Back in 1325, a young man set off from the Moroccan city of Tangier on the first of many journeys that would take him to the most remote parts of the world at the time.

He reached China, India, Indonesia, Mali, Persia, Russia, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, Somalia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and all Arab countries of that time.

It was Abu Abdallah ibn Battuta who traveled about 120,700 kilometers, an unimaginable feat before the advent of steam railways.

He was also known by the name of Shams ad-Din ar. شمس الدين, which was given to scholars, and meant “Sun of Religion”.

Ibn Battuta is known as the “Traveller of Islam” and the greatest traveler of his time. His memoirs, which were composed after he returned home after nearly 30 years of travel, bring us closer to many features of 14th-century life and culture.

When he heard about Ibn Battuta’s travels, the Moroccan Sultan of Fez ordered a book to be written about him to be read at court.

He sent the scribe Ibn Yuzai, who wrote down these travelogues and enriched them with his own comments. The title of the original manuscript can be translated as “A gift to those who imagine the wonders of cities and the wonders of travel”.

The work was little known in Arab countries at the time, and was translated into Western languages after it was discovered by European scholars in the 19th century.

In addition to the beautiful descriptions of the cities, this travelogue gives us a unique insight into the life, trade, customs, religion and politics of the countries that Ibn Battuta visited, especially the medieval Islamic countries.