What did Ibn Battuta see in Cairo?
Ibn Battuta called Cairo the mother of cities. His account of al-Azhar, the Nile, the markets, and the scholars of Egypt captures the golden age of Mamluk Islam.
8 passages from 2 books in the library
Ibn Battuta called Cairo the "mother of cities," describing in his Riḥlah the Nile, its flanking villages, farms, orchards, and markets, alongside the scholars and rulers of Mamluk Egypt. He records the parades through Cairo and old Cairo (Misr), the travel permits required to move between Egypt and the Levant, and a devastating plague whose death toll in Cairo reached two thousand a day. His account captures the golden age of Mamluk Islam.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 2 books by Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"The pronunciation of its name is with an open sin and mim, a stressed silent nun, followed by a wa and a plain dal. From this city I boarded the boat on the Nile, traveling upstream to Egypt, amidst orderly cities and villages connected to one another. A traveler on the Nile does not need to carry provisions, for whenever he wishes to disembark for ablution, prayer, or purchasing supplies, he may do so, as markets extend from the city of Alexandria to Egypt and from Egypt to the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt."
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"for ablution, prayer, or purchasing supplies, he may do so, as markets extend from the city of Alexandria to Egypt and from Egypt to the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. Ultimately, I reached the city of Egypt, the mother of cities, the abode of Pharaoh, modern day Cairo I, the possessor of vast provinces and well-developed lands abundant in architecture, beauty, and verdure."
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"the Sir Darya in the land of Khwarezm, descending to the city of Khansar, and then to Guangzhou in China. All this will be mentioned in its places, God-willing. After a distance from Egypt, the Nile divides into three sections. None of these sections is crossed except by boats in both winter and summer. Each region along the Nile has channels branching from it. When the Nile rises, it floods these channels, overflowing onto farms. The pyramids and Barabbes, these are among the wonders mentioned throughout the ages, with much discourse and speculation surrounding their purpose and the origins of their"
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"companions during his life and after his death, as evidenced by his words, Good fortune shields all stands famed, and good fortune unlocks every sealed door. The Nile of Egypt. The Nile of Egypt surpasses the rivers of the earth in the sweetness of taste, breadth of size, and greatness of benefit. The cities and villages on its banks are perfectly aligned, unmatched in the inhabited world."
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"its sultan is called Ibn Khanz al-Din, who embraced Islam during the days of King al-Nasir. It then descends to the Cataracts, the last province of Sudan and the first of Aswan in Upper Egypt. I saw crocodiles in this part of the Nile near the shore, resembling small boats. One day as I descended to the Nile to relieve myself, a Sudanese individual stood between me and the river."
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"This valley is one of the greatest in the world, overflowing during the hot season. The people of these lands cultivate their crops on its overflow, just as the people of Egypt do with the Nile. This valley is the first territory of the great Sultan Muhammad Shah, the King of India and Sindh. Upon reaching this river, we were greeted by the informants assigned to this duty, and they sent news of our arrival to Qutb al-Mulk, the governor of the city of Multan."
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"broken R. From this village, anli is transported to Iwilatin. Then we traveled from Zagari and reached the great river, which is the Nile 1, and on it lies the town of Karsaku, pronounced with an open K, silent R, open S, joined K-H, and W. The Nile flows from there to Kabara, pronounced with an open B and R, then to Zaga, pronounced with an open Z and G-H. Kabara and Zaga have two sultans who pledge allegiance to the king of Mali."
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"I discovered the severity of the plague had lessened there, after having claimed 1,080 lives per day. Thereafter, we journeyed to Cairo, where I learned the peak mortality during the plague had reached 21,000 in one day. Everyone I knew among the city's sheikhs had passed on. May God have mercy on them. At that time, the ruler of Egypt was King al-Nasir Hassan, son of King al-Nasir Muhammad, son of King al-Mansur Qalawun."
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Every stop of the thirty-year journey, on one map — with the passage from the Riḥla for each: Ibn Baṭṭūṭa's route, mapped →