Ibn Battuta, o príncipe dos viajantes

No início do século 14 Ibn Battuta partiu de Tânger, a sua terra natal, rumo a Meca. Movido pela curiosidade e pela fé no Islão, só regressou a casa 28 anos mais tarde, depois de percorridos 120 000 quilómetros.

Mesmo para os dias de hoje a lista de países por onde passou é impressionante: Marrocos, Argélia,Tunisia, Egipto, Síria, Arábia Saudita, Oman, Dubai, Bahrein, Turquia, Bulgária, Egipto, Afeganistão, Paquistão, Índia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldivas, Sri Lanka, Filipinas, Indonésia, China, Somália, Tanzânia, Quénia, Mali.

Aqui ficam as primeiras palavras dos seus manuscritos:

I left Tangier, my birthplace, on Thursday, 2nd Rajab 725, being at that time twenty-two years of age, with the intention of making the Pilgrimage to the Holy House and the Tomb of the Prophet.

I set out alone, finding no companion to cheer the way with friendly intercourse, and no party of travellers with whom to associate myself. Swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a long-cherished desire to visit those glorious sanctuaries, I resolved to quit all my friends and tear myself away from my home. As my parents were still alive, it weighed grievously upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow.

E as últimas:

I arrived at the royal city of Fa's [Fez], the capital of our master the Commander of the Faithful (may God strengthen him), where I kissed his beneficent hand and was privileged to behold his gracious countenance. [Here] I settled down under the wing of his bounty after long journeying. May God Most High recompense him for the abundant favours and ample benefits which he has bestowed on me; may He prolong his days and spare him to the Muslims for many years to come.

Fonte: Ibn Battuta: Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354 — excerpts from H.A.R. Gibb's 1929 translation