Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta was a 14th century traveler and explorer.
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Ahwar of Southern Iraq | Possible: "But I set out for al-Basrah... Our way lay alongside the Euphrates [probably an error, since Ibn Battuta stops at Wasit en route to Basra, and Wasit is on the Tigris River] by the place known as al-Idhar, which is a water-logged jungle of reeds, inhabited by nomad Arabs called al-Ma'adi." | |
| Air and Téneré | Possible: "We first came to the country of Air, a land rich in pasture. People buy sheep from the Berbers there and cut their meat into strips, which they dry. " | |
| Aleppo | "Halab [Aleppo] is one of the most illustrious of cities, and one which has no rival in beauty of plan and perfection of arrangement, and in the spaciousness and symmetrical disposition of the bazaars" | |
| Ancient ksours | visited Oualata in 1352. Wrote ""My stay at Iwalatan (Oualata) lasted about fifty days; and I was shown honour and entertained by its inhabitants. It is an excessively hot place, and boasts a few small date-palms, in the shade of which they sow watermelons. Its water comes from underground waterbeds at that point, and there is plenty of mutton to be had." | |
| Baalbek | "After Jabal Lubnan we came to the city of Ba'labakk [Baalbek], a beautiful and ancient place and one of the most agreeable cities in Syria, surrounded by glorious orchards and superb gardens, with flowing streams traversing its land, and rivalling Damascus in its boundless amenities." | |
| Bethlehem | "On my way there [Jerusalem] I visited Bait Lahm, the birthplace of Jesus -- on him be peace -- where the trace of the palm trunk is still to be seen surmounted by a vast edifice." | |
| Bosra | "We marched to the town of Bosra, and thence to the castle of al-Karak." | |
| Bukhara | ||
| Bursa and Cumalikizik | "We went on next day to the city of Bursa, a great and important city with fine bazaars and wide streets, surrounded on all sides by gardens and running springs" | |
| Central Highlands | "There are two tracks on the mountain leading to the Foot, one called the Baba track and the other the Mama track, meaning Adam and Eve (peace be upon them)... The blessed footprint, the Foot of our father Adam (God bless him and give him peace) is on a lofty black rock in a wide plateau" | |
| Crac des Chevaliers | "From Tripoli I went inland, via Hisn al-Akrad [Crac des Chevaliers] and Hims, to the town of Hamah." | |
| Damascus | ||
| Ephesus | "We went on to the city of Aya Suluq [Selçuk/Ephesus], a large and ancient city venerated by the Greeks, in which there is a great church [Church of Mary] built with huge stones, each measuring ten or less cubits in length and skilfully hewn." | |
| Granada | ||
| Grand Canal | In 1345 Arab traveler Ibn Battuta traveled China and journeyed through the Abe Hayat river (Grand Canal) up to the capital Khanbalik (Beijing). (wiki) | |
| Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town | "Next I travelled from Ghazzah to the town of al-Khalil... Its mosque is an elegant edifice, substantially built, of striking beauty and imposing height, and constructed of squared stones." | |
| Hegra | "In the 14th century, the celebrated traveller Ibn Battuta admiringly described the Nabataean tombs of Al-Hijr, cut into the red stone. He did not mention any human activity at the time." (AB ev) | |
| Historic Cairo | ||
| Historic Jeddah | "Following the pilgrimage of the year 730, I set out from Mecca (God Most High ennoble her) intending to travel to the land of al-Yaman, and came to Juddah [Jeddah], an old town on the sea coast, which is said to have been founded by the Persians." | |
| Istanbul | ||
| Kasbah of Algiers | ||
| Kazan Kremlin | ||
| Kunya-Urgench | "it ... was described in the 14th century by the Arabic traveller Ibn-Battuta as 'the largest, considerable, beautiful and majestic city of Turks with fine bazaars, wide streets, numerous buildings and impressive views'." (nomination file) | |
| Land of Frankincense | "We then sailed from Kulwa to the city of Zafar [al-Balid], which is at the extremity of the land of al-Yaman, on the coast of the Indian Sea... The people of this city are men of humility, good dispositions, virtue, and affection for strangers" | |
| Medina of Fez | ||
| Medina of Marrakesh | ||
| Medina of Sousse | On his first itinerary (1325–1332) | |
| Medina of Tunis | "So at last we reached the town of Tunis, and the townsfolk came out to welcome the travellers." | |
| Old City of Jerusalem | ||
| Pergamon | "We continued our journey from Maghnisiyah and came to the city of Barghamah [Bergama/Pergamon], a city in ruins, with a great and formidable fortress on top of a hill." | |
| Qalhat | During his visit, Ibn Battuta noted, that it had "fine bazaars and one of the most beautiful mosques." He further noted the mosque was built by Bibi Maryam and included walls of qashani. (wiki) | |
| Qutb Minar | "In the northern court of the mosque is the minaret, which has no parallel in the lands of Islam. It is built of red stone, unlike the stone used for the rest of the mosque, for that is white, and the stones of the minaret are decoratively carved. The minaret itself is of great height..." | |
| Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara | ||
| Samarkand | ||
| Shushtar | "I came next to the city of Tustar [Shushtar], which is situated at the edge of the plain in the dominion of the Atabek and the beginning of the mountains... It is encircled by the river called al-Azraq, which is a marvel... On both banks of the river, there are orchards and waterwheels..." | |
| Stone Town of Zanzibar | ||
| Tabriz Bazaar | Although he reportedly spent almost no time there... | |
| Timbuktu | ||
| Tyre | "For sheer masonry there is no more marvelous or more remarkable construction in any town in the world; for the sea surrounds it on three sides and on the fourth side is a wall underneath which ships may enter and come to anchor." | |
| West Lake | Ibn Battuta visited Hangzhou and must have seen the lake. | |
| Zabid | "It is a great and populous city, and contains groves of palms, orchards and running streams -- in fact the pleasantest and most beautiful town in al-Yaman." |
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