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Mecca overland

Ibn Battuta needed a rest. In a year he had traveled more than 4,000 miles, crossed mountains and deserts, visited most of the great cities of Iraq and western Persia, met scholars, saints, judges, and even a Mongol king.

Ibn Battuta entered India through the high mountains of Afghanistan, following the footsteps of Turkish warriors who, a century earlier, had conquered the Hindu farming people of India and established the Sultanate of Delhi.

India

In June 1325, at the age of twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, a journey that would ordinarily take sixteen months. He was eager to learn more about far-away lands and craved adventure. No one knew that he would not return to Morocco again for twenty-four years.

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During his 29 years of exploration, he visited around 44 countries, including India. Meandering his way through several regions, Ibn Battuta reached the royal court of Mohammad Bin Tughlaq, the then ruler of Delhi. He was employed by the king and stayed here for around seven years.

Ibn Battuta

Answer: Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan traveller who came to visit India in the 14th century. He described Delhi as a vast city, that was densely populated, the largest in India. The bright and colorful markets were not only places of the economic transaction but also the hub of social and cultural activities.

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