Ibn Battuta — "In Anatolia, I met a dervish who could make himself invisible. Or at least, that…"
In Anatolia, I met a dervish who could make himself invisible. Or at least, that's what he claimed. I never saw him do it.
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More from Ibn Battuta
"I was once caught in a sandstorm in this land. The sand was so thick I could not see my hand in front of my face."
"I was given a sword as a gift, and it was made of very fine steel."
"The people here have a strange custom of greeting each other by rubbing noses. It was quite an experience to get used to."
"I was once offered a camel as a gift, but I declined, for I had no place to keep it."
"I was once given a magic carpet in this land, but it did not fly. It was just a very beautiful rug."
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.