This is Ibn Battuta.
He was an explorer over 700 years ago.
He travelled in the Middle East, North Africa, India and China.
He wrote a book about his travels.
Watch: The life of Ibn Battuta
OLLIE: Who shall we look up today?
FATIMA: My grandmother told me about this amazing explorer, Ibn Battuta. He was a Moroccan explorer from way, way back; the 1300s, I think. Can we look him up?
OLLIE: Sounds great. Holo-Lab, let’s meet Ibn Battuta.
HOLO-LAB: Searching. Searching… Explorer found. Ibn Battuta.
FATIMA: Wow! Before Henry VIII. Before Guru Nanak.
IBN BATTUTA: As-salamu alaykum!
FATIMA: Alaykumu s-salām. Tell us about the places you’ve explored.
IBN BATTUTA: My journey started when I wanted to undertake the Hajj, a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, to visit the Kaaba, the house of God. I left when I was twenty one, in June 1325.
OLLIE: Was it far?
IBN BATTUTA: It was nearly 3,000 miles as the crow flies, from my home in Tangiers in Morocco, but I had to travel by land. I made a point of never travelling on the same road twice. And because I wanted to explore, I stopped at many wonderful places.
FATIMA: Where did you stop?
IBN BATTUTA: I travelled 2,200 miles to Alexandria which took 34 weeks, when I saw the lighthouse of Alexandria, before heading to Cairo where I saw the Great Pyramid of Giza. Two of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was hard to get to Mecca. The first time I tried, I was beaten back by bandits so I spent Ramadan in Damascus, before heading south 810 miles to Medina and then finally, Mecca.
FATIMA: Did you walk all that way? How did you know which way to go?
IBN BATTUTA: I travelled using camels and I had the stars to guide me.
OLLIE: Why did you use camels?
IBN BATTUTA: Life in the desert is hard. There is little to eat or drink. Horses are no use there, but because camels have lived so long in the desert, they have adapted to travel far without water and to store fat in their hump to feed on. You can ride them or use them to carry things.
FATIMA: How do stars guide you?
IBN BATTUTA: We didn’t have satellite navigation like you do, to tell us which way to go. However, by observing the Sun, Moon and the planets, you can fix your position and work out in which direction you’re going.
FATIMA: What was the holy city of Mecca like?
IBN BATTUTA: It’s a special place for Muslims. I was so taken with it that I returned many times and spent many months there.
OLLIE: What did you do after you went to Mecca?
IBN BATTUTA: Normally after being away so long, you would go home but I didn’t go back to Morocco for 24 years. My Rihla, or journey, lasted for 29 years, covering 75,000 miles. That’s further than three times around the Earth. I visited 44 countries, from Tangiers in the west, and travelled as far east as Quanzhou in China where I saw the Great Wall. And from Bolghar in modern day, Russia to Kilwa in Tanzania. I witnessed the spread of Islam across the globe. As I travelled through places like India and Mali in Africa, I met many important people like princes and princesses, queens, kings and emperors.
FATIMA: Wow!
OLLIE: What was it like when you returned home?
IBN BATTUTA: I had lived many lifetimes on my travels. The place I came back to in 1355 was not the same as the one I left. Imagine being away from your friends and family for 29 years. But I had with me a wife, and began a new life. I wrote the story of my travels and later in life, became a judge.
FATIMA: Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Ibn Battuta.
OLLIE: Goodbye.
IBN BATTUTA: Ila-likaa.
How far did Ibn Battuta travel?
Ibn Battuta travelled far more widely than any other early modern traveler.
He was on the road for over 30 years.
He travelled over 72,000 miles in that time!
What did Ibn Battuta do?
- Ibn Battuta was a lawyer from Morocco in North Africa.
- In 1325, he set off on his first hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca. It took him over a year to get there.
- He travelled to modern day Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and East Africa.
- He then went to India where he worked as a judge.
- Ibn Battuta also visited Sri Lanka, China and modern Syria.
- He then travelled through North Africa to Timbuktu.
- During his travels, the Black Death was killing thousands of people. However, he avoided it.
- When he arrived home, he wrote about his journeys in a book. It is known as the Rihla.
Did you know?
- Ibn Battuta means ‘son of Battuta.’ His full name was Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta.
- It may have been a nickname. 'Battuta' means 'duckling'.
- Ibn Battuta was robbed and kidnapped several times on his journeys.
Activity – Ibn Battuta quiz
