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Global Tourism Was Built on Headless Blemmyes

The Book of Marvels is the kind of show that’s hard to avoid at archival art institutions, wherein problematic historical content, aesthetic appeal, and fantasy all intersect.

By Natalie Haddad

https://hyperallergic.com/1012368/global-tourism-was-built-on-headless-blemmyes/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Remembering%20Koyo%20Kouoh&utm_campaign=D051325

The Travels of Marco Polo at PG:
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/10636
https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/12410

#books #medieval_art

City of Ayas visited by Marco Polo in 1271, from Le Livre des Merveilles.

The illustration of the City of Ayas from Le Livre des Merveilles (The Book of Marvels), which recounts the travels of Marco Polo, is a richly detailed medieval miniature that reflects the style and imagination of 14th-century manuscript art rather than precise topographical accuracy.

In the scene, the port city of Ayas (modern Yumurtalık, Turkey) is depicted as a walled urban center nestled beside the sea. The illustration shows fortified towers, crenellated walls, and clustered buildings with red and blue tiled roofs, suggesting a bustling, important trade hub. Ships with billowing sails float in the adjacent waters, indicating Ayas’s role as a key Mediterranean port in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia during the 13th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Travels_of_Marco_Polo#/media/File:AyasMarcoPolo.JPG

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