Question
Document A: Ibn Battuta’s Rihla (Part 1)
Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta is known for his extensive travels throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia. His travel account, written after his return home to Tangier in 1355, offers historians insight into the social, political, economic and cultural context of the 14th century.
I left Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 [June 14, 1325], with the intention of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House [at Mecca] and the Tomb of the Prophet [at Medina].
Tripoli
Some time later I joined a pilgrim caravan. We left Tunis early in November [1325], following the coast road through Susa Sfax, and Qabis, where we stayed for ten days on account of incessant rains. Then we set out for Tripoli, accompanied for several stages by a hundred or more horsemen as well as a detachment of archers, out of respect for whom the Arab robbers kept their distance. . . . There is an uninterrupted chain of bazaars from Alexandria to Cairo, and from Cairo to Assuan [Aswan] in Upper Egypt.
Cairo
I arrived at length at Cairo, mother of all cities and seat of Pharaoh the tyrant. It is said that in Cairo there are twelve thousand water-carriers who transport water on camels, and thirty thousand hirers of mules and donkeys, and that on the Nile there are thirty-six thousand boats belonging to the sultan and his subjects which sail upstream to Upper Egypt and downstream to Alexandria and Damietta, laden with goods and profitable merchandise of all kinds. . . .The madrasas of Cairo cannot be counted. . . . As for the Maristan, which lies "between the two castles" near the mausoleum of Sultan Qala'un, no description is adequate to its beauties.
Source: Excerpts from “Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354.”
Vocabulary
bazaar: a marketplace
incessant: continuing without interruption sultan: head of state or leader
detachment: a group of military troops
laden: heavily loaded
madrasas: religious schools
Maristan: hospital
Tripoli to Cairo
1. Why did Ibn Battuta decide to travel?
2. What time of year did he leave? What challenge did he face?
3. How safe was the North African coast road? Cite a specific piece of evidence from the document.
4. Why does Battuta describe Cairo as the “mother of all cities”?
Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta is known for his extensive travels throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia. His travel account, written after his return home to Tangier in 1355, offers historians insight into the social, political, economic and cultural context of the 14th century.
I left Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 [June 14, 1325], with the intention of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House [at Mecca] and the Tomb of the Prophet [at Medina].
Tripoli
Some time later I joined a pilgrim caravan. We left Tunis early in November [1325], following the coast road through Susa Sfax, and Qabis, where we stayed for ten days on account of incessant rains. Then we set out for Tripoli, accompanied for several stages by a hundred or more horsemen as well as a detachment of archers, out of respect for whom the Arab robbers kept their distance. . . . There is an uninterrupted chain of bazaars from Alexandria to Cairo, and from Cairo to Assuan [Aswan] in Upper Egypt.
Cairo
I arrived at length at Cairo, mother of all cities and seat of Pharaoh the tyrant. It is said that in Cairo there are twelve thousand water-carriers who transport water on camels, and thirty thousand hirers of mules and donkeys, and that on the Nile there are thirty-six thousand boats belonging to the sultan and his subjects which sail upstream to Upper Egypt and downstream to Alexandria and Damietta, laden with goods and profitable merchandise of all kinds. . . .The madrasas of Cairo cannot be counted. . . . As for the Maristan, which lies "between the two castles" near the mausoleum of Sultan Qala'un, no description is adequate to its beauties.
Source: Excerpts from “Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354.”
Vocabulary
bazaar: a marketplace
incessant: continuing without interruption sultan: head of state or leader
detachment: a group of military troops
laden: heavily loaded
madrasas: religious schools
Maristan: hospital
Tripoli to Cairo
1. Why did Ibn Battuta decide to travel?
2. What time of year did he leave? What challenge did he face?
3. How safe was the North African coast road? Cite a specific piece of evidence from the document.
4. Why does Battuta describe Cairo as the “mother of all cities”?
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
1. Ibn Battuta decided to travel with the intention of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House at Mecca and the Tomb of the Prophet at Medina.
2. He left Tangier on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 (June 14, 1325). One challenge he faced was incessant rains, which caused his caravan to stay in Qabis for ten days.
3. The North African coast road was not completely safe; Ibn Battuta mentions that they were accompanied by "a hundred or more horsemen as well as a detachment of archers," suggesting the presence of potential threats, specifically from "Arab robbers" who kept their distance out of respect for the armed escort.
4. Battuta describes Cairo as the “mother of all cities” likely due to its grandeur, significance as a cultural and economic center, and the richness of its resources and institutions, as highlighted by the large number of water-carriers, mules and donkeys for hire, boats on the Nile, and the multitude of madrasas and beautiful hospitals (Maristan) he observed.
2. He left Tangier on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 (June 14, 1325). One challenge he faced was incessant rains, which caused his caravan to stay in Qabis for ten days.
3. The North African coast road was not completely safe; Ibn Battuta mentions that they were accompanied by "a hundred or more horsemen as well as a detachment of archers," suggesting the presence of potential threats, specifically from "Arab robbers" who kept their distance out of respect for the armed escort.
4. Battuta describes Cairo as the “mother of all cities” likely due to its grandeur, significance as a cultural and economic center, and the richness of its resources and institutions, as highlighted by the large number of water-carriers, mules and donkeys for hire, boats on the Nile, and the multitude of madrasas and beautiful hospitals (Maristan) he observed.