The Travels of Ibn Battuta - NEW,
*[A5] Paperback - 398 pages,
Selected  & Translated by H.A.R.Gibb,
Published by GW Books, India.




Description :


The most well known traveller of classical times was undoubtedly Abu `Abdallah ibn Battuta. In the course of about 30 years, he travelled across the eastern hemisphere for a total distance of roughly 116,800 km and he visited regions which today comprise 44 modern countries. When his epic journeys were complete, his adventures were dedicated to a young scholar of literature named Ibn Juzayy and recorded in a book titled the Rihla. This is a descriptive work that does not attempt to present his itinerary in a rigidly detailed fashion, so some of the dates of his travels remain unclear.


                   ''On the road to Multan and ten miles distant from it is the
                    river called Khusraw Abad, a large river that cannot be
                    crossed except by boat. At this point the goods & baggage
                    of all who passed are subject to a rigorous examination.
                    Their custom at the time of our arrival was to take a quarter
                    of everything brought in by the merchants, and exact a duty
                    of seven dinars for every horse. The idea of having my
                    baggage searched was very disagreeable to me, for there
                    was nothing valuable in it, though it seemed a great deal in
                    eyes of the people.''



No other 14th Century (8th Century hijra) traveller is known to have journeyed so extensively. In 30 years (from 1325), Ibn Batuta travelled overland in North Africa and Syria to make the pilgrimage to Makkah. There-on he visited Persia, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor. He made a journey by way of Samarkand to India, where he resided for almost eight years at the court of the Sultan of Delhi, who sent him to China as one of his ambassadors. Ibn Batuta also visited the Maldives, the Malabar coast, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and Sumatra. He returned c. 1350 to Tangier. Later he went to Spain, then to Morocco, and from here he crossed the Sahara to visit Timbuktu and the River Niger.



                  '' We returned through Khulays & Badr to Madinah, and were
                    privileged to visit once more [the tomb of] the Prophet [may
                    Allah bless him & give him peace]. We stayed in Madinah for
                    six days, and having provided ourselves there with water for
                    a three-nights' journey, set out ...''



During his 29 years of travel, he covered 120,000 km. A great insight of the days when Islam was a strong living tradition far spread around the world.

---

*Dimensions : 21.3 x 14 x 2.4cm

**Sub-continent Print Quality (Off-mint Condition).