text: William and his travelling companions set off on horseback on 16 September 1253 on a  journey to the court of the Great Khan at Karakorum in modern-day Mongolia. Arriving in late December they were received courteously, and he was given an audience on 4 January 1254. William's account provided an extensive description of the city's walls, markets and temples, and the separate quarters for Muslim and Chinese craftsmen among a surprisingly cosmopolitan population. He also visited the court of the Vastacius (Empire of Nicaea) during the feast day of Felicitas and met Nicaean envoys during his travels. Among the Europeans he encountered were the nephew of an English bishop, a woman from Lorraine who cooked William's Easter dinner, and Guillaume Boucher, a French silversmith who was making ornaments for the Khan's women and altars for the Nestorian Christians.
  William's party stayed at the Khan's camp until 10 July 1254, when they began their long journey back home. After spending two weeks in late September with Batu Khan, and Christmas at Nakhchivan in present-day Azerbaijan, he and his companions reached the County of Tripoli on 15 August 1255.
  Account
  On his return, William presented to King Louis IX a very clear and precise report, entitled . William's report is divided into 40 chapters. Chapters 1–10 relate general observations about the Mongols and their customs, while chapters 11–40 give an account of the course and the events of William's voyage.