Rabban Sauma Part 3

This episode continues our series on the remarkable Rabban Sauma with Part 3.In Part 1, we looked at the opening chapter in Sauma’s life. By way of a quick recap . . .He was the treasured son of an Onggud noble family who from an early age showed a remarkable passion for pursuing the spiritual. Adept in his studies and excelling in piety, by the age 25 he was a member of the Nestorian clergy, a monk-priest. It was the year 1248.Choosing a life of isolation rather than a monastery, he retreated from the Mongol capital at Tai-tu [later – Beijing] to the Fang Mountains where he devoted himself to study. The isolation he yearned for was often interrupted by people who made pilgrimage to his humble hamlet, seeking a glimpse, maybe a word, from the holy man whose fame was spreading. Though he preferred a life of quiet contemplation, he met with all those who sought him out.That would have been his entire life and one we’d never have known of, were it not for one of those pilgrims, a fifteen-year-old young man named Markos. Markos didn’t just want to spend a couple days with the holy man. He wanted a mentor, someone who’d teach him everything he had to share. Sauma tried to dissuade the young man, just as his parents and others had tried to dissuade him when he was young. It didn’t take long before Sauma recognized in Markos the same zeal and dedication that burned in his soul. Three years later Marcos had proven himself devotionally sincere, academically capable and of equal spiritual mettle with his master, so he was ordained as a monk in the Nestorian church.After a decade together in their mountain fastness, Marcos’ intellectual curiosity prompted a spiritual itch that saw the two men descend from the heights and embark on a journey of literally epic consequence. Marcos wanted to visit the scenes and sites where the Bible story had played out, as well as the birthplace and headquarters of the Nestorian church. In his studies, he read of Christians of other flavors and stripes and wanted to meet them. Nothing less than a journey to the far-reaches of the West could scratch that itch. Markos shared this dream with Bar Sauma, who was now more friend than master. It took a while, but eventually, the younger man’s hunger to discover, breathed new life on the embers of Sauma’s soul and the two decided to pursue their vision. It was 1275 when they began plans to set out, the same year Marco Polo arrived in China. They gave away what few possessions they had and headed to Tai-tu to hire guides and gather provisions. Because they’d taken vows of poverty, they had to ask the local Nestorian churches to support them. The Nestorian leaders scoffed at the undertaking. Such a venture was deemed both physically impossible and spiritually wasteful. There simply wasn’t a safe, navigable route West. And what use was it visiting the Holy Land, they wondered, when the Bible said The Kingdom of God is within us?But by this time, both Bar Sauma & Markos were deft at waving aside objections about the arduousness of the journey. Since they already counted themselves dead and had mortified the flesh, death along the route was of little consequence. Their only ambition was to faithfully follow the path they were convinced God had set before them. Their steely-eyed focus won the Nestorian community over and they went from resistance to a hearty support for their venture of faith.The journey they proposed would be expensive since they’d need an entire caravan. They needed guides, camels, and since camels require considerable attention to stay healthy, camel-attendants, a highly specialized trade.Camels are able to carry between 4 and 500 lbs. Mules, their closest rival as a beast of burden can carry 250 lbs. But camels require far less water and feed. Their hooves are better suited to the sandy soil covering large swaths of the territory in Central Asia. Camels are also reputed to be able to predict sandstorms and can lo