"some neded feedback please: THE TRAVELS OF IBN BATTUTA"
i'm rewriting the travels of a 14th century scholar in rhyme.
if you want to remix some of the wording, go right ahead
thanks in advance
THE TRAVELS OF IBN BATTUTA
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier Morocco from a family of muslim scholars in 1304 he earned his law degree as a young man the pilgrimage to Mecca became his plan
travel was dangerous by sea and land in Tlemcen Ibn joined a hajj caravan riding his donkey as a pilgrim accompanied by traders this allowed him safe passage from desert raiders
after a quick stop in Algiers Ibn continued to march east in Bijaya he became ill but this did not stop him in the least the Governor of the town offered him money and a cloak it would be the first of many gifts when our hero was broke
the city of Tunis was a shipping port with over 100,000 souls it was here Ibn Battuta became a Qadi (judge) at 22 years old he stayed for two months and sat with various scholars and government escort kept him safe from marauders
Ibn Battuta almost married the daughter of a tunisian official after a quarrel he requested official's daughters dismissal. he later married the daughter of a scholar from the city of Fez i wonder if his ex-fiance was seeing red?
the 2,000 mile trip across North Africa took over 250 days the next pilgrimage season was over eight months away Ibn landed in Alexandria and passed the land of pharaoh he noticed the pyramids in route to the Mamluk Cairo
the Mamluk were an imported military caste of slave soldiers who took power for themselves and kept law and order they granted safe passage to pilgrims in the holy lands the lives of many hajji were placed in their hands
Greater Syria was also under the Mamluk control soldiers used carpets nightly to smooth down the roads in Hebron Ibn prayed for the prophets of monotheism next stop up the royal road was the city of Jerusalem
After taking in the sights like the Dome of the Rock it was time for Ibn Battuta's next destination stop Ibn arrived in Damascus during the month of fasting he became ill but the effects were not long lasting
On the roads to Mecca many perished along the way The trek from Damascus to Medina took up to 60 days Once he became "al-Hajji" he did not think of home since Allah's earth is spacious he decided to roam
Ibn joined the official caravan headed to the state of Persia He visited Najaf, Shiraz, Baghdad, Isfahan and Basra Ibn met the Il-Khan, or ruler, and joined his royal caravan and visited the il-Khan capital Tabriz
After a year stay in Mecca Ibn traveled south to Aden There he boarded a dhow set sail for Africa from Yemen after visiting Zeila, Mogadishu, Zanj , Mombassa and Kilwa He almost lost his life walking back to the Holy city of Mecca
After his third Hajj Ibn became restless once again the Sultan of Delhi was looking for knowledgeable men Ibn traveled up Syria and made the voyage to Alanya The turks showed great hospitality in Anatolia
The Golden Horde ruled the steppe across the Black Sea al-Islam was the state religion of its territories Ibn was granted audience with the Khan and joined his royal caravan to Astrakhan
The Khan had three wives and one was having his child the Princess had not been in her homeland for a while Constantinople at the time was called the new Rome She wanted to deliver the baby in her ancestral home
Ibn was allowed to travel to Byzantium as a guest and was thankful the Khan honored his request Once the caravan returned from the Christian nation Ibn set out towards his next destination
Ibn passed though the Khanate of Chagatay that winter Ibn stayed with the Khan for 54 days he later passed through the mountains of Afghanistan Off to Delhi in hopes of working for the Sultan
When Ibn Battuta arrived in Delhi he was treated like a star He waited for the Sultan to return from a campaign of war Ibn finally met the Sultan and became a judge in the region the Sultan relocated the capital to Daulatabad without reason
The Sultan of India was an eccentric and tolerated no opposition Ibn feared he became a target of the tyrants suspicions the Sultan wanted Ibn lead an envoy to China as Ambassador this plan ultimately failed and ended in great disaster
A storm wrecked the ships that were set for sail one dreary night Ibn was so afraid of the wrath of the sultan and decided to take flight Without much money or protection he decided to visit China on his own But first he made a trip to Adam's Peak in nearby Ceylon
Ibn migrated from the Maldive Islands to the port of Chittagong Then set sail towards Samundra once the winds were strong The Sultan of Sumatra entertained Ibn as his guest from Allah and granted him passage on a junk sailing to China
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