The name of this city that Ibn Battua mentions in his Rihla is Kunakar. The translation of the Rihla notes that this city is unknown, but in some articles the town of Kunakar is referred to as Gampola. Gampola was an important city when Ibn Battuta visited Ceylon (Sri Lanka) because it was the seat […]
Author: Monica Ward
Kollam
Kollam is in southern India on the coast of the Arabian Sea. It was a large port town, and flourished due to merchants coming from China in the East, and Arabs in the west. Many travelers visited the port of Kollam, such as Marco Polo in 1275. The name Quilon comes from the Portuguese who […]
Jeddah
Jeddah is one of the most important ports in Arabia. The town is said to have had inhabitants for nearly 3,000 years [1]. During the time that the Prophet Mohammed was alive, Islam was brought to the town. In medieval periods, it was common for merchants to stop here because it was on the route […]
Hangzhou
Like the rest of China, Hangzhou is very old, with evidence of people living there 5000 years ago. The city really developed with the Qin Dynasty (221 BCE- 206 BCE), and it was one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China [1]. For a period beginning in the 12th century, Hangzhou was the seat of […]
Hanbanq
It is not exactly clear where the town Ibn Battuta refers to in his Rihla as Hanbanq would be in the present day. The editor of the book The Travels of Ibn Battutah, Tim Mackintosh-Smith, believes that Hanbanq is near today’s town of Sylhet, Bangladesh. He notes that another scholar, Gibb, believed that the town […]
Halab (Aleppo)
Known in English as Aleppo and in Arabic as Halab, Aleppo is one of the oldest cities in the world. Its history dates back to pre-Islamic times when it was an urban center. During the Muslim Abbasid caliphate, Aleppo became a provincial center, and was consequently deprived of any authoritative or administrative powers [1]. In […]
Guangzhou
Guangzhou is a very old city in China. Some evidence has been found of people living there as far back as the 11th century BCE [1]. The city has some folklore about its creation. They used to believe that five gods ascended from heaven with five goats and five ears of corn to save the […]
Antalya
The city of Antalya has passed through numerous empires. Once part of the Byzantine Empire, Antalya was conquered by the Seljuk Turks in the 13th century. By the 14th century the Ottomans were starting to take control of current day Turkey, seizing Antalya and the surrounding areas. It was not until the 15th century that […]
Delhi
India has a history that dates back to 2000 BCE, and Delhi was not always an important city. Due to its central location, it became an important city for all of central Asia. India and, therefore, Delhi was home to many different religions. The two major religions were Hinduism and Islam (although there were also […]
Constantinople
Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul are three different names for one city. Founded nearly 3 millenia ago, the city was known as Byzantium by the 7th century B.C.E. Then, during the Roman Empire, the emperor Constantine revived the city and named it after himself, Constantinople. It was then named the capital of the Roman Empire. After the […]
Calicut
Originally named Velapuram, Calicut was renamed after the word calico, the finely woven cloth that originated from this city. In 1498, the Portuguese discovered the trading route through Calicut, which made Calicut important in the west, especially in Europe. However, Calicut had been an important port in India for centuries before its discovery by the […]
