The true story of a fourteenth-century traveler, whose journeys through the Islamic world and beyond were extraordinary for his time.

In 1325, when Ibn Battuta was just twenty-one, he bid farewell to his parents in Tangier, Morocco, and embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca. It was thirty years before he returned home, having seen much of the world. In this book he recalls his amazing journey and the fascinating people, cultures and places he encountered.

After his pilgrimage to Mecca, Ibn Battuta was filled with a desire to see more of the world. He traveled extensively, throughout Islamic lands and beyond — from the Middle East to Africa to Europe to Asia.

Travelers were uncommon in those days, and when Ibn Battuta arrived in a new city he would introduce himself to the governor or religious leaders, and they in turn would provide him with gifts, a place to stay and study, and sometimes they even gave him money to continue his journey. Some of the highlights of his travels included seeing the stunning Dome of the Rock shrine in Jerusalem; witnessing the hundreds of women who gathered to pray at the mosque in Shiraz; visiting the public baths in Baghdad; and meeting the Mogul emperor of India, who made him a judge and eventually sent him to China as an ambassador.

Ibn Battuta kept a diary of his travels, and even though he lost it many times and had to recall and rewrite what he had seen, he kept a remarkable record of his years away. His adventurous spirit, keen mind and meticulous observations, as retold here by Fatima Sharafeddine, give us a remarkable picture of what it was like to be a traveler nearly seven hundred years ago.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Intelaq Mohammed Ali, with maps and travel routes forming the backdrop for many richly painted scenes.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1

Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3

Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3

Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

Fatima Sharafeddine was born in Beirut and spent her early childhood in Sierra Leone. Her family returned to Lebanon when she was still a child, and she spent fifteen years living through the Lebanese civil war. After receiving a B.A. in Early Childhood Education, she moved to the United States, where she earned a master’s degree in education and another in Arabic literature. She has taught preschool in Houston, Texas, and Arabic language and culture classes at Rice University. She is an active member of the Lebanese section of IBBY (LBBY) and has written more than ninety books for young children. Her most recent books are the young adult novels The Servant and Ghady and Rawan.

Fatima has twice been nominated for the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. She has also been nominated for the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award and the Marsh Award for Children’s Literature in Translation. She now divides her time between Beirut and Brussels, where she writes and translates full time.

Fatima Sharafeddine's profile page

Intelaq Mohammed Ali is an Iraqi illustrator, graphic designer and author with thirty years’ experience in the field of children’s culture. Her illustrations and writing have appeared in more than eighty books and magazines for children and adults, and she has made thirty-two animations. Her work has been exhibited in more than fifty international shows, winning a total of nine awards in Japan, Jordan, Iran and Lebanon.

The Amazing Travels of Ibn Battuta, first published in the United Arab Emirates and illustrated by Intelaq Mohammed Ali, was selected for the IBBY Honour List, and Hakaza tatagayar alalwan (Thus the Colors Change), which she wrote and illustrated, has been reviewed in the White Ravens Catalogue (International Youth Library, Germany).

Intelaq has been selected as a jury member for the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature and the Sharjah Exhibition for Children’s Book Illustration. She has actively participated in many international workshops and seminars, including the UNESCO-BIB Workshop for Illustrators of Children’s Books in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the first IBBY Regional Conference for Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa in Sharjah, UAE.

Intelaq Ali's profile page

Simple and dignified, this is an excellent tool to use when introducing youngsters to Arab history and culture. Highly Recommended.

Library Media Connection, STARRED REVIEW

The illustrations, done in a style reminiscent of Persian miniatures, feature large-eyed figures in period dress and evocative glimpses of grand architecture.

Kirkus Reviews