22 stops.
75,000 miles.
24 years.

Morocco

Departure. Twenty-one years old, set out alone for Hajj.

"I set out alone, finding no companion to cheer the way with friendly intercourse, and no party of travelers with whom to associate myself. Swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a long-cherished desire to visit those illustrious sanctuaries, I resolved to quit all my friends and tear myself away from my home."

Egypt

The lighthouse still stood. Met the saint al-Murshidi who foresaw his wanderings.

"I went to see the lighthouse on this occasion and found one of its faces in ruins. It is a square building, towering into the air. Its door is high above the level of the ground, and opposite it, at the same height, is a building from which there is a plank bridge to the door."

Egypt

Capital of the Mamluk world. Visited the pyramids and the scholars of al-Azhar.

"Cairo is the mother of cities, mistress of broad regions and fruitful lands, boundless in the multitude of buildings, peerless in beauty and splendour, the meeting-place of comer and goer, the stopping-place of feeble and strong."

Syria

Studied hadith at the Umayyad Mosque before continuing to Makkah.

"Damascus is the place which exceeds all cities in beauty, and surpasses them in loveliness. It has abundant water, fine fruits, and fertile soil. Its citizens devote themselves to the service of strangers."

Hijaz, Saudi Arabia

First Hajj. Would return four more times over the journey.

"The blessed city of Makkah is sunk in a hollow surrounded on all sides by hills. The valley is narrow, and the plain bounded by mountains of rock. There is not a tree, not a leaf, not a blade of grass — only glorified by the presence of the Sacred House."

Hijaz, Saudi Arabia

Prayed at the Prophet's ﷺ mosque. Stayed four days.

"We reached the illustrious and sacred sanctuary, and entered the holy mosque. We halted by the Garden between the noble Grave and the holy Pulpit, and prayed where the angels alight."

Iraq

The city still shone a century after the Mongol sack.

"Baghdad is an ancient city, and although it continues as the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate, most of its traces have disappeared. Nothing remains of it but a name. In comparison with what it once was, it is like a ruined settlement or the scattered trace of a vanished encampment."

Persia / Iran

Met Sufi shaykhs and ate apricots he never forgot.

"Isfahan is one of the largest and finest of cities, but is now in great part in ruins as the result of feud there between the Sunnis and the Shi'is. Its fruits are excellent; its apricots of unrivalled sweetness."

Persia / Iran

Visited the tomb of Saʿdī and the circles of scholars.

"Shiraz is a fine city, well built and extensive. It has splendid bazaars and beautiful gardens. The inhabitants are the best of people — handsome in form and dressed in clean clothing."

Yemen

The port where Indian Ocean trade converged.

"Aden is the port of the merchants of India. To it come large vessels from Kinbayat, Kawlam, Calicut, and other Malabar ports. Its people are merchants and porters, and have no cultivation."

Somalia

East African Muslim city-state.

"Mogadishu is an enormous city. Its inhabitants are merchants and are very rich. They own vast numbers of camels, of which they slaughter hundreds every day."

Tanzania

Height of the Swahili coast Sultanate.

"Kilwa is one of the most beautiful and well-constructed towns in the world. The whole of it is elegantly built. The roofs are made of reeds, and the rainfall is very heavy."

Türkiye (Istanbul)

Rare Muslim visitor to Christian Byzantium. Met Emperor Andronikos III.

"Constantinople is an enormous city. Inside, it is divided into thirteen quarters, the principal quarter near the Golden Gate where the emperor lives. The Hagia Sophia is without peer in the world."

Uzbekistan

Once the great centre of learning; now in ruins.

"Bukhara was formerly the capital of the lands beyond the Oxus, but it was destroyed by the cursed Tinkiz the Tatar. Its mosques, colleges, and markets are in ruins, with few exceptions."

Uzbekistan

One of the greatest cities he saw.

"Samarkand is one of the greatest and finest of cities, and most perfect of them in beauty. It is built on the bank of a river called the Kawthar River. Along its bank there are palaces and gardens."

India

Served as qadi under Muhammad ibn Tughluq for seven years.

"Delhi is a vast and magnificent city, uniting beauty with strength. It is surrounded by a wall that has no equal in the world, and is the largest city not only of India but of the entire Muslim East."

Maldive Islands

Appointed chief qadi. Tried to enforce Islamic law against local customs.

"These islands are among the wonders of the world. They number about two thousand, with one hundred or fewer islands forming a circle. Each ring of islands has an entrance like the gate of a city."

Sri Lanka

Climbed Adam's Peak to see the sacred footprint.

"Adam's Peak, peace be upon him, is one of the highest mountains in the world. We saw it from the sea when we were distant from it the space of nine days. On its summit is a footprint in a black rock, said to be the footprint of our father Adam."

China

Great port of the Yuan dynasty, with a substantial Muslim quarter.

"The Chinese port of Zaytun is one of the greatest seaports in the world. I saw in its harbour about a hundred large junks, and small ones past counting. It is a huge city, beautiful, and the Muslims there have a separate quarter."

Morocco

Home at last, after 24 years. Dictated the Rihla to a royal scribe.

"I arrived at the noble presence of our lord, the Commander of the Faithful, that I might have the honour of gazing upon his face, and I was overjoyed with the favour he showed me. May God prolong his days for the blessing of Islam."

al-Andalus / Spain

Last of the great Muslim city-states of Iberia.

"Granada is the metropolis of al-Andalus and the bride of its cities. Its surroundings have not their equal in any country in the world. The famous river Shannil runs through it, with many fine water-wheels."

Mali

Final leg. Crossed the Sahara with a salt caravan.

"Timbuktu is situated a four miles to the west of the river. Its inhabitants are chiefly of the Massufa, wearers of the face-veil. The sultan of Mali has a palace here, its walls and ceilings adorned with colored arabesques."