The Maldives is a country that is made of nearly 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean. The first people arrived in the Maldives from India and from current day Sri Lanka in the 5th century [1]. The people of the Maldives were originally Buddhists, but they were converted to Islam in the 12th century [2]. […]
Category: Southeast Asia
Quanzhou
Quanzhou is one of the oldest cities in China. It was one of the first places in China to be opened to people from outside China. Due to its proximity to the city of Hangzhou (which was Ibn Battuta’s next stop) the city flourished with travelers. It was also a local port from which spices […]
Mountain of Sarandib (Adam’s Peak)
The Mountain of Sarandib is also known as Adam’s Peak. It is located in Sri Lanka, and is approximately 7,357 feet high [1]. The mountain is extremely dangerous to climb and is filled with roads that were made by the British when they were looking for and planting tea. The mountain is sacred to Buddhists […]
Kunakar (Gampola)
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
