Rabban Bar Sauma

Rabban Bar Sauma was a Turkic/Mongol monk turned diplomat of the Nestorian Christian faith. He is known for embarking on a pilgrimage from Mongol-controlled China to Jerusalem.

See his journey at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VoyagesOfRabbanBarSauma.jpg, or read the text at http://www.aina.org/books/mokk/mokk.htm

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Ani "In his middle age, Rabban Bar Sauma and one of his younger students, Rabban Markos, embarked on a journey from Yuan China to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They traveled by way of the former Tangut country, Khotan, Kashgar, Taraz in the Syr Darya valley, Khorasan (now Afghanistan), Maragha (now Azerbaijan) and Mosul, arriving at Ani in the Kingdom of Georgia." (Wikipedia)
Isole Eolie During his voyage westwards, he saw either Mount Vesuvius, or Mount Etna, or, perhaps, as Bedjan suggests, Stromboli, which was then in eruption (see source at link)
Istanbul 1287: he had an audience with Andronicus II Palaeologus. Bar Sauma's writings give a particularly enthusiastic description of the beautiful Hagia Sophia.
Mount Etna he witnessed and recorded the great eruption of Mount Etna on June 18, 1287 (wiki)
Naples Visited 1287, see map
Paris, Banks of the Seine Sawma remained in Paris for a month and during this time he was shown the educational institutions of Paris, with their 30,000 pupils, who were maintained by the king. One day he was taken into the church of St. Denis, containing the mausoleum of the Kings of France, and on another day into the famous Sainte Chapelle. (see source at link)
Rome 1287: He next travelled to Rome, but too late to meet Pope Honorius IV, who had recently died. So Bar Sauma instead engaged in negotiations with the cardinals, and visited St. Peter's Basilica.
Vatican City 1287: He next travelled to Rome, but too late to meet Pope Honorius IV, who had recently died. So Bar Sauma instead engaged in negotiations with the cardinals, and visited St. Peter's Basilica.

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