His name was Marco Polo .
Zheng He proposed an offer to Marco Polo , which he accepted . He also asked him if he knew any doctor to treat his ill crew , but Marco Polo didn ’ t know anyone . Zheng He was still on the hunt for his missing team members . They agreed to meet the next day to talk about the life in Hamadan .
It was late . Darkness was bleeding into the sky . The team retired for the night . The fever was now alarming . All through the night , shrieks and cries could be heard . Unfortunately , nobody could do anything to help .
As the early morning sun rose through the seemingly everlasting darkness , swollen , ugly buboes appeared on the sufferers ’ necks . Within an hour , victims started to die . Following this tragic event , Zheng He led the remaining crew out and decided to go and barter for food ; supplies were low .
They walked somberly to a food stall and started looking for dried foods ; these would last longer than most other foods . The merchant was easy going and flexible . Zheng He and the merchant settled immediately on a fee and purchased the food : figs , apricots , date palms and grapes .
Zheng He and his team approached the ancient statue Shir-e Sangi . The stone lion was bold and very symbolic to Hamadan . He recognized Marco Polo instantly and thanked him for being so tolerant with his offer . They then started a conversation about the town of Hamadan .
" Lots of sicknesses are rapidly spreading around , probably of the plague ," commented Marco Polo
" Yes , unfortunately , a third of my crew died of illness this morning ," replied Zheng He in a melancholic tone .
“ Also , thieves seem to be everywhere around us . This is not a surprise as Hamadan is the pinnacle of the Silk Road .”
“ That explains why our water got stolen .”
The conversation continued and Zheng He mentioned the inexplicable disappearance of some of his team . Marco Polo simply ignored him as another merchant was calling him .
“ I will be continuing my journey to Gujarat tomorrow ,” stated Marco Polo eagerly . " It was a pleasure to meet you , and I wish you well in the future ," replied Zheng He . “ Good luck in your journey to the west ,” concluded Marco Polo .
As the team departed Hamadan , they asked a merchant if he had seen any people with Asian heritage wearing Chinese silk garments looking confused and somewhat lost .
" I saw some people with Marco Polo . He said that they were intrigued by his future expeditions so they followed him ," said the merchant casually .
“ Did they actually do that ?” boomed Zheng He . “ Yes , many others saw it too .” Zheng He was determined to get his crew back : “ One day , I will come back and get them !” He eventually calmed down , reflected , and smiled : “ I guess I was not the only explorer on my junk !”