Ibn Batuta Batuta (1304-ca.1369) was a North African world traveller. In 1325 Ibn Batuta left Tangier on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He did not return home afterwards but continued travelling throughout his life. His next journey was to Iraq and Iran. He then travelled across large parts of Asia and Africa.
Ibn Batuta had his journeys recorded in a book entitled Rihla (Journeys). While for a long time only sections were known, in 1818 the entire work was found, and in 1853-1858 it was published in Arabic with a French translation. Since then, Ibn Batuta has become well known in both Muslim and Western circles alike. We have exhibited a French translation that predates the discovery of the entire manuscript by the French Arabist Charles Defrémery (1822-1883).