Ibn Battuta's Trip: Part One [From Tangier across North Africa to
Alexandria, Egypt]
Tangier, Morocco
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier, Morocco into a
family of Muslim legal scholars in 1304. He studied Muslim law as a
young man. Then in 1325, he left Tangier to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. He was 21
years old and eager for more learning and more adventure.
"My departure from Tangier, my
birthplace, took place ... with the object of making the Pilgrimage
to the Holy House [at Mecca] and of visiting the tomb of the Prophet
[in Medina], God's richest blessing and peace be on him. I set out
alone having neither fellow-traveler in whose companionship I might
find cheer, nor caravan whose party I might join, but swayed by an
overmastering impulse within me and a desire long-cherished in my
bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I braced my
resolution to quit all my dear ones, female and male, and forsook my
home as birds forsake their nests. My parents being yet in the bonds
of life, it weighed sorely upon me to part from them, and both they
and I were afflicted with sorrow at this separation." [Gibb, p. 8]
Travel was dangerous by land and by sea. Ibn
Battuta traveled overland at first alone riding a donkey. Then for
protection he joined a caravan with other pilgrims and traders. Some
of them walked, others rode horses, mules, donkeys, or camels. By the
time the caravan reached Cairo, Egypt, the caravan was several
thousand members.
The pilgrims were an enthusiastic group and were
excited about their hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). The trip was a grand study tour of
the World of Islam - Dar al-Islam. For Ibn Battuta it was an
opportunity to acquire knowledge of religion and law, and meet with
other Muslim scholars. Ibn Battuta must have thought about getting a
fine job as a judge (qadi) in some part of Dar al-Islam after gaining certificates
of learning from great scholars of his time.
[To the left is an Arab miniature painting of the Hajj travelers,
painted about 700 A.D.]
Tlemcen, Algeria - This is what is left of the
tomb of a Muslim holy man who, it was said, could perform miracles.
He died in 1300 and his tomb would be a site Ibn Battuta would have
visited. El Tayyar. Courtesy of Algeria
Guide
After leaving Tlemcen, the small caravan traveled
the green-brown valleys for several days at a time without
encountering any towns, only Berber camps and groups of camel
herders.
Algiers
The travelers arrived at the port of Algiers where
they camped outside the city walls waiting for other pilgrims to join
the caravan. Then they traveled through forests of oak and cedar,
mountains and valleys before reaching the city of Bijaya. Here Ibn
Battuta became ill, but he pushed on anxious to get on with his trip.
He was advised to stay and rest, but he insisted on
continuing.
"If God decrees my death, then my
death shall be on the road, with my face set towards
...[Mecca]." [Gibb, p. 11]
Photo courtesy of
Ramanan
Kartik
Constantine and Gifts!
Ibn Battuta didn't stay long in this small city,
but he did meet the governor there who gave him a gift of money and a fine woolen cloak (to replace his own which was in shreds). This would be
the first of many offerings which were from
pious individuals who were performing
their duty of charity to the poor, orphans, prisoners, fighters in holy wars, and
travelers. These gifts were often considerable, and would make Ibn
Battuta a fairly wealthy individual at times, even though he would
eventually lose everything.
Ibn Battuta's little party "traveled light with
the utmost speed, pushing on night and day without stopping" for fear
of attack by Arab rebels. Ibn Battuta was once more ill, so ill that
he had to be tied to his saddle to keep from falling off.
Tunis
Next the group of travelers entered Tunis, a city
of about 100,000 - a major city of art and learning. It was also a
shipping port of north African products: wool, leather, hides, cloth,
wax, olive oil, and grain. Tunis also was a market for goods
from sub-Saharan Africa: gold, ivory, slaves, and ostrich feathers. It
contained splendid mosques and palaces, public gardens, and colleges.
At this point in his trip, Ibn Battuta seems rather homesick:
"I felt so sad at heart on account of my
loneliness that I could not restrain the tears that started to my
eye, and wept bitterly. But one of the pilgrims, realizing the cause
of my distress, came up to me with a greeting and friendly welcome,
and continued to comfort me with friendly talk until I entered the
city..." [Gibb, p. 13]
Ibn Battuta spent about two months in Tunis. Here
he stayed in a college (madrasa) dormitory and met with the scholars
and judges in high positions.
The group left Tunis in a larger caravan of
pilgrims and Ibn Battuta was even appointed qadi (judge and settler of
disputes) for the hajj caravan - quite an accomplishment for the
young traveler! They were accompanied by government troops of
horsemen and archers to protect them from the Arab rebels.
Sousse and Sfax
The caravan passed Sousse and Sfax with
their ramparts (walls of fortification).
.....
Modern photographs of Sousse and Sfax, Tunisia,
medieval walled cities - places visited by Ibn Battuta in
1335.
A Marriage Contract Begun, Ended - and a New
Marriage
Along the way across Libya, Ibn Battuta entered
into a marriage contract with the daughter of a Tunisian official in
the pilgrim caravan. When he reached Tripoli, the woman was presented
to him. However, Ibn Battuta had a dispute with his father-in-law,
and returned the girl. Not discouraged, he then wed the daughter of
another pilgrim, a scholar from Fez. He put on a marriage feast that
lasted the whole day! Nothing else is said about his wives, which
often enter and then vanish from his story. "In the Islamic society
of that age, a man's intimate family relations were regarded as no
one's business but his own, and married Muslim women, at least in the
Arabic-speaking lands, lived out their lives largely in
seclusion." [Dunn, p. 39]
Across Libya to Alexandria, Egypt
Ibn Battuta's caravan continued across the coastal
Libyan countryside. Near Tripoli a band of camel robbers attacked the
caravan waving their swords, but "the Divine Will diverted them and
prevented them from doing us harm..."
From there the caravan continued without trouble.
Ibn Battuta had completed the 2,000 mile
trip across North Africa in
about eight or nine months. Since the next pilgrimage season was still eight months
away, he decided to be a tourist and visit Cairo, the largest capital
of the Arabic-speaking world and the largest city anywhere in the
world except those in China! Its population was estimated to be about
600,000 people.
Sometime in 1326, the caravan reached Alexandria
at the western end of the Nile Delta.
Alexandria, Egypt
Ibn Battuta was very impressed with Alexandria.
Later he said it was one of the five most magnificent places he ever
visited. At this time Alexandria was a busy harbor firmly controlled
by Egypt's Mamluk warrior caste who had governed that country and
Syria as a united kingdom since 1260. It was the Mamluks (Mamluk
means "slave") who took over the rule of Egypt from their "masters",
and were able to defeat the Mongols who had taken over Baghdad and
other parts of the Islamic Empire.
Photo courtesy of Wonders
of the World
Ibn Battuta spent several weeks in this busy port
and saw such sights as the Pharos
Lighthouse, one of the "Seven Wonders of
the Ancient World" - which was pretty much falling apart at that
time.
It was here that he tells of achievements and
miracles of several scholars and mystics - include a Sufi mystic who
predicted that the young pilgrim would travel and meet fellow Sufis
in India and China. "I was amazed at his prediction, and the idea of
going to these countries having been cast into my mind, my wanderings
never ceased until I had met these three that he named and conveyed
his greeting to them." [Gibb, p. 24]
Ibn Battuta visited other cities on the Nile
Delta, and continued on to Cairo (or "al-Qahirah" - "the Victorious")
founded in the 10th century by the Fatimid dynasty. On his way he
passed the pyramids of Giza, but note how he describes them: "The
pyramid is an edifice of solid hewn stone, of immense height and
circular plan, broad at the base and narrow at the top, like the
figure of a cone." [Gibb, p. 51] Obviously, he never saw them up close. [Note: there will
be other things that are included in his book of travels - The Rihla
- that will show that he did not actually go to some of the places
his book claims he saw.]
What did Ibn Battuta eat while living
in Morocco?
- Ibn Battuta mentioned little about the food of
Morocco, but you might find some of the classical dishes
in
Moroccan
Cuisine This site has recipes that combine Arabian,
North African and Mediterranean tastes. Ibn Battuta did
mention Moroccan dishes made of millet (a grain something
like wheat) made into flour and with water to make a
porridge or soup, as well as dates.
- See a family eating
couscous
(a "pasta" made of wheat which looks and tastes something
like rice), which tells about proper way to eat with the
right hand (an important custom!)
What did Ibn Battuta eat while
traveling on the desert?
- Travelers ate dried fruit (figs, prunes, raisins,
apricots, etc.) and
dates
because they could be brought on long trips.
- Sheep
and goats were brought along on caravans, too, or
were available at the towns and oases along the way.
Goats provided milk (and cheese to take out on the
desert) and meat.
- Camel milk and meat were also used by travelers. Even
the dried camel dung was used to make their camp fires.
- Flat
bread (or "pita bread") was brought on short trips or
it was made along the way from flour, salt, and water.
- Travelers would take along as much water as possible
in goatskin bags.
- If necessary, travelers had to kill a camel for its
meat and drink the liquid found in its stomach!
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To continue on Ibn Battuta's trip into Egypt
[press
here].
To return to the introduction, [press
here].
Links - Learn More About It!
Weather Reports of places along the way
- Historical and Modern Maps
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