IBN BATTUTA

His name Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta. He was born in Tangier, Morocco February 24, 1304. He was scholar and jurisprudent from the Maliki Madhhab a school of Fiqh, or Sunni Islamic law, and at times a Qadi or judge. However, he was best known as a traveler and explorer, whose account documents his travels and excursions over a period of almost thirty years, covering some 73,000 miles (117,000 km).

THE HAJJ:-

At the age of approximately twenty Ibn Battuta went on hajj the pilgrimage to Mecca. Once done, however, he continued traveling, eventually covering about 75,000 miles over the length and breadth of the Muslim world, and beyond about 44 modern countries. He was started his journeys in 1325. After spending Ramadan in Damascus, Ibn Battuta joined up with a caravan travelling the 800 miles from Damascus to Medina, burial place of the prophet Muhammad. After four days, he then journeyed on to Mecca. There he completed the usual rituals of a Muslim pilgrim, and having graduated to the status of al-Hajji as a result, now faced his return home. Upon reflection, he decided to continue journeying instead. His next destination was the Il-Khanate in modern-day Iraq and Iran.

SECOND HAJJ AND EAST AFRICA:-

After this trip, Ibn Battuta returned to Mecca for a second hajj, and lived there for a year before embarking on a second great trek, this time down the Red Sea and the Eastern African coast. His first major stop was Aden, where his intention was to make his fortune as a trader of the goods that flowed into the Arabian Peninsula from around the Indian Ocean. Before doing so, however, he determined to have one last adventure, and signed on for a trip down the coast of Africa. Spending about a week in each of his destinations, he visited Mogadishu, Mombassa, Zanzibar, and Kilwa, among others. With the change of the monsoon, he and the ship he was aboard then returned to Arabia. Having completed his final adventure before settling down, he then immediately decided to go visit Oman and the Straits of Hormuz. This done, he journeyed to Mecca again.