A 14th Century Travel Itinerary Recaptured

by Jennifer Jordan, 7th Grade History teacher

Who wouldn’t love the opportunity to travel the world? The Muslim scholar and judge, Ibn Battuta, seized such an opportunity after making a pilgrimage to Mecca from his home in Morocco in the mid-1300s. Bitten by the travel bug and armed with wealth and curiosity, Battuta spent almost 30 years visiting cities and countries across the Muslim-speaking world. The Western world learned about his adventures through Battuta’s travel book, Rihlah, which was translated into English in the 20th century. To cap off our study of medieval African Kingdoms, 7th graders created digital travel brochures highlighting a dozen of the places visited by Ibn Battuta. Each student chose their places, researched them, and wrote persuasive captions for their images. Enjoy these snippets!