Ibn Battuta — "The people of this city are very superstitious. They believe in evil spirits and…"
The people of this city are very superstitious. They believe in evil spirits and carry charms to ward them off.
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More from Ibn Battuta
"I was once given a parrot that could speak many languages. It was a very intelligent bird, and I enjoyed its company."
"The women of this country are very beautiful, and they walk about unveiled."
"I saw a tree that bore fruit that tasted like honey, and it was very delicious."
"The inhabitants of this country are all polytheists, and they worship idols. They have a temple where they perform their rites."
"I saw a man in this city who could swallow swords. It was a terrifying but fascinating performance."
About Ibn Battuta (1304-1369)
Moroccan Muslim scholar and explorer whose Rihla (travels) covered ~75,000 miles across the Islamic world from Mali to China — the most-traveled person of the medieval world. Closely associated with Marco Polo (his Venetian counterpart, traveling 50 years earlier in the opposite direction). For an intellectual contrast, see medieval European Christian insularity, the sheltered monastic-feudal worldview of 14th-century Latin Christendom — Ibn Battuta's 30-year journey demonstrates that the 14th-century Dar al-Islam was a single intellectual ecosystem from West Africa to Beijing, while medieval Europe was still tribal and parochial. The cleanest 'connectedness vs insularity' contrast in pre-modern history — Battuta could find a familiar Maliki judge in any city from Mali to Sumatra.