It was the year 1351 when I landed at Fez, a city located in West Africa, and where I got to meet one of the most fascinating travelers of the post-classical period, Ibn Battuta. The long and tedious journey across Fez, Sijilmasa, Taghaza and Walata was a 1,500 miles trip that finally led us to our destination, Mali.

As soon as I arrived at Fez, which was around autumn, I noticed the busy life that people lived due to the exchange of luxury products and other types of goods. I decided to walk for about half an hour in order to find the man that made one of the most well-known journeys in the Islamic World (Ibn Battuta). I got tired due to the high temperatures of the desert and sat down and rested. After a while, a man passed by with similar characteristics as Ibn Batuta, and indeed he was. Battuta was leaving Fez and starting a journey to Mali. He politely invited me to come with him in his travel and we began a trip that lasted approximately three years.

Ibn Battuta and I left Fez in the autumn of 1351 and we crossed the Atlas Mountains. We traveled for about eight or nine days and arrived at Sijilmasa, a town where the Oasis of Tafilalet was located. Sadly, this was the last place we stopped before entering the Sahara Desert. In order to wait for the winter season to pass, Battuta decided to stay at Sijilmasa

and we spent four months in this town. Luckily, Muslim merchants were very nice to offer us hospitality.

 

In February, 1352, we continued our journey as we entered the Sahara Desert, now accompanied by an Arab caravan. We traveled during the early mornings and late afternoons to avoid a greater exposure from the burning heat of the sun. When we got tired, we rested under sunshades to protect our skin from UV rays. Twenty five days later, we arrived at the village of Taghaza. Ibn Battuta explained to me that Taghaza was the most important center for for rock salt in West Africa. I was able to see how the workers loaded great chunks of salt in camels, which were later sent to Mali. Even though it was an important center for the economy, Battuta didn’t enjoyed staying at this place. The houses were entirely made of salt and the water was salty. "This is a village with nothing good about it," he complained, “and it is the most fly-ridden of places."

 

Ten days later we left Taghaza and continued our journey, arriving at Walata on the last days of April. This town was located on the edge of the desert, were the governor offered us a bowl of millet with honey and yogurt as a welcoming meal. I noticed that Battuta refused to accept the meal because he thought he deserved better gifts. Ibn Battuta was annoyed by other local customs, for example, he was surprised to see how women were treated in this society. He explained to me he didn’t understand how women were shown more respect than the men. One day, we entered into  a qadi’s house and we found him with a young, beautiful women. Battuta was so shocked to see the girl that he turned to go out, but the qadi stopped him and explained him that she was his companion. The idea of women having friends and companies outside their families was not somethings that Battuta would accept.

After a few weeks, we departed and arrived to Mali. Many of Ibn Battuta’s friends sended him hospitality gifts and treated him with generosity. Battuta invited me attend a public ceremony that was organized by the sultan of Mali, Mansa Sulayman, where we all read the Koran and prayed for the master Abu’ l-Hasan and the sultan. Another day we witnessed a masquerade performance at the royal court of Mansa Sulayman. The poets will recite their poems in front of the sultan with ridiculous makeup and colorful masks. Battuta told me this was an old custom among them, prior to the introduction of Islam. It was interesting to see how women servants, slave-girls and young girls went walking in front of everyone naked. People would also put ashes and dust on their heads as a mark of respect. In terms of trading, inhabitants would buy and sell their goods by using cowry shells.

 

After a fulfilling expedition through different places in West Africa, I got the chance to meet Ibn Battuta, the Arab scholar who traveled nearly 75,000 miles during his extraordinary journeys. All the social, economical, cultural and political aspects that I learned at this trip provided me a bigger and better picture of what was life like in places encompassing the

 

 

trans-saharan trade during the post-classical period. The effects of human interaction across the Sand Roads led to an increase in productivity and communication, which helped build the complex world in which we live today.

 

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