What did Ibn Battuta see in Constantinople?
Ibn Battuta travelled to Constantinople in the retinue of a Byzantine princess and recorded the Christian capital from inside its walls.
5 passages from 2 books in the library
The passages here record only a little of Constantinople. Ibn Battuta says the journey from Mahtuli took twenty-two days, and that from the fortress travel was possible only by horse and mule, the ground being too rough for carriages. He describes the custom when the pope visits once a year: when he is four miles away the king goes out to meet him, dismounts, walks beside him into the city, and visits him morning and evening until he leaves. He notes the monasteries, including one founded by King George, the king's father, opposite Galata.
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 →
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"and the pope comes once a year. When he is four miles from the city, the king goes out to meet him, dismounts for him, strolls beside him upon entry, and visits him morning and evening throughout his stay in Constantinople until his departure. A Brief on Monasteries in Constantinople Among them, the monastery established by King George, the father of the king of Constantinople, which we shall mention, is located outside Istanbul, opposite Galata."
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"a lavish reception. The noble ladies and matrons from the household of her father, the king of Constantinople, also came to attend. The journey from Mahtuli to Constantinople spanned twenty-two days, with sixteen days leading to the Gulf and the remaining six to Constantinople. Travel from this fortress could only be conducted by horses and mules, as the terrain was too rough and mountainous for carriages, which had to be left behind."
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"wondrous in beauty, elegance, and perfection, with no known counterpart or resemblance. The one who built and perfected it was the commander of the faithful, Walid ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. He sent to the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople, ordering him to dispatch craftsmen, and he sent 12,000 craftsmen. The site of the mosque was a church, and when the Muslims conquered Damascus, Khalid ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him, entered one side with the sword until he reached half the church. Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, may Allah be pleased with him, entered from the west peacefully until he reached the"
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"the coast, arriving at the city of Acre, now in ruins. Acre was once the base of the Franks in the Levant, resembling the great Constantinople, with a spring to its east known as Ayn al-Bakr, reputed to be where Allah brought forth cattle for Adam, peace be upon him. To access it, one descends steps, and there was a mosque with only its mihrab prayer niche remaining. In the city lies the grave of Salah, peace be upon him. From there I travelled to the city of Tyre, also in ruins, with an inhabited village nearby, mostly populated by recusants. I once descended upon one of its waters for ablution when a resident of the village approached for the"
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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"It is one of the great ports in the land of Malabar, visited by people from China, Java, Ceylon, the Maldives, Yemen, and Persia, where merchants from all over gather. Its harbor is one of the greatest in the world and its ruler is an unbeliever known as the Samudri, an aged sheikh who shaves his beard, as some of the Greeks do. I saw him there and will mention him, God willing."
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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 →