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VIRTUAL TANGIER: Visions of the City | |
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VIRTUAL TANGIER: Visions of the City | |
| c. 1330: IBN-BATOUTA (Excerpts from "The Rihla") |
| Tangier is the mother of cities, most beautiful and most ancient... My departure from Tangier, my birthplace, took place on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725 [June 14, 1325], being at that time twenty-two years of age, with the object of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House [at Mecca] and of visiting the tomb of the Prophet [in Medina]... So I braced my resolution to quit all my dear ones, female and male, and forsook my home as birds forsake their nests. My parents being yet in the bonds of life, it weighed sorely upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow at this separation. |
| I set out alone having neither
fellow-traveler in whose companionship I might find cheer, nor caravan
whose party I might join...
At Bijaya I fell ill of a fever, and one of my friends advised me to stay there till I recovered. But I refused, saying, "If God decrees my death, it shall be on the road with my face set toward Mecca." "If that is your resolve," he replied, "sell your ass and your heavy baggage, and I will lend you what you need. In this way you will travel light, for we must make haste on our journey, to avoid meeting bandits along the way." I followed his advice and he did as he had promised--may God reward him! |
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| … We traveled light with the utmost speed, pushing
on night and day without stopping. I was again attacked by fever,
so I tied myself in the saddle with a turban-cloth in case I should fall
by reason of my weakness. So great was my fear that I did not dismount
until we arrived at Tunis. The population of the city came out to
meet the members of our party, and on all sides greetings and questions
were exchanged, but not a soul greeted me as no one there was known to
me. I was so affected by my loneliness that I could not restrain the tears
that started to my eye, and wept bitterly. But one of the pilgrims, realizing
the cause of my distress, came up to me with a greeting and friendly welcome,
and continued to comfort me with friendly talk until I entered the city.
… The "takshif" is a name given to any man of the Massufa tribe who is hired by the persons in the caravan to go ahead to Iwalatan, carrying letters to their friends there, so that they may take lodgings for them. These persons then come out a distance of four nights' journey to meet the caravan, and bring water with them. It often happens that the "takshif" perishes in this desert, with the result that the people of Iwalatan know nothing about the caravan, and all or most of those who are with it perish… We passed a caravan on the way and they told us that some of their party had become separated from them. We found one of them dead under a shrub, of the sort that grows in the sand, with his clothes on and a whip in his hand. The water was only about a mile away from him… That desert is haunted by demons; if the "takshif" be alone, they make sport of him and disorder his mind, so that he loses his way and perishes. For there is no visible road or track in these parts, nothing but sand blown hither and thither by the wind. You see hills of sand in one place, and afterwards you will see them moved to quite another place. The guide is one who has made the journey frequently in both directions, and who is gifted with a quick intelligence. I remarked, as a strange thing, that our guide was blind in one eye, and diseased in the other, yet he had the best knowledge of the road of any man. On the night of the seventh day [from Tasarahla] we saw with joy the fires of the party who had come out to meet us. |
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… The dirhams [silver coins] of the West
are small, but their value is great. For I assure you that mutton in Egypt
is sold at eighteen ounces for a nuqra, which equals in value six dirhams
of the Maghreb, whereas in the Maghreb meat is sold, when prices are high,
at eighteen ounces for two dirhams... As for melted butter, it is usually
not to be found in Egypt at all.
The kinds of things that the Egyptians eat along with their bread would not even be looked at in the Maghreb. |
| They consist for the most part of lentils and chickpeas,
which they cook in enormous cauldrons, and on which they put oil of sesame;
"basilla," a kind of peas which they cook and eat with olive oil; gherkins,
purslane, and the buds of almond trees, [each of] which they cook and serve
in curdled milk; and colocasia, which they cook. All these things are easily
come by in the Maghreb, but God has enabled its inhabitants to dispense
with them, by reason of the abundance of fleshmeats, melted butter, fresh
butter, honey, and other products. As for green vegetables, they are the
rarest of things in Egypt, and most of their fruit has to be brought from
Syria…
As for Syria, fruits are indeed plentiful there, but in the Maghreb they are cheaper. Grapes are sold there at the rate of one of their pounds for a nuqra (their pound is three Maghrebi pounds), and when their price is low, two pounds for a nuqra. Pomegranates and quinces are sold at eight fals [copper pieces] apiece, which equals a dirham of our money. As for vegetables the quantity sold for a nuqra is less than that sold for a small dirham in our country. Meat is sold there at the rate of one Syrian pound for two and a half dirhams nuqra. If you consider all this, it will be clear to you that the lands of the Maghreb are the cheapest in cost of living, the most abundant in good things, and blest with the greatest share of material comforts and advantages. … Zabid is a hundred and twenty miles from San'a, in Yemen…The town is large and populous, with palm-groves, orchards, and running streams--in fact, the pleasantest and most beautiful town in Yemen. Its inhabitants are charming in their manners, upright, and handsome, and the women especially are exceedingly beautiful…they are virtuous and possessed of excellent qualities. They show a predilection for foreigners, and do not refuse to marry them, as the women in our country do. But the women never leave their own towns, and none of them would consent to do so, however much she were offered. … China was beautiful, but it did not please me. On the contrary, I was greatly troubled thinking about the way paganism dominated this country. Whenever I went out of my lodging, I saw many blameworthy things. That disturbed me so much that I stayed indoors most of the time and only went out when necessary. During my stay in China, whenever I saw any Muslims I always felt as though I were meeting my own family and close kinsmen. … I was moved [to go back to] Morocco, the land where I wore the
amulets of childhood and where the dust first touched my skin, by memories
of my homeland, affection for my family and dear friends, who drew me toward
my land, which, in my opinion, was better than any other country.
I set out to visit the tomb of my mother. I arrived at my home town of
Tangier and visited her, and went on to the town of Sebta [Ceuta], where
I stayed for some months. While I was there I suffered from an illness
for three months, but afterwards God restored me to health.
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| "Of all the lands the West by this token's
the best:
Here the full moon is spied and the sun speeds to rest." |
| Sources:
Ibn Battuta's Travels: Part One
Medieval Sourcebook:
Old World Contacts: Diplomats & Travellers
|
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