where did ibn battuta travel
Ibn Battuta traveled across much of the known Afro‑Eurasian world of the 14th century, covering around 75,000 km over about 29 years.
Core answer
Over his many journeys, Ibn Battuta visited:
- North Africa and the Sahara
- Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean (Levant)
- The Arabian Peninsula (including multiple pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina)
- East Africa’s Swahili Coast
- Anatolia and the Black Sea region
- Persia, Iraq, and parts of Central Asia
- The Indian subcontinent (where he served at the Delhi Sultanate court)
- The Maldives and Sri Lanka
- Southeast Asia (including Sumatra)
- China (reaching cities along the Maritime Silk Road)
- Muslim West Africa, including Mali and near Timbuktu.
Where did Ibn Battuta travel?
Ibn Battuta set out from his hometown of Tangier in Morocco in 1325, intending only to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, but he kept going until he had traversed much of three continents. His routes connected the main trade and pilgrimage networks of medieval North and West Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and parts of East Asia.
Major regions and routes
1. From Morocco across North Africa
- Started in Tangier, then crossed through modern Algeria and Tunisia toward Tripoli and on to Egypt.
- Spent time in cities like Cairo and Alexandria, which were key hubs of the Mamluk Sultanate.
2. Egypt, Syria, and the first pilgrimage to Mecca
- Traveled up the Nile and then turned back when local conflict blocked his chosen Red Sea route.
- Went north through Gaza, Hebron, Jerusalem, and Damascus, then joined a caravan to Medina and finally Mecca for the hajj.
3. Around the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa
- After Mecca, he journeyed through Iraq and parts of Iran under the Ilkhanate, then back toward Mecca for a second pilgrimage.
- Traveled by sea down the Arabian coast to Yemen (including Zabid and Ta’izz) and to the important port of Aden.
- Crossed the Red Sea and sailed along the East African coast, reaching ports such as Kilwa on the Swahili Coast.
4. Anatolia, the Black Sea, and Central Asia
- Went north and west into Anatolia (modern Turkey), visiting Turkish towns and noting the treatment of women among Kurdish tribes.
- Crossed the Black Sea region, visiting ports like Caffa (Feodosia) in Crimea, and then continued across Central Asia to cities such as Samarkand.
5. India and the Delhi Sultanate
- Took overland Silk Road and maritime routes toward the Indian subcontinent.
- Reached Delhi, where he became a qadi (judge) at the court of the Sultan and stayed for several years.
- From there, he was appointed ambassador on a mission that pushed him further along the Indian Ocean networks.
6. The Maldives, Sri Lanka, and further in the Indian Ocean
- Lived for a time in the Maldives, where he also served as a judge and commented extensively on local customs.
- Visited Sri Lanka and nearby coastal regions, combining religious motivations with exploration of key trading ports.
7. Southeast Asia and China
- Continued eastward, passing through ports in Bengal (Chittagong, Sylhet) on the Bay of Bengal.
- Sailed to Sumatra (Samudra Pasai), then the easternmost Muslim kingdom he knew.
- Traveled on ships trading with China and visited Chinese ports, integrating his journey into the broader Maritime Silk Road.
8. West Africa and Mali (final great journey)
- After returning to Morocco, he undertook a major final expedition south across the Sahara.
- From Sijilmasa on the edge of the desert, he crossed to the salt mines of Taghaza and then further into the Mali Empire, recording visits to major centers and describing the wealth of West Africa.
Table of key regions Ibn Battuta visited
| Region | Examples of places visited | Rough modern countries | Notable themes in his account |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Africa & Egypt | Tangier, Fez, Tlemcen, Tunis, Tripoli, Alexandria, Cairo | [1][9][3]Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt | Start of his journey, great cities of Islamic scholarship and trade | [1][3][7]
| Levant & Arabia | Gaza, Hebron, Jerusalem, Damascus, Medina, Mecca | [3][7]Palestine/Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia | Pilgrimage routes, caravans, religious life in major holy cities | [7][3]
| Persia & Iraq | Baghdad, Mosul, Tigris towns, parts of Iran | [9][1][7]Iraq, Iran, eastern Turkey | Ilkhanate rule, urban culture along the Tigris and in Iranian cities | [9][7]
| East Africa | Ports along the Swahili Coast, including Kilwa | [1][3]Tanzania and nearby coastal regions | Indian Ocean trade, rich coastal sultanates | [3][1]
| Anatolia & Black Sea | Turkish towns, Kurdish areas, Caffa (Feodosia) | [5][9][1]Turkey, Ukraine (Crimea) | Turkish hospitality, frontier between Latin and Islamic trading worlds | [5][1]
| Central Asia | Samarkand and other Silk Road cities | [9][1]Uzbekistan and surrounding areas | Magnificence of Central Asian cities, caravan trade | [1][9]
| Indian subcontinent | Delhi and other Indian cities under the Sultanate | [4][10][9]India | Court life, his role as qadi, political instability | [4][9]
| Maldives & Sri Lanka | Islands of the Maldives, parts of Sri Lanka | [10][7][9]Maldives, Sri Lanka | Island customs, maritime networks, religious practices | [10][7]
| Southeast Asia | Chittagong, Sylhet, Samudra Pasai in Sumatra | [3]Bangladesh, Indonesia (Sumatra) | Eastern fringe of the Muslim world, busy port cities | [3]
| China | Maritime trade ports on the Chinese coast | [6][10][3]China | Maritime Silk Road, cultural contrasts with the Islamic world | [6][10]
| West Africa (Mali) | Sijilmasa, Taghaza, cities of the Mali Empire near Timbuktu | [7][9]Morocco, Mali and Sahel region | Trans‑Saharan trade, gold wealth, royal courts of Mali | [7][9]
Mini context: why his travels matter
- His journeys created one of the most extensive travel accounts of the medieval Islamic world, later compiled as the work often called “The Travels of Ibn Battuta.”
- The narrative is not perfectly accurate—some sections were embellished or borrowed—but it remains a key window into 14th‑century societies from Morocco to China.
“The result was not a perfect book… but a full compendium of the whole Muslim world,” as one modern retelling puts it, capturing how Ibn Battuta’s odyssey turned into a vast, imperfect yet invaluable portrait of his age.
TL;DR: Ibn Battuta traveled from Morocco through North and East Africa, the Middle East, Anatolia, Central Asia, India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, China, and West Africa (Mali), connecting most major Muslim and nearby regions of the 14th‑century world.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.
