1.

What did Ibn Battuta admire most about the people he encountered in East Africa, along
the trans-Saharan trade route, and in Mali?

Ibn Battuta specifically admired the people of Iwalatan because they treated men and
women equally. Many of the cities he stopped at during his trip, he only mentioned the men.
However, with Iwalatan, he admired how women are able to have male friends. Ibn Battuta also
admired the people in Cairo for their education and great architecture. He said that these people
were very ritual and cultural oriented. He used very positive words to describe the civilization
they built for themselves. He surprisingly admired the people in Mali because they had harder
lives than other people he encountered in East Africa. I think he had sympathy for these people.
Overall, he admires all the people he encountered in East Africa and found their ways of life
different and interesting. He found the trees between Walata to Niger River interesting because
the people used the trees for shelter. He specifically mentions a weaver who used the baobab
trees to weave.

2. What did Ibn Battuta find hardest to accept among the people he met? Why?

Ibn Battuta definitely found it hard to accept and comprehend the peoples’ skin color. He
said statements like “...one of the finest cities in negroland”. A typical person who experienced
people of all races and ethnicities would not mention this about a large, plentiful city. Ibn Battuta
made fun of the diets of the people of Maghrib. He mostly found the Maghrib’s people's diet
interesting, though, because they had numerous resources compared to Egypt. In another town.
he also did not like that many people ate dog and carrion. Later in a different town, he explains
how “their rice causes sickness to whites when it is eaten, and the funi is preferable to it’. This
also emphasizes the fact that he was not used to the culture of these people.He was not
diminishing their food preferences, but noticing how they were different from his. Additionally it
was hard for him to accept the tradition that required women including young girls and slaves to
be naked in front of everyone else. This is a pretty self-explanatory idea to not accept in today’s
society.

3. In your opinion, did Ibn Battuta understand fully all he encountered? Why or why not?

I don’t think Iba Battuta fully understands all that he encountered in each city because he
mostly describes the resources, architecture, and religion of each city rather than the people.
While he either accepted or did not accept the people, he mostly used his opinions on the
resources. I think Ibn Battuta did a good job reporting the types of plants and vegetables, but not
necessarily having a full understanding of the people. He especially did not have a full
understanding of the people of color (he refers to as negros). He explains how they were the most
submissive to their king when looking back at history and white supremacy that makes sense. I
do not think he understood why the people were more willing to do what the king says. He is just
used to a different culture and lifestyle than the people in East Africa. I think he had a good
perspective on their lives, though. He indulged himself in their culture and experienced many
interesting events between cities. He especially learned a lot, and didn’t have enough previous
knowledge to prepare himself for his journeys. For example, when he mistakes the Niger River
for the Nile River.