Ibn Battuta Research Paper

Ibn Battuta is known as the greatest explorer, traveling thousands of miles during a 30-year span. He was born in Tangier, Morocco. He studied the Sharia, the sacred law of the Muslims based on the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. In 1325, at age 21, he left his homeland for Mecca. He intended to complete the Hajj in Mecca, but he also wished to study Islamic law along the way. During this Journey, it sparked his lasting interest in travel. We begin this essay diving into the East African coast, the dangers of the Sahara Desert, and his thoughts on the traditions in the kingdom of Mali.

Rulers on the East African coast saw the advantages of trade and welcomed traders from all over, Muslim merchants had established trading ports in East Africa, mainly to trade for African gold. The annual monsoon winds were used to carry ships to India in the summer and to Africa in the winter. They have traded ivory, iron, copper, gold, silk, spices and many other things. To benefit from commerce, people would meet these merchants on their small native boats. They would offer food and hospitality to the merchants on the ship, and if the merchant had accepted such an offer, then he was obligated to lodge in that person’s house and to accept their services from whatever business that transacted. This was a way for the local people to benefit from

There were many dangers of crossing the Sahara some were able to protect themselves and other dangers are to dangerous. Facing the heat and not knowing where and when someone would have access to water is one danger Ibn Battua faced. Though he was lucky to find a few puddles of water, he had provisions that would hopefully last him until he got to his next locations. Also in the dessert there were bandits, set out to kill and steal any and all merchandise possible. To protect themselves people would travel in groups called caravans to help beat out the odds of being killed or stolen