The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta: Uncommon Tales of a Medieval Adventurer

ISBN: 0226869857

Author: Waines, David

Condition: New

ReviewDavid Waines has written a fresh, new study of the famous fourteenth-century traveler Ibn Battuta, in which the travelers world and worldview are laid bare for us. This is a delightful exposé of what Ibn Battuta made of the experience of travel and the diverse foods, societies, religions, and individuals that he encountered in the international civilization of medieval Islam. -- Paul M. Cobb, University of PennsylvaniaDavid Waines offers us a fascinating and wholly fresh look into the life and travels of a major figure of Mediterranean and medieval literature. Ibn Battutas monumental travel narrative, and the socio-historical issues that underlie that narrative, come alive in Wainess vibrant and clear prose. Beyond a highly nuanced account of Ibn Battutas Travels, Waines also offers his readers a sophisticated platform upon which to develop future analyses of medieval travel literature. The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta will no doubt become the standard introduction to Ibn Battutas work for years to come. -- Vincent Barletta, Stanford UniversityProduct DescriptionIbn Battuta was, without doubt, one of the worlds truly great travelers. Born in fourteenth-century Morocco, and a contemporary of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta left an account in his own words of his remarkable journeys, punctuated by adventure and peril, throughout the Islamic world and beyond. Whether sojourning in Delhi and the Maldives, wandering through the mazy streets of Cairo and Damascus, or contesting with pirates and shipwreck, the indefatigable Ibn Battuta brought to vivid life a medieval world brimming with marvel and mystery. Carefully observing the great diversity of civilizations that he encountered, Ibn Battuta exhibited an omnivorous interest in such matters as food and drink; religious differences among Christians, Hindus, and Shia Muslims; and ideas about purity and impurity, disease, women, and sex.David Waines offers here a graceful analysis of Ibn Battutas travelogue. This is a gripping treatment of the life and times of one of historys most daring, and at the same time most human, adventurers.About the AuthorDavid Waines is emeritus professor of Islamic studies at Lancaster University and the author ofAn Introduction to Islam.