco Polo And His Travels Through Asia Essays - Marco Polo

Marco Polo And His Travels Through Asia Marco Polo and His Travels through Asia The Question I am asking in my essay is, ?Why did Marco Polo go I think his reason for exploring new lands is not because he had dreams of conquest, but because he was in fact trying to find a new trading market. Marco Polo was born in Venice, Italy in 1254. His father Niccolo was a prosperous merchant who imported luxury goods from Asia. When Marco was just six years old, his father sailed off to Istanbul(then called Constantinople) and didn't come back for nine years. Marco's mother died shortly after his 16th birthday, just before his father got back from his voyage. Two years later he set out again, this time taking his son. Marco Polo was just 17 years old when he left Venice for the first time in his life . He would nearly be 42 years of age when he saw it again. So the journey to Asia had begun. The first place the Polo's reached was lesser Armenia where Marco had begun to observe new and different kinds of people. He was not always impressed. ?In former times its gentry were esteemed expert and brave soldiers but at the present day great drinkers.? From Lesser Armenia, the Polo's traveled to Anatolia in Eastern Turkey (then called Turkomania). Here Marco marveled at the horses, mules, handsome carpets and fine skills. Next came greater Armenia where Mount Arat towered nearly eighteen thousand feet into the heavens. At the top of this mountain, Marco knew, Noah's ark finally came to rest, but there was too much snow that covered the upper slopes so that no one could climb it and search for the ark. ?No one did climb it until 1829. Those explorers did not find the ark, but later explorers found evidence of fossilized wood.? The next place the Polo's voyage took them to was Zorzania (today part of Georgia). Marco became interested at a geyser grushing oil. He noticed that people used the oil to cure rashes and skin related problems, and also burned it for light. ?The European people had forgotten this method which their ancestors would be familiar with .? In the city of Mosul, the Polo's saw the finely woven cloth still called muslin today. The Nestorian Christians that lived there especially interested Marco. ?Although Marco wrote about the city of Baghdad, it is not yet certain that the Polo's actually visited it. Still, Marco did hear many miraculous stories about the area and was eager to write about it? . Next, the Polo's arrived in Tabriz, the greatest pearl market in the world. They moved on quickly to Saba in Persia. Marco saw the tombs of the three wise men Casper, Melchior and Balthasar, who of course visited the baby Jesus. ?Marco had high Praise for Persia, including horses, donkeys, grain fruits, wild game, military equipment, beautiful embroidery done by women and young people, and turquoises(Turkish stone)? . The next place the Polo's visited was probably the biggest obstacle thus far. They entered a place in Persia overwhelmed with bandits known as ?Karaunas?. ? Karaunas scoured the country and plunder everything in their reach? . For safety's sake, the Polo's joined up with a larger caravan to travel with through the region. However, the bandits still went after the large caravan and attacked it murdering many people and others were sold into slavery. Luckily, the Polo's escaped without any harm and continued their long journey. The next part of their journey, the Polo's decided to go to the Plateau of Iran and into the city of Hormuz on the Persian Gulf. None of the Polo's particularly liked Hormuz. The summer air was poisonous. ?Marco says, sixty-five hundred soldiers were caught outside the city during a windstorm. Everyone of them suffocated. When the people of Hormuz tried to bury them, the corpses crumbled apart? . Their journey then took them across a huge salt desert whose green water was too bitter and salty to drink. They then made it to a place called Tunocain. ?In my opinion, this place has the most beautiful women in the world? said Marco. From Tunocain, the Polo's went on to

Compare Art essays

Compare Art essays I will compare and contrast two pieces sculptures from the Ancient Egypt Era. The first is a block style statue of a man sitting. It is a small sculpture dates back to circa 664 - 525 B.C.E. The second sculpture is also a small block style statue of a man sitting. This statue dates back to circa 1279 - 1213 B.C.E. The first figure is a seated man with hieroglyphic text carved across the front and sides of the sculpture. This type of statue is usually placed in tombs or temples. It is believed that the markings on the statue are offering formulas that were believed to bring blessings to the deceased in the afterworld. This statue is made of a sold block of stone that and has detailed image of the head and shoulders. The body and arms of the man are only slightly noticeable because of the lack of focus on this area. The area of the body is mainly an outline with the text carved around the large block section. We can tell from the sculpture that he is sitting with his knees bent and his arms crossed over his knees as if he is sitting and watching over the deceased. The second sculpture is a very similar piece in the fact that it is also a man sitting. It was also carved in the same style as the first. We have a man who is sitting with his knees bent. Again we can see that the arms are crossed over the knees as he sits. His piece has less carvings of text on the side as the other statue. In this sculpture we see as small carving of what is believed to be the god of Ptah-Tatenen. This piece was placed in the tomb of Nedjem and was to represent Nedjem for eternity. The style of both pieces was the same. The detail on each piece was slightly different. The sculpture took more detail to create the small likeness of the god between the legs in the second sculpture. Both sculptures have a detailed face of a man and the outline of a man sitting. This outline of the body in the block of ston ...

Policy paper on current international problem Essay

Policy paper on current international problem - Essay Example The Palestinian community has also recently been fractured by the Fatah/Hamas split, adding a new and potentially explosive dynamic to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Despite decades of attempts at resolving this conflict, we are at an impasse and without a resolution in sight. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains one of the most enduring and complex disputes of modern times. Although many believe that current fighting began with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, historian Benny Morris traces the origin of this conflict to early Jewish settlement in the Ottoman region of Filastin (modern day Israel/Palestine) as early as 1881 – 67 years before the state of Israel was created. As such, he describes the conflict as a Zionist-Arab dispute and not solely as a problem between modern day Israelis and Palestinians (Morris, 2001). The origins of the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians are important today because two key issues between the warring parties remain largely unchanged since the late ninetieth century. For more than one hundred years these two fundamental issues have driven, contributed to, and exacerbated the protracted nature of this conflict. The first major issue is territorial and the question of land. At its very core, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is a conflict over land; a tiny sliver of land, semi arid and dry, bordering the Mediterranean Sea and roughly the size of New Jersey (Central Intelligence Agency, 2008). The second major issue is the juxtaposition of Israeli and Palestinian identities; competing nationalisms which were at odds decades before the establishment of the modern state of Israel. It is these two core issues, disputed land and competing nationalisms, which are fundamental to the conflict and which must be tackled with vigor if one seeks to resolve the crisis. Historically speaking, few places on earth share the religious importance of present-day

The Role Of Technology In Economic Development Research Paper

The Role Of Technology In Economic Development - Research Paper Example People encounter improvements in their living through economic development occurring in a nation. The scope of this study is primarily limited to the economy of United States. However the existing literature and the different viewpoints offered by various researchers and authors related to technology and economic development have been included in this study. Economic development can be viewed from the institutionalism perspective which states that technology forms an important driving force for the economic development of a nation. However this has been argued by the ecological economists who do not consider technology being the only factor that can lead to development of an economy. Trade and technology are found to be positively correlated with each other and most of the nations using greater volume of technology are the most economically developed nations of the world. Hence technology plays a vital role in the sustainable growth and development of an economy. Technology has been defined by economists as knowledge or ideas that facilitate increased production of output from a given input. A greater amount of technology implies that the ability of producing output is enhanced using the same amount of input as was used earlier. Technology can be considered to be composed of various things. It can imply different types of engineering discoveries like the inventions of light bulb or airplane, basic knowledge, concepts related to services or production, etc. The importance of technology is evident because of the fact that inputs of regular quantities are associated with diminishing returns. Keeping other things constant, the utilization of more inputs leads to lesser amount of outputs that can be produced through each of the additional inputs. However, since similar concept is applicable to the overall economy, use of technology does not lead to diminishing returns. Hence it has been observed that technology has a significant role to play in the process of overco ming various limitations that are imposed through the phenomenon of diminishing returns to capital and labor. Prophecies of doom have been announced in various points of time in the historical past which was based on the concept that the scarcity of one of the inputs would result in the halt of economic growth. However technological advancements have disproven all of these prophecies so far. Technology has helped us to formulate ways through which we can produce more output from a given input and hence reduced the dangers that are imposed through the limitations of the availability of certain resources. The role of technology in the economic development of a nation can be viewed from different perspectives like the economical and social perspectives. Development is actually referred to the various improvements that occur in the lives of people living in a community. This study entails about the various roles played by technology towards the economic growth and development of a natio n. The scope of this study is mostly limited to the economy of United States. However it has been compared and contrasted with various other economies and from the global

Shark Cull Oral Essay Example for Free

Shark Cull Oral Essay Does any of you in the class know the themed music for jaws? of course you do, we all do. Because sharks are really scary arnt they? Sadly Films such as this as well as the media have built up this huge reputation of sharks being threatening, alarming ; Dangerous monsters of the sea. Its a tragedy! Today I will be arguing for the rights of these misrepresented sharks and how this new catch and kill policy is completely wrong. Firstly Id like to inform you on what the catch and kill policy actually is. It was a new policy introduced around January by the Western Australia Premier, Colin Barnett due to 6 fatal attacks by sharks in the past 2 years. Barnets plan to combat this is by killing off any sharks which exceed 3 metres long in the Western Australia waters. He has implemented 2 methods. Setting out â€Å"Drum lines† (baited hooks attached to drums) a kilometer of the busy shores and also paying professional fisherman to hunt down Great whites, Tiger sharks ; Bull sharks in designated â€Å"kill zones†. Pretty appalling isnt it? Especially when the Great White shark is an endangered species. 90% of the worlds great white sharks have been killed, and here we are in a country where we greatly appreciate our beaches and marine life are adding to those statistics. Shark are a predator in the ocean and the potential risks of being attacked by them are known but is killing them really the best solution? Scientist from all over Australia, as well as Marine Life Advocates have been trying to drill in to Barnett that there are better solutions available, and that killing them will have no impact on decreasing the fatal attacks. (Why barrnets doing it, his thoughts behind it) Since 2011 39 people have died in Western Australia due to fatal car incidents, that more then triples the deaths caused by shark. So does this mean that it is to dangerous to be driving on our roads? Is this going to be another up coming law to be made by Barnett? A quick, illogical solution to so called protect the people. Western Australia is a common place for shark sightings. Yet the reasons for this is not because of there growing population but due to the increasing numbers of seals and whales heading in to the shallower waters. Even though this is the case, the chance of a fatal attack is still extremely rare. According to a poll from the UMR research company, 80% of Australians havent changed how often they swim, surf or take part in other recreational actives in the ocean, even though there has been a rise in shark attacks. Australian Citizens and anyone else who decides to go and swim at the beach should be well aware of the potential risks of shark attacks.. The ocean is the home to these species, and us? Where just visitors. People keep getting this thought that the increase of shark attacks are due to the increase in there population, but really its the increase in the human population. Gradually as our population grows, more and more people are going to the beaches and participating in water related activities which leads to an increase in shark encounters. Marine life Activists and others who object to this have stated that it is inhumane, unnecessary and environmentally irresponsible. Throughout Australia there are similar programs that run on the eastern coast that use baited hooks and nets to prevent sharks from entering protected beaches, but the reason why WAs proposal is extra controversial is because theyre targeting great whites. The first shark that was killed since the program began was just after 7am on Australia day. It was a 3m female tiger shark caught in meelup beach. The shark had swallowed a large hook attached to a heavy chain in which caused the animal to become increasingly distressed as it was prevented from swimming. The animal thrashed about in the water in apparent agony until it was shot 4 times in the head at a close range with a .22 calibre rifle. Ever since the laws were passed there has been a lot of backlash from the community. There has been major protests all through out australia as well as internationally in New Zealand ; South Africa. Manly Beach protest organiser Alice Forrest, who is an aquarist at Manly Sea Life Sanctuary has said that the cull is not science based, and rather then helping with tourism all its going to do is give WA a redneck reputation and decrease the amount of tourism there. In the 1960’s and 70’s Hawaii implemented a similar proposal which did more bad then good. The program failed to create any kind of significant decrease in shark attacks but managed to kill over 4000 sharks. The fisherman who has been employed to set and monitor drum lines, and kill and dispose sharks is being paid more then $5,700 a day resulting in over $610,000 for the season. The opposition leader Mark McGowen has stated that the cost is exorbitant and is costing tax payers a lot of money that could have gone towards scientific methods to help save lives. Mr Barnett has said that he gets no enjoyment from seeing these shark dies, but he will put his food forward in trying to protect the people. From saying this, the majority of the Western Australian people are against the laws that Barnett has put in place. The Great White Shark is the top predator of the ocean, meaning that it is not hunted by other animals in the waters. The Great White has been listed as an endangered species due to the over hunting of them for shark teeth and there fins. Fatal snake attacks in Australia have risen from 2 to 5 deaths in 2013. The controversy with this is however is that these particular brown snakes are an Australian protected species so that even though they kill us, We will never kill them. And due to the fact that the great whites roam around waters other then Australians, this makes it okay for us to kill those endangered species. Scientists have estimated that Sharks are pregnant for roughly 18 months causing them to have slow reproduction rates. This means that it is hard for them to recover there over hunted population. What the Government is doing is not saving the people, but killing out an endangered species. There is no evidence that suggests that the killing of these sharks will help to prevent shark attacks. Scientists and shark specialists have been on the governments back about this yet they just dont want to hear it. The reality of this is, that whether you like sharks or they do play a crucial role on this planet. If Shark culling keeps going the way it is then it can begin to tamper with our primary air and food sources. Through out the past 450 million years sharks have kept our seas healthy due to being the apex predator of the ocean. The role of sharks is to keep other marine life in a healthy balance. Sharks also have a major impact on the ecosystem that provides for 1/3 of our worlds food, produces more oxygen than all the rain forests combined, removes half of the atmospheres manmade carbon dioxide and controls our planets temperature and weather. A world without sharks means disastrous effects including the collapse of fisheries and the death of coral reefs. Imagine if sharks do become eliminated from ours waters? Our best natural defence against global warming and the lose of more oxygen then what is produced by all the trees and jungles in the world combined. Going back to Jaws, 2 Australians Ron Valery Taylor who were marine conservationists pioneering cameramen for Spielbergs Jaws have stated that they felt a sense of shame in a way, that they made so many people terrified of sharks ; going in the water. The unfortunate side of the successful movie is how theyve demonised this beautiful majestic creature. So What is it going to take? Thousands of people from WA and all parts of Australia have been coming to together to try and put an end to this absolute disgraceful policy, I think its time for the Government to listen before its to late. We cannot let our shark population being become extinct, We cannot let colin Barnett keep killing these sharks We cannot give up on fighting for the rights of these sharks. Its there water, So stop the slaughter!!!!

poems :: essays research papers

Poems   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Andrew Marvell’s poem, â€Å"To His Coy Mistress,† Marvell starts out by saying how much he loves this girl that even time is not a matter, but halfway through he switches and starts to say that time is nearing and that basically if we do not do the deed now, then, â€Å"And your quaint honor turn to dust, And into ashes all my lust:† (29-30) In Ben Jonson’s poem, â€Å"To Celia,† Jonson begins by laying his game on thick and saying that we need to make love, but halfway through he changes his ways and starts saying that you should not care what others say lets do it, who cares if the maids find out or even your husband, lets just do it. These poems are both carpe diem poems which means to seize the day, and that is just what the writers and the speakers of these poems are doing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both poems start out in about the same manner, by trying to get the female â€Å"to be† with them, but for some reason halfway through they both take the same turn and that turn takes them straight into lust and wild erratic behavior. In Marvell’s poem he basically says that if I cannot have you those worms will the irony in this is that the male organ has been referenced to a phallic object like a worm. He also talks about your quaint honor turning to dust and along with it all my lust, the quaint honor that he is talking about is that girl’s vagina. He is telling her that now is our time to make love and if you do not do it with me now then when you are dead the one thing that you tried to hold on to will be gone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jonson does even worse; in his poem the speaker is trying to seduce a married woman. He tells her that fame and rumors are nothing but toys and can we not delude the eyes of a few household spies. The speaker is putting everything he has into to this woman and trying to sleep with her. â€Å"’Tis no sin love’s fruit to steal; But the sweet theft to reveal,† This poem is from the play Volpone and this poem is being spoken by Volpone, which is interesting because the name Volpone means fox. The mood of the poem is very smooth and sly so the name fox fits perfectly for this guy.

Austria †second world war Essay

Owing their reputation of fine tastes in art and culture, the nation of Austria is proud of their heritage, especially of their fame over the occupation of the Germans in the Second World War. The said country’s status remained to be uncertain after the Allies drove the Nazis away from the country and eventually occupied by the Allies. Austria became really proud of its rich culture and sceneries that were spared by the Nazis. The nation also celebrated its independence 10 years after the Nazis left the country and the cities flourished. Such events that would lead to the development of a country such as war that depicts change, gives a nation a sense of self-importance that is reflected in its culture and the tastes that the inhabitants acquire. The geographical data of Austria may be described as (according to the Encyclopedia Britannica as: â€Å".. largely mountainous country of south-central Europe. Austria extends roughly 340 miles (550 km) from east to west. It is bordered to the west by Switzerland and Liechtenstein, to the northwest by Germany, to the north by the Czech Republic, to the northeast by Slovakia, to the east by Hungary, to the southwest by Italy, and to the south by Slovenia. The capital is Vienna. Austria has an area of 32,378 square miles (83,859 square km). † Austria is one the verge of development these days but still largely dependent on its agricultural side. Most of the raw materials are still sourced from their agricultural fields and lush greeneries. Despite the advent of globalization on its boundaries, Austria remains to be a country of nature. Furthermore, policies of agriculture has been into practice for years in the country so as to protect their source of raw materials. This may be viewed as a strength since the raw materials that the distillery in question may be sourced from the agricultural side of the nation, a cut from the costs that the company may incur. The introduction of the Euro in place of the Austrian Schilling also had a positive effect in the country’s economy. (Anonymous 2006g) This prompted for developments in investors and this can be viewed as a plus factor in considering whether to expand in the nation of Austria or not. Scotch is one of the products in less demand in Austria. Together with the rest of Europe (excluding France, Spain and Germany), Austria constitutes 17% of the total demand for Scotch Whisky in 1995. The small market size of the nation may be viewed as its weakness since the local distilleries would have had the shares that The Olde Distillerie would want to have. For a small company as the company in question, it would a be a negative sign in investing in a country such as that of Austria. Meanwhile, Austria cannot hide such facts that people of their nation demands objects and products of high taste and rich in culture and history such as the scotch whisky. And like other European countries, its rich taste and heritage may be a possible market for the distillery, for as we have stated earlier, the countries are looking at alcohol as a sort of symbol or identity. Not only is the scotch whisky a lucrative product because of its history, but the taste and flavor of the product may be all in all attractive for the market of Austria. 4. Spain Spain’s strategic location enables it to embody a nation rich in culture and experience. Its location can be described as a crossroad in Europe where, many Islamic states are present for the past 800 years of their existence. (Anonymous 2006h) However, despite the Islamic states that pose as an outside force that may influence the country’s belief, Spain remains to be a Catholic country with a strong sense of culture and self-importance.