What did Ibn Battuta see crossing the Sahara?

"Each person would either sleep or eat in their cart while traveling. In my cart, I had three maidservants. It was customary for travelers in this desert to speed up due to the scarcity of its vegetation, and most of the camels that travel through it perish. What remains of them is only useful in the next year after grazing. The water in this desert is found at known stations every two or three days, and it comes from rain and springs. When we traversed this desert, as mentioned, we arrived at Khwarezm, the largest, greatest, and most beautiful of the Turkic cities. It boasts excellent markets, wide streets, extensive buildings, and remarkable features. It is"

"the woman reputed to have caused Solomon's reign to falter, and when his kingship was restored, he ordered her to be placed in an uninhabited desert, so she was placed in the Chipchak Desert. The khatun's womb is formed like a ring by nature, as is everyone from that woman's lineage. I have neither seen in the Chipchak Desert nor elsewhere anyone who confirmed seeing a woman like this, nor heard of one except this khatun. Except perhaps one of China's people informed me a type of their women is similar, but it was beyond my reach and I have no evidence of it."

"among the items we carried aboard the ship was something overpowered by the scent of the sea. The place where we had disembarked is part of the desert known as the Dasht Kipchak, Dasht in the Turkish language with a pointed shesh and a double T, meaning desert. This desert is vast and barren, devoid of trees, mountains, hills, buildings, or firewood."

"lived in this manner for a long time. He and his knights would venture into uncharted deserts, burying resources near water. When pursued by the Sultan's army, they would delve into the desert, unearth the waters, and the army would retreat out of fear of perishing. He persisted in this way for a period during which neither the king of Iraq nor anyone else could conquer him, until he repented and devoted himself to worship until his death, after which his grave became a place of visitation in his country. We traversed this desert until we arrived at Kauristan, written with an open K and a still W and R, a"

"here. It was then that I realized there was nothing good to expect from them, and I wished to travel with the pilgrims from Iwalatan, but then it seemed better to see the capital of their king. My stay in Iwalatan lasted about fifty days. Its people honored and hosted me, among them their judge Muhammad ibn Abdillah ibn Yanumur and his brother, the scholar and teacher Yahya. Iwalatan is extremely hot, with a few scattered date palms under which they cultivate melons. Their water comes from wells there, and mutton is plentiful. The clothes of its people are fine Egyptian garments, and the majority of its inhabitants are from"

"as they do with gold and silver. They cut it into pieces and trade with it. Despite its modest size, Taghaza witnesses transactions involving quintals of unrefined gold. We stayed there for 10 days in hardship due to the brackish water, and it is one of the most fly-infested places. From there, water is gathered for the desert beyond, a 10-day journey where water is scarce. At our time there, we found plentiful water in rain-filled pools. One day we came upon a pool between two stone hills with sweet water, from which we drank and washed our clothes. Truffles abound in that desert, as do lice, prompting people"

"Before its sting, the water would have killed it if she had not drunk it. When we arrived, they welcomed us with water, and our horses drank. We entered an exceedingly hot desert unlike any we had known. We would depart after the Asr prayer, afternoon prayer, travel all night and rest in the morning. Men from Musa, Barda, and others would come bringing loads of water for sale. Then, we reached the city of Iwalatan at the beginning of Rabi. Al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar, after a full two-month journey from Sijilmasa."

"to our lord, may God support him, and set out on a journey to Sudan, reaching the city of Sijilmasa. It is among the finest cities, abundant with good dates, resembling Basra in its abundance of dates. However, the dates of Sijilmasa are superior, with the Iran variety having no peer in the lands. I settled with the jurist Abu Muhammad al-Bishri, whom I encountered in the city of Kanjenfu in China. Despite the great distance, he honoured me immensely, and there I purchased camels, feeding them for four months. Then I journeyed at the dawn of the sacred month of Muharram, in the year 53, in the company of its leader."