The 294-page work by British Orientalist Samuel Lee features extensive historical and geographical commentaries. (SPA)
The 294-page work by British Orientalist Samuel Lee features extensive historical and geographical commentaries. (SPA)Next
- 1829 publication chronicles the adventures of one of the world’s greatest travelers
- Moroccan visited about 44 modern-day countries over 30 years
The King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh has unveiled a rare 1829 copy of the first printed English translation of Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta’s travels.
The 294-page work by British Orientalist Samuel Lee from an abridged manuscript at Cambridge University features extensive historical and geographical commentaries and references to classical Arabic texts.
Dubbed the “Prince of Muslim Travelers,” Ibn Battuta was a 14th-century scholar, judge and explorer who is still widely considered as one of the most famous travelers in history.
Between 1325 and 1354, he visited about 44 modern-day countries in Africa, Asia and Southern Europe and documented his journey. His travels surpassed even those of Venetian explorer Marco Polo.
While universally known as Ibn Battuta, his full name was almost as long as his travels: Shams al-Din Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Lwati al-Tanjhi.
After leaving his hometown of Tangier at the age of 21 to complete the Hajj — the Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah — Ibn Battuta caught the travel bug and decided to see the world and document it.
On his return to Morocco in 1355, the local sultan, Abu Inan al-Marini, commissioned a young scholar named Juzayy al-Kalbi to record Ibn Battuta’s experiences. It was compiled using the traditional Arabic literary style of travelogues.
The original travelogue was written in Classical Arabic and detailed Ibn Battuta’s epic journey. The resulting book was known as “The Rihla,” the Arabic word for a voyage.
The book has since been widely translated, with the English edition highlighting early Western scholarly engagement with Islamic heritage.
The King Abdulaziz Public Library houses more than 8,000 rare manuscripts, including the 1,000-year-old Gharib Al-Qur’an, the 14th-century medical text “The Anatomy of the Human Body,” and early Arabic linguistic works by Bin Jinni.
Reference Link:- https://www.arabnews.com/node/2652926/saudi-arabia