Life

We set out with the amir Tuluktumur and his brother and two sons. At every halt the Turks loose their horses, oxen and camels, and drive them out to pasture at liberty, night...

Ibn Battuta arrives at KaffaThe day after our arrival one of the merchants in our company hired some waggons from the Qipchaqs who inhabit this desert, and who are Christians, and we came to...

After leaving this town we crossed a great river called Saqari by a ferry. This consisted of four beams bound together with ropes, on which the passengers are placed, together with their...

Ibn Battuta buys a slave girlWe went on through the town of Tim, which is in the territories of this sultan, to Aya Suluq , a large and ancient town venerated by the Greeks....

This went on for several days, the sultan inviting us daily to join him at his meal, and one afternoon visiting us himself, on account of the respect which the Turks show for theologians....

Ibn Battuta arrives in KoniaIt is a large town with fine buildings, and has many streams and fruit-gardens. The streets are exceedingly broad, and the bazaars admirably planned, with each craft in a bazaar...

Before diving the diver puts on his face a sort of tortoiseshell mask and a tortoiseshell clip on his nose, then he ties a rope round his waist and dives. They differ in their...

Water is a valuable commodity in this island. They have wells and artificial reservoirs to collect rainwater at some distance from the town. The inhabitants go there with waterskins, which they fill and carry...

The many uses of the coconutOne of its peculiarities is that oil, milk and honey are extracted from it. The honey is made in this fashion. They cut a stalk on which the fruit...

The people of Dhofar and their customsIts population consists of merchants who live entirely on trade. When a vessel arrives they take the master, captain and writer in procession to the sultan’s palace and...