What did Ibn Battuta see in Tangier, Fez and Morocco?
Ibn Battuta set out from Tangier at twenty-one and came home to Fez almost thirty years later; the Riḥla is dictated there.
8 passages from 2 books in the library
In the passages here Ibn Battuta judges the Maghreb by its prices. Mutton in Egypt sold at eighteen ounces for one nakra dirham, equal to six Maghreb dirhams, while in the Maghreb, even when meat was dear, eighteen ounces cost two dirhams, a third of a nakra; ghee was often unavailable in Egypt. He concludes that the Maghreb is the most affordable of lands. Elsewhere he sees Morocco reflected in a town where people prayed on a hung palm mat as in Morocco, and in a city whose customs matched Morocco's.
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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"Their land in the west is small yet abundant in benefits. When one compares their prices with those of the lands in Egypt and Syria, the truth is clear, revealing the excellence of the Maghreb lands. I say, for instance, that mutton meat in Egypt is sold at the rate of eighteen ounces for one nakra dirham, with one nakra dirham equating to six of the Maghreb dirhams."
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"I say, for instance, that mutton meat in Egypt is sold at the rate of eighteen ounces for one nakra dirham, with one nakra dirham equating to six of the Maghreb dirhams. In the Maghreb, if the price of meat rises, eighteen ounces are sold for two dirhams, which is one third of a nakra. As for ghee, it is often unavailable in Egypt."
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"Regarding meat, a pound of their weight is sold for two and a half nakra dirhams. Thus, when considering all of this, it becomes clear that the Maghreb is the most affordable of lands, with the greatest abundance of goods and benefits. God has further graced the Maghreb, adding honor to its honor and virtue to its virtue."
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"Sadr al-Jahan Kamal al-Din al-Ghaznavi, and Sadr al-Jahan Nasir al-Din al-Khwarizmi, along with other judges and prominent dignitaries from Khorasan Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and the Maghreb, each ride on an elephant. The term Khorasanis is used for all foreigners amongst them. The muezzins also ride on the elephants, chanting Takbir, praising God. The sultan exits from the palace gate in this arrangement, with the armies waiting for him, each leader with his own battalion, drums, and banners. The sultan leads, followed by the aforementioned procession of pedestrians, then the judges with the muezzins recalling the name of God. Behind the sultan are his standards,"
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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"I have not heard these names in any other town. Most of its people go bareheaded without turbans. In every home, there is a palm mat hung inside upon which the household head prays, much like the practice in Morocco. They predominantly eat millet, and all these similarities strengthen the suggestion that Sanhaja and other tribes of Morocco originate from Himyar."
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"The king then abandoned his plans for besieging the city and pursuing it. Strangely, the people of this city resemble those of Morocco in their customs. I stayed at the house of the khatib of its grand mosque, Isa bin Ali, a man of great status and generosity. He had maidservants named after the servants of Morocco. One was called Bakhita and another Zadalmal."
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"a lodge for hospitality, and whatever they gather by day, they spend by night. After the Maghrib prayer, the man returned and took us to his lodge. We found it to be a well-furnished place with elegant Roman carpets and numerous glass chandeliers from Iraq. The gathering included five brass candelabras, akin to a minaret, with three legs and a chaste from brass on top for the wick, filled with melted fat. Beside it stood a copper vessel full of fat and scissors to mend the wick, and one person was assigned to this task, known as the Jaraji. In the gathering, there were a group of youths wearing gowns and soft shoes, each girded with a knife about two cubits long, and on"
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"it by striking it with a mace, leading to its fracture. People rushed to kill him, and many from Morocco were also killed for this. The sides of the stone are secured with a sheet of silver with its whiteness shining against its black surface. The noble stone reveals its splendid beauty to the eyes, and kissing it brings a pleasure that the mouth longs for, wishing the embrace would never end. Bound within it is a special property and divine care, as evidenced by the words of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that it is God's right hand on earth. May Allah benefit us by touching and greeting it, and may He send all those yearning to embrace it."
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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 →