Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Dover Publications (2004), Paperback, 272 pages
Description
In 1326, Ibn Battuta began a pilgrimage to Mecca that ended 27 years and 75,000 miles later. His engrossing account of that journey provides vivid scenes from Morocco, southern Russia, India, China, and elsewhere..
User reviews
LibraryThing member bookwoman247
Ibn Battuta was a pilgrim from Tangiers who traveled extensively through North Africa, the Middle East, India, China, and even into Siberia during the 14th Century.
It was interesting to compare the account of his travels with that of Marco Polo.
Polo was younger, more exuberant, more open to new
Ibn Battuta, on the other hand even though he traveled extensively and experienced many different things seemed a bit more insular. This was due to the fact that he seemed to stay almost exclusively with other Moslems. He also seemed to focus on Islam in his writing. Of course, he was on a religious pilgrimage, after all, and Islam was a deeply ingrained part of his culture. Some of his observations were still quite interesting.
It was interesting to compare the account of his travels with that of Marco Polo.
Polo was younger, more exuberant, more open to new
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experiences, and wide-eyed.Ibn Battuta, on the other hand even though he traveled extensively and experienced many different things seemed a bit more insular. This was due to the fact that he seemed to stay almost exclusively with other Moslems. He also seemed to focus on Islam in his writing. Of course, he was on a religious pilgrimage, after all, and Islam was a deeply ingrained part of his culture. Some of his observations were still quite interesting.
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LibraryThing member billsearth
This book can be termed a history, travelogue, or a memoir. It has elements of all three but is probably more a history of culture in the fourteenth century.
Because the author travelled to almost all parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, it contains the period culture of much of the world. Today, most
Within the book the reader will hear of diets unusual to current western culture, and of practices most of us have never heard of.
I think it is worthwhile to read through books such as these to gain perspective on the diversity of cultures and beliefs and lifestyles, in long-ago times, for a better framework of our own lives today.
Many of the stories are very interesting on their own.
The one thing I found missing in this book, is a map of the route travelled.
Because the author travelled to almost all parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, it contains the period culture of much of the world. Today, most
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of those places are greatly different in culture, lifestyles, wealth, and population.Within the book the reader will hear of diets unusual to current western culture, and of practices most of us have never heard of.
I think it is worthwhile to read through books such as these to gain perspective on the diversity of cultures and beliefs and lifestyles, in long-ago times, for a better framework of our own lives today.
Many of the stories are very interesting on their own.
The one thing I found missing in this book, is a map of the route travelled.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JVioland
This book is a farce. Battuta may have journeyed during his lifetime, but this record - made after he returned from the twenty-nine year excursion - contains so many errors that it raises more than skepticism. The translator, an English clergyman in the 1820s was obviously enamored of this traveler
This is another supposed classic in the literature of the Arabs - not Persian, not Egyptian, not Moor - that is at the nadir in any comparison to other contemporary writings. It inadvertently emphasizes that Islam is NOT a religion of peace. Its adherents may proclaim it is peaceful, but how would they know? It is forbidden to investigate other faiths!
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and proud of his own knowledge of Arabic. He continuously makes excuses for Battuta when places he visited cannot be found in any other historical/geographical record. Battuta records Islamic histories replete with fratricides and patricides and tortures and mass murders as though these are admirable and, since Muslims claim God has left nothing unmentioned in the Koran (@ p. 90), Allah has sanctioned these atrocities. Battuta did condemn one King in Hindustan who had the audacity to recognize the Hindus reverence for cows!This is another supposed classic in the literature of the Arabs - not Persian, not Egyptian, not Moor - that is at the nadir in any comparison to other contemporary writings. It inadvertently emphasizes that Islam is NOT a religion of peace. Its adherents may proclaim it is peaceful, but how would they know? It is forbidden to investigate other faiths!
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LibraryThing member mmmorsi
A must read for those who do not know of Ibn Battuta. Well written and documented, it carries you through the journeys and offers a different view than the contemporary, and better known but perhaps less travelled, Marco Polo.
LibraryThing member TheSmarch
Meh. Largely forgettable account. No sense of order and a lot of hokey anecdotes about "holy" men.
Language
Physical description
272 p.; 8.98 inches
ISBN
0486437655 / 9780486437651