Ibn Battuta · 1355 · global

The Rihla of Ibn Battuta, the Moroccan jurist who between 1325 and 1354 travelled some 120,000 kilometres across the medieval world, far further than Marco Polo. Setting out from Tangier on the Hajj at twenty-one, he kept going for nearly three decades: down the Swahili coast to Kilwa, across to the Persian Gulf, over the mountains to serve the Sultan of Delhi, on to the Maldives and China, and finally, after returning home, across the Sahara to Mali. He dictated the account from memory, and scholars still debate which wonders he truly saw.

1. 1
   Tangier

   At twenty-one, Ibn Battuta leaves Tangier on the pilgrimage to Mecca. He will not return for twenty-four years.

2. 2
   Cairo

   Along the coast of North Africa to Cairo.

3. 3
   Damascus

   A loop through Damascus and Jerusalem.

4. 4
   Mecca

   And the Hajj to Mecca, where he resolves to keep travelling.

5. 5
   Kilwa

   Down the Red Sea and along the Swahili coast, past Mogadishu and Mombasa to Kilwa, his southernmost reach.

6. 6
   Hormuz

   Back north to Arabia and across to Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

7. 7
   Samarkand

   Through Persia to the Silk Road cities of Bukhara and Samarkand.

8. 8
   Delhi

   Over the Hindu Kush into India, where he serves the Sultan of Delhi as a judge.

9. 9
   Calicut

   South to the Malabar coast and the great port of Calicut.

10. 10
    Maldives

    And the Maldive Islands, where he sits as judge among the atolls.

11. 11
    Quanzhou

    On through Ceylon and Sumatra to China and the port of Quanzhou, his easternmost reach.

12. 12
    Mecca

    The long voyage home across the Indian Ocean, and a final pilgrimage to Mecca.

13. 13
    Tangier

    Home to Tangier across Arabia, Egypt and the Maghreb, after twenty-four years away.

14. 14
    Timbuktu

    And one last journey, across the Sahara to the empire of Mali and Timbuktu.