Ibn Battuta in the East

Carl Ernst

Introduction to Islamic Civilization

Events en route

Embassy to China

Bad law and order situation

Near-death experience

Calicut

Conversion legend 230

Dress codes 235

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The itinerary

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Adam’s Peak – Sri Lanka (241)

Pilgrims to the Footprint of Adam*

Ibn Battuta in 1347

16th-cent. onward – Sufi pilgrims barred by Portuguese

Azad Bilgrami in 1750 (The Coral Rosary of Indian Antiquities)

*or the Buddha, or Shiva

Adam’s Peak

Adam’s peak in Serendip (Ceylon) -- a European view

The Mosque of al-Khidr

Kathirkamam (http://kataragama.org/islamic.htm)

Further journeys

Muslim settlements in Malay straits and China

Skepticism over China section

Skips Delhi to avoid execution

Plague in Damascus

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Oldest mosque in Malay peninsula (Kota Baru, ca. 1700)

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