Travellers; sponsorship and support are required for a trip along the route of the Silk Road, retracing the steps of 14th century Islamic journalist, Ibn Battuta.
This trip of life-time plans to reach China overland via North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. The return journey may include a small Hajj-Umra pilgrimage in Mecca/Medina.
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier, Morocco in 1304, and completed studies in Law before setting out on his first, and most important journey in 1325. He went for the Hajj, to Makkah, stopping over in North Africa, Egypt, Palestine and Syria. After Hajj, he toured Iraq and Persia then took a sea voyage to what is now Tanzania.
In the early 1330s, Ibn Battuta set out for India via Constantinople (Istanbul); then Transoxania and Khurasan, in what are now Iran and Afghanistan, finally arriving at the banks of the river Indus. He then became a judge in the court of the Sultan of Delhi and later led an Indian diplomatic mission to the court of the Mongol Emperor of China.
In early 1356 the ruler of Morocco, commissioned a record of Ibn Battuta's travels in the form of a rihla or book of travels. The rihla provided sensitive and sympathetic reporting of the peoples Ibn Battuta came across and entertained thousands. A more recent account, “Travels of Ibn Battuta” by H. A. Gibb, is also worth reading.
The trip is planned for summer of 2008. We need commercial sponsorship and 6- 9 travellers covering skills such as vehicle maintenance, photojournalism and medical skills.
For more information, phone 07974 246 042.