Having sailed for forty days, Ibn Battuta finally reached the busy port of Quanzhou on the shore of Fujian Province.

He was amazed at what he saw and learned that silk is being used as clothing even by less fortunate people like beggars and monks. He also admired the finest pots made of porcelain and the bigger sizes of poultry animals.

Ibn Battuta was quite shocked and anxious at the culture he did not understand. China was not a Muslim country and the cultural contrasts he came across with troubled him that it made him stay indoors most of the time. For him, seeing any Muslims feels like meeting a family.

As reported, Ibn Battuta met a wealthy Egyptian Muslim trader who settled in Hangzhou, known to have been the world’s biggest city in the 14^th century. He enjoyed banquets, magic shows, and canal rides. Ibn Battuta met a familiar face in Fuzhou. The man he met in India was now a rich man and presented with many gifts.

As he moved back to Quanzhou, he saw a junk that belongs to the Sultan of Samudra that is about to sail back. And so Ibn Battuta boarded and started to return home. For three years, he walked again the streets of Tangier, Morocco while sharing his travels throughout the Dar al-Islam.

A Festival for the Prince of Travelers

Now hailed as the Prince of Travelers and the greatest traveler of premodern times, a festival presented by the Moroccan Association of Ibn Battuta honors the legacy of Ibn Battuta will be celebrated on November 9-12, 2017 in the city of Tangier, Morocco. Bringing the concept, “Travelers, the Ambassadors of Peace”, the  International Festival of Ibn Battuta which is now in its second edition is bringing together artists, literary masters, ministers of culture, government leaders and representatives from the international community.

Mohamed Dekkak

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