The story of Ibn Battuta, the legendary Muslim world traveler

If we often hear the name Columbus, or Marcopolo, who was famous as a world explorer, then Islam also has a figure that is no less great than the three. He is Ibn Battuta, the legendary wanderer of Islam who is both an inspiring inspiration and an unrivaled explorer in the Middle Ages.

Ibn Battuta or Muhammad bin Battuta is a Moroccan scholar who is well-known for his observations and writings on his travels (rihlah) to various parts of the world for nearly three decades. Born in Tangier City (Thanjah), Morocco on February 25, 1304 AD, Ibn Battuta had spent half his life exploring most of the Islamic world and many non-Muslim countries.

Already more than one hundred and seventy-five miles or 120,000 kilometers, Ibn Battuta has explored 44 modern countries. The exploration for the first time begins with the pilgrimage. At that time, he was very young and 21 years old. His hobby is visiting countries in the world, to get to know people from various backgrounds and cultures.

Explore Where have you been?

Ibn Battuta's adventures include major cities in North Africa, Alexandria, Dimyath, Cairo, Aswan in Egypt, Palestine, Sham, Makkah, Medina, Najaf, Basrah, Shiraz in Iran, Moshul, Diyarbakr, Kufah, Baghdad, Jeddah, Yemen, Oman, Hormuz and Bahrain.

As for the Asian continent, he explored the cities of Kaaram, South Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, Istirkhan, Constantinople, Sarayevo, Bukhara, Afghanistan, Delhi, India, Maldives, China, Ceylon, Bengali, Indonesia, then Iraq, Iran and back to Africa. , Mali, then Fez, where he spent the last years of his life there under the rule of Sultan Abu Inan. During his exploration, Ibn Battuta never left any literary works nor even wrote notes on his travels regularly. He only told the story of his journey to others. Therefore, Sultan Abu Inan came who had the initiative to publish a book about Ibn Battuta's journey. Then the Sultan ordered his scribe, Ibn Jauzi, to write down Ibn Battuta's story and compile it into a book.

The book is entitled "Tuhfat al-Nazzar fi Ghara'ib al-Amsar wa al-Aja'in al-Asfar" (Prize for Observers Who Researches the Wonders of the City and the Oddities of Travel) which contains amazing and touching things. . Ibn Jauzi said that almost everything that was known about Ibn Battuta came from Ibn Battuta himself. Even though he claims that the things he narrates are what Ibn Battuta saw or experienced. We cannot know the truth of the story.

Ibn Battuta's Notes About the Archipelago

In his notes, Ibn Battuta said that Sumatra was the green island of Java. Because at that time what was famous among world traders was to eat jawi. But what Battuta means is Sumatra. The island where Pasai is located. When he visited the Pasai Ocean Kingdom, he was amazed by the beauty of the city. Battuta also noted that the Sultan of Pasai, al-Malik az-Zahir was very friendly.

Batuta was in Pasai for 15 days. After his visit to Aceh ended, he continued his journey to China, then headed to Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, then performed the hajj in Makkah. After his last pilgrimage, Ibn Battuta returned to his hometown. In 1369 at the age of 65, Ibn Battuta died.