Ibn Battuta Travel History:
Ibn Battuta (born February 25, 1304 - died 1389) was a Moroccan tourist. This highly talented Arab was also an Islamic thinker, judge and geologist.
Some information about Ibn Battuta
He was born into a famous Muslim family in Tangier. He recorded all the events of his childhood in his itinerary. From here we can learn about his childhood later. He attended Sunni Maliki School.
Ibn Battuta
The appearance of Ibn Battuta in the hands of a painter
In 1324 he started his journey towards Mecca for Hajj. Basically, his famous journey started from here. He started his journey along the coast of North Africa and stopped at many places along the way. He traveled to the kingdoms of Abd-al-Wadid and Hafsid. He then traveled to Tlemsen, Bejaiza and Tunisia. It took him 18 months to reach Mecca. Even though he was traveling alone, he was always accompanied by a caravan. There was a possibility of being caught by the robbers if they walked alone.
In the spring of 1326, Ibn Battuta arrived in the famous Egyptian city of Alexandria. At that time Bahri Mamluk rule was going on. To get here he has to cover 2000 miles. Here he stayed a few weeks. From there he traveled to Cairo. Stayed there for a month.
He then traveled from Cairo to Damascus via Hebron, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In Damascus, he spent the entire month of Ramadan. He then joined a caravan and traveled 600 miles to Medina to see the Holy Prophet's Rouza Mubarak.
From Mecca he joined a caravan bound for Iraq and set out. Then he left for Persia without going to Baghdad. He traveled to Wasit Nagar. Then cross the Tigris River and reach the famous Basra.
Around 1331, Ibn Battuta was staying in the famous Somali city of Magadisu. Describing the city, he wrote: "It is a very large and famous city."
He then planned a trip to Asia. In 1332 he reached Constantinople (present-day Turkey). After traveling through several parts of Turkey, he reached Delhi in 1333 via Afghanistan, where he met Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq. The Sultan appointed him Qazi. He worked there for about six years.
Ibn Battuta
Areas visited by Ibn Battuta
He then traveled to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. In 1345 he reached Chittagong port. After this he left for Sylhet with the intention of meeting Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA). 1 month later he reached Sylhet and met Hazrat Shah Jalal (RA).
He then traveled by ship to the Swahili coast and the island of Mombasa. Towards the end of 1345, he reached the Chinese province of Quanzhou. There the local Muslims greeted him warmly. In 1348 he resumed his journey to Mecca.
Finally in 1354 he returned to his native Morocco. After returning to the country, he started writing his travel stories. This is the only reliable document of his travels, entitled "A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling".