Ibn Battuta - the Traveller of Islam - Part 1

duration of music 78 minutes

Ibn Battuta Protected content Protected content 1368/ Protected content , was a Maghrebi traveler, explorer and scholar. Over a period of thirty years from Protected content 1354, Ibn Battuta visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, he dictated an account of his journeys, titled A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling, but commonly known as The Rihla.

Ibn Battuta travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history, totaling around 117,000 km (73,000 mi), surpassing Zheng He with about 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Polo with 24,000 km (15,000 mi).

Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI inspired by the travels of Ibn Battuta, invite us to a musical journey, where they recreate the music that would have accompanied the 30‐year journey of Moroccan scribe.

The program is put together from two live concerts, one in Abu Dhabi in Protected content , and one in Paris two years later. The first one covered the first half of Ibn Battuta's career; the second, his later life. The two halves don't fit together perfectly as a single piece (for example, the first half is narrated in English, while the second is in French), but the method is the same throughout: Ibn Battuta's life is narrated, excerpts from his writing are given and accompanied by appropriate music, and instrumental or vocal pieces for each locale are reconstructed.