Safaria
All mangas

The Safaria blog · Vol. 03

Ibn Battuta, from Tangier to Mecca

A pilgrimage that became the greatest journey of its age

1325 – 1355Tangier · Mecca · Fès1 min read6 panels
Tangier, 14 June 1325. Ibn Battuta is 21.
Tangier, 14 June 1325. Ibn Battuta is 21.
He leaves alone, with no companion and no caravan, to visit the Sacred House.

My heart is already there…

He leaves alone, with no companion and no caravan, to visit the Sacred House.
He joins caravans across North Africa, as far as Alexandria and Cairo.
He joins caravans across North Africa, as far as Alexandria and Cairo.
1326: he performs his first Hajj in Mecca.

Labbayk Allahumma labbayk!

1326: he performs his first Hajj in Mecca.
The pilgrimage becomes a journey of almost 30 years: East Africa, India, China…
The pilgrimage becomes a journey of almost 30 years: East Africa, India, China…
1355, Fès: by order of Sultan Abu Inan, he dictates his account, the Rihla, to the scholar Ibn Juzayy.

Write: I set out from Tangier…

1355, Fès: by order of Sultan Abu Inan, he dictates his account, the Rihla, to the scholar Ibn Juzayy.

The end

Dates and facts are historical; the dialogue is imagined for the story. Characters are drawn as silhouettes, out of respect.

Historical landmarks

  • Left Tangier on 14 June 1325 (2 Rajab 725).
  • Almost 30 years of travel, from West Africa to China.
  • His Rihla, "Tuhfat al-Nuzzar", was dictated in Fès in 1355.

Sources

Live this story

Prepare your Hajj step by step