The widely circulated writings of Marco Polo and William of Rubruck provide an early account of world travel during the 13th century. These dual accounts offer readers a different perspective of the Mongols' lifestyle, their social hierarchy, and their method of trade. The Mongols, whether considered barbaric conquerors or an empire due to its multiplicity, were transcribed in the writings of Polo and Rubruck. Details are important in establishing a sense of place and surrounding populations, as well as a personal view of foreign people. The lack of Polo makes Rubruck's account equally more reliable with his daily interactions with social life and the descriptive nature of his travels. William of Rubruck, who was a Franciscan monk, undertook a mission in hopes of promoting the conversion of Christianity to Mongolian. peoples. Although his main focus was the Nestorian Christians and their practices, he also provides a unique portrait with useful information about Mongolian customs, their food and how they liked to drink, religious practices, and the surrounding daily life. His careful reporting recorded intimate encounters that provide readers with how the Mongolian people reacted and interacted with European foreigners. For example, we know some customs of the Nestorian Christians from Rubruck's story: “they prostrated themselves, with their foreheads touching the ground in the Nestorian manner, and then touched all the images with their right hand, always kissing the hand after doing so; and then they preferred the right hand to all those who were around the church” (Rubruck 189). From this example Rubruck gives a personal account that there were some Christians in Mongolia and how... middle of paper... more knowledge than Rubruck in describing women and how they should behave, the women were to act with strict decorum and if they go places, it must be in a respectable place like a temple in the company of their mother. What these two travelers provide is unique information through foreign eyes. Although Rubruck provides a more reliable and practical experience through his writings, his accounts of the daily interactions of the many people he had met and their strange customs. Polo lacks a true form of travel writing because he is on the outside, watching as he passes by, demonstrating only information he learned from someone else, such as the Queen of Bayan. Even though they talk about Mongolian life, it is only in Rubruck's tale that we get a real sense of what the people were really like instead of how Polo presented them..