The Travels of Ibn Battuta

The Travels of Ibn Battuta

Ibn Battutah—ethnographer, bigrapher, anecdotal historian and occasional botanist—was just 21 when he set out in 1325 from his native Tangier on a pilgramage to Mecca. He did not return to Morocco for another 29 years, traveling instead through more than 40 countries on the modern map, covering 75,000 miles and getting as far north as the Volga, as far east as China, and as far south as Tanzania. He wrote of his travels, and comes across as a superb ethnographer, biographer, anecdotal historian, and occasional botanist and gastronome. With this edition by Mackintosh-Smith, Battuta’s Travels takes its place alongside other indestructible masterpieces of the travel-writing genre.

Ibn Battuta (1304–1368/9 CE) was no ordinary traveller. His insatiable desire to explore took him further than any other man in medieval times. But did you know that along the way he served sultans, sailed angry seas and even soared above mountains on the back of a bird?

In this short biography you will discover how Ibn Battuta’s travels took him to nearly every part of the Muslim world at the time. Between 1325 CE when he set off from Morocco and 1354 CE when he finally returned home, he had visited about forty modern countries and travelled roughly 75,000 miles, going on foot, camel, horse, wagon, boat and even sled.

Written in a simple style, with explanations, illustrations and images aplenty, this short book brilliantly narrates the life and times of Ibn Battuta.