Ibn Battutah 183-200, 273-296

The first section of the reading was about Battutah’s stay in Dilhi.  Upon entering Dilhi, they first went to the court of the sultan.  While in Dilhi Battutah learns that his baby daughter had dies, so he responds by sending one of his slave girls to her for her burial.  I didn’t understand why he did this or what it even meant.  Also he explains that they have particular items that people are to be buried with.  I thought this was interesting because you see this behavior in many different cultures.  In Dilhi, giving gifts seems to have an importance.  I think this because they bring gifts to give to the sultan, and also to the person they first stay with which I think was the sultan’s mother.  Another interesting thing about the sultan is that they call him the “master of the world”.  While this is a major and important city, they know that there are also many other cities around the world and they obviously see themselves as above the other sultans.  On page 190 there is kind of a funny scenario about how Battutah owed merchants in Dilhi money and he didn’t have the money to repay them.  So Battutah wrote a poem in arabic and delivered it to the Sultan.  The sultan enjoyed this poem very much so when he heard about Battutah’s debts, he went to the merchants and demanded them to drop the amount he owed.  This is funny because Battutah knew at this point how to get what he wants, and how to get away with things simply by befriending those above him.  At the end of this story the sultan of Dilhi ordered Battutah to travel to China as his ambassador.  He sent along with him whatever Battutah would need for his journey and sent him on his way.

The next section I read about was from China to Morroco, and then onto Spain.  The first encounter I read about was Battutah and his company being advised to return to China to avoid danger.  They got into a boat and got lost and spent 40 days without knowing which body of water they were in.  Then Battutah eventually arrives at the city of Damascus of Syria.  He stayed here for quite a long time.  Through his travels he learns that his father had died, but that his mother is still alive.  He has been away for so long, but he still keeps his memories of home.  He travels to his homeland and he is overwhelmed by the kindness of his families master.  He learns of his mothers death and goes to visit her grave.  He decides that he would have liked to have spent his life here serving his master.  I don’t think that Battutah regrets traveling around the world but I do think that he wished that he could have spent time here as well.  After these events he decides to join the military and fight “the holy war”.