Oriental Journeys

In the 14th century, Ibn Battuta’s travel accounts vividly captured great cities such as Cairo and Damascus. Far more than busy urban centers, these cities were dynamic cultural hubs that actively shaped how knowledge was preserved and shared in the Middle Ages. Rihla’s eyewitness stories reveal a bustling educational scene: lively scholarly reading sessions, numerous grand and local colleges [madrasas] catering to different Islamic schools, free primary education for children, and a massive network of charitable endowments [waqf] that funded it all. He even joined a group reading session at Damascus's famous Umayyad Mosque, to earn a teaching certificate to transmit the Hadith literature, namely the sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad.These accounts open a window onto one of the world’s most bookish societies, where oral traditions and written texts worked hand in hand, giving rise to a highly organised writerly culture. This episode explores the rich literary life of medieval Egypt, Syria and beyond and uncovers how both ordinary people and elite scholars learned, read, and shared knowledge.

Konrad Hirschler is a historian of the written word who specialises in the social and cultural history of reading, libraries, and information management in medieval Western Asia and North Africa. His research explores the fascinating interplay between oral and written traditions, knowledge transmission and the everyday reading practices of both elite scholars and mainstream society in the Middle Ages (11-15th century). He is the author and editor of several acclaimed books on the subject, most notably the prize-winning The Written Word in the Medieval Arabic Lands: A Social and Cultural History of Reading Practices.

What we cover in this episode

• Modes of knowledge transmission in the Middle Ages (11-15th century)
• Popular reading sessions
• Scholarly gatherings and colleges 
• Children education
• Reading certificates: oral vs aural 
• Literacy and its measures
• Involvement of special groups: Women and dependants
• Spread of local endowed libraries

Conversation key insights

• Modes of knowledge transmission: In the Middle Ages, Islamic societies were fundamentally handwriting cultures, remaining so into the 19th century. Written transmission dominated, yet the spoken word remained a powerful and complementary mode.
• Literacy: Because so much knowledge circulated orally and memorisation was prized cultural capital, the ability to read was not essential. If you could memorise, you were considered a literate member of society.
• Forces behind the writerly boom: The rise of paper and the shift from centralised rule to powerful regional households transformed literary life. Wealthy families in cities like Damascus, Cairo, and Aleppo competed through cultural patronage—founding libraries, building madrasas, and endowing teaching posts.
• Reading sessions: These sessions were hugely popular, ranging from small scholarly circles to gatherings of 800 people. They took place not only in mosques but in markets, gardens, riverbanks, and private homes—woven into the very fabric of urban life. Walking through 13th‑century Damascus, you’d likely encounter one and you could participate too.
• Mosques as public spaces: Mosques were not secluded sacred enclaves but bustling public venues—places for meeting, resting, trading—and thus ideal hosts for large reading sessions.
• Certificates: Syrian and Egyptian manuscript culture uniquely preserved attendance lists—audition certificates—recording hundreds of participants who listened and attended the reading sessions. So we really have 800 names of those who were sitting there in Damascus on an afternoon and listening to this work or following it with a copy they had in their hand. These certificates were written in the books which were read out. So today they are distributed across libraries of the world
• Women’s participation: Women were active participants in reading cultural practice, especially in Hadith sessions which they gained recognised transmission lines. Large audition certificates consistently include women’s names, and seating arrangements show they were not segregated. Many women were sought‑after authorised teachers.
• Local endowed libraries: From the 11th century, locally endowed libraries proliferated. Urban elites used them to display scholarly engagement and prestige. Major cities often had dozens—perhaps over a hundred—at any given time.

Terms

• Madrasa [مدرسه]: Institutions of higher education in Islamic lands and Muslim communities 
• Hadith [حدیث]: Sayings and deeds attributed to the Prophet Mohammad
• Waqf [وقف]: Charitable Endowment held in trust in Islamic Law 

A passage from Rihla

The colleges of Damascus. The Shafi'ites have a number of colleges in Damascus, the largest of which is al-'Adiliya [العادلیه]. It is here that the Chief Qadi delivers judgment. Facing it is al-Zahiriya College [الظاهریه], containing the tomb of al-Malik al-Zahir [الملک الظاهر], and in it are held the sessions of the qadi's substitutes. The Hanafites also have many colleges in Damascus, the largest of them being the college of al-Sultan Nur al-Din [السلطان نورالدین], where the Hanafite Chief Qadi delivers judgment. The Malikites have three colleges in Damascus: al-Samsamiya [الصمصامیه], where the Malikite Chief Qadi has his residence and holds his tribunal; al-Nuriya [النوریه] College established by al-Sultan Nur al-Din Mahmud bin Zangi [السلطان نورالدین محمود ابن زنگی]; and al-Sharabeshiya (الشرابشیه) College, founded by the merchant Shihab al-Din al-Sharabishi [شهاب الدین الشرابشی]. The Hanbalites have many colleges, the largest of them being al-Najmiya [النجمیه] College.

Recommended reading

The Written Word in the Medieval Arabic Lands: A Social and Cultural History of Reading Practices, Konrad Hirschler, Edinburgh University Press, 2012. 

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

Musk-a strongly scented substance and highly-prized commodity, has a long and captivating history. Famed throughout the world in late antiquity – especially the Sasanian Empire in Iran - with the emergence of Islam, musk attained a distinctive position. For centuries, the sensual fragrance of musk has been synonymous with the rare and exalted: indispensable to royal treasuries; an integral part of religious practices at the shrines and later onto the shelves of pharmacists and parfumiers in the Near East’s bustling bazaars. With its many high-end uses, musk has found its way into applications of daily life - applied as a cure for ailments and even a flavour additive for food and drinks. In this episode we will dive deeply into many aspects of musk - as a cultural material, an aromatic product and a medicinal substance, from Japan and China to India, Iran, Yemen, Baghdad and Morrocco.

Anya H. King is Associate Professor of History at the University of Southern Indiana.  She is the author of Scent from the Garden of Paradise: Musk and the Medieval Islamic World published by Brill in 2017, a monograph which thoroughly examines many dimensions of musk in the medieval Islamicate tradition and culture over the Middle Ages. Dr King teaches history courses, and her research interests include medieval Islamic relations with Asia and perfumery, and pharmacology. 

What we cover in this episode

• What is musk 
• History of musk 
• Musk trade in the Middle Ages (9-13th century)
• Emergence of Islam and the mercantile world
• Musk in the Islamic tradition and Eastern cultures

Conversation key insights

• Musk is a granular dark coloured substance coming from a gland produced on the body of a male animal of musk deer living in the higher elevation habitats in Asia. 
• Musk has an intensely fragrant smell of animal body odour. Small quantity of musk can enliven any perfume compound substitutionally.
• Musk deer is now an endangered species, and its hunting is not permitted in many areas in Asia. It’s not legal and ethical to use the natural musk in perfumery. 
• Sasanian Empire in Iran has played a key role in introduction of musk into Western Asia and the Mediterranean world. 
• Musk certainly was one of the most expensive substances you could buy in the Medieval Ages. 
• The most prestigious form of perfumery in classical Islam was the combination of musk, ambergris and alosewood. 
• Using good perfume were part of an ambience of a civilised life in Islamic lands in the Medieval Ages. 
• Musk of Tibet was the most famous and popular type of musk in the Middle Ages. 
• The emergence of Islam created a huge urban consumer market in the Islamic lands.

Terms

• Xitan Musk: Musk attained from Xitan Empire in Northern China
• Adab [ادب]: A genre of literature in Arabic/Persian language in the Middle Ages focused on etiquette, culture, and ethics.
• Cairo Geniza: Geniza is a type of sacred literature deposited and stored away to decompose naturally. Geniza in a synagogue in old Cairo survived with a vast body of texts from the Jewish communities of old Cairo in the Middle Ages. Geniza includes many specific information though unpolished and scattered.
• Ghaliyah: A dark coloured and strongly scented paste containing musk. Men used Ghaliyah for grooming their beard in the Islamic tradition. 
• Kudo game: A party game with incense for cultured people in the Japanese culture. 

Recommended reading

Scent from the Garden of Paradise: Musk and the Medieval Islamic World, Anya King, Brill, 2017.

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

The Ibadi Muslims, a little-known community, have lived in towns and villages of North Africa for over a thousand years. This Muslim community originated from Basra in 7th century, found their way in 8th century in part of the north Africa- also called the Maghrib - and evolved throughout Middle Ages. Passing through a turbulent history, Ibadi Muslims developed a unique system of knowledge transmission, combining peoples and texts with the holy mission of preserving their traditions beyond geographies and across successive generations. In this episode we delve into the fascinating world of the Ibadis, to explore their community, and to better understand their collective history, tradition, and legacies.  

Paul M. Love Jr. is Associate Professor of North African, Middle Eastern, and Islamic history at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. He received his Ph.D. from University of Michigan, he is a former Fulbright scholar, and received three prestigious Critical Language Scholarships from the United States Department of State. Paul’s main research interest is the collective history of Ibadi communities. He researches and writes monographs on Ibadi traditions. Paul visits public and private collections in search of Ibadi manuscripts, teaches history courses, and writes a specialised blog on different aspects of Ibadi communities and culture entitled Ibadi Studies. 

What we cover in this episode

• Ibadi Muslims: Emergence and evolution 
• Ibadi Muslims: Knowledge transmission&community building
• Ibadi scholars: Great jurists and successful merchants

Conversation key insights

• The tie between people, books and ideas make up the core of knowledge transmission in any school of thought.
• Ibadis were part of a geographic/regional ‘love for books’ and ‘love for paper’ in the Middle Ages in North Africa.
• Sira is a litreture genre in Ibadi tradition: A collective biography of community with the intention to draw boundaries and define identity.
• Ibadis of West (North Africa) and East (Oman) recognise a shared origin though they mainly developed through distinct trajectory paths.  
• Ḥalgha education system was an interactive group learning acitivity which involved sitting in circles and reading aloud.

Terms

• Ibadī اباضی: A school of thought in the history of Islam
• Abyad ابیض: White
• Maghrib مغرب: Part of North Africa
• Sira سیره: Biography
• Mālekī مالکی: A school of law in Sunni Islam

A passage from Rihla

I left Marrakesh in the company of the exalted cortege, and we reached the city of Sallee, then the city of Meknes, the wonderful, the green, the brilliant, with orchards and gardens and with plantations of olives surrounding it on all sides. Then we arrived at the capital, Fez. There I said farewell to our master and set out on a journey to the country of the Blacks. I reached the city of Sijilmasa, a very beautiful city. It has abundant dates of good quality. The city of al-Basra is like it in the abundance of dates, but those of Sijilmasa are superior. The Irar kind is unequalled anywhere. Here I stayed with the jurist Abu Muhammad al-Bushri, whose brother I had met at Qanjanfu in China. How far apart they are! He treated me with the greatest generosity [Travels of Ibn Battuta, Hamilton Gibbs, Hakluyt Society].

Recommended reading: Ibadi Muslims of North Africa: Manuscripts, mobilization, and the making of a written tradition

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

Kanz al-fawāʾid or Treasure Trove is the enticing title of a medieval Egyptian cookbook, written by an anonymous author. This exceptional text comes from the Mamluks era, in the 14th century- and it preserves a variety of delicious delicacies and their various benefits for the modern reader. Compiled from multiple sources, the cookbook includes more than 800 colorful recipes earnestly detailed and carefully explained. Reflecting a delightful culinary snapshot of this region and era, the book contains such categories as refreshing beverages, cold dishes, varieties of bread, vegetarian dishes, exotic pickles, all types of sweets and many more. The Kanz reveals the secrets of sophisticated meals that would sit on the menu of sultans and viziers and provides instructions for simple everyday meals. The Kanz speaks of culinary traditions, social strata, cooking facilities, and gives extraordinary insight into unusual kinds of produce found in highly specialized marketplaces in Cairo of the 14th century. With guidance from our guest, Nawal Nasrallah - who has translated the text for the first time from Arabic to English - we set out to explore this fascinating book!

Nawal Nasrallah is an Independent Iraqi scholar and an eminent translator of medieval Arab cookery manuals. Nasrallah was a professor at the universities of Baghdad and Mosul, teaching English language and Literature until 1990. She is an award-winning researcher and food writer. The first edition of her cookbook Delights from the Garden of Eden was winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2007. Her book Dates: A Global History was released in April 2011. It is a charming account of the date palm and its fruit. Her English translation of Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's 10th century Baghdadi cookbook Kitab al-Tabeekh, entitled Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens, was awarded Best Translation in the World. In 2017 She translated a precious medieval Egyptian cookbook Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid entitled Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the table, a 14th century Egyptian Cookbook. 

What we cover in this episode

• The story of a unique text 
• Kanz: contents, composition and users
• Cairo marketplaces
• Stewed sparrows: an exotic dish

Terms

• Kanz: Treasure
• laymūn: Lemon
• Muhtasīb [Arabic]: Market inspector 
• Hummus bi-tahina [Arabic]: Hummus with tahini

A passage from the book

I travelled next through a sandy region to the city of Dimyat. It is a city of spacious quarters and with a diversity of fruits, admirably laid out, and enjoying a share of every good thing. The city of Dimyat lies on the bank of the Nile, and the people in the houses next to the river draw water from it in buckets. Many of the houses have steps leading down to the Nile. Banana trees are especially abundant there, and their fruit is carried to Cairo in boats. Its sheep and goats are allowed to pasture at liberty day and night…Sea-fowl are sold in this city in large quantities and are exceedingly fat; there are also various preparations of buffalo milk, which are unequalled for sweetness and delicious taste, and the fish called al-buri which is exported from there to Syria, Anatolia, and Cairo. [Travels of Ibn Battuta, translated by Hamilton Gibbs, Hakluyt Society]

Recommended reading 

Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the table, a 14th century Egyptian Cookbook, Brill, 2017.

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

The Arab world is enormously vast and diverse, in every imaginable way, and yet is deeply rooted in a lineage of shared values. Over three millennia, these evolving values have been transmitted from generation to generation, and traversed territories that stretch across the swathes of Western Asia and North Africa, connecting diverse Arab peoples.  

Coming from an Arabised background, travelling across much of the Arabdome in the medieval Islamic world, Ibn Battuta's depictions of Arab cultures as he encountered them provides a perfectly inspired itinerary as we delve into the multi-layered and composite history of the Arab peoples, tribes, and empires. 

Tim Mackintosh-Smith is an Arabist, historian, traveler, lecturer, and translator. Born in England and educated at Oxford University, he is one of the foremost scholars of the Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta. He has published a trilogy recounting his journeys in the footnotes of Ibn Battuta and made a three-part TV series for BBC on Ibn Battuta's travels. His most recent work Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires overs three millennia of Arab history and shines a light on the Arab peoples and tribes.

What we cover in this episode

• The elements which make the Arabs a Culture Nation,
• The earliest historic traces of the Arabs as a distinct body of people,
• The cultural connections between Arabs and their neighboring civilizations: Nabatean, Sabeans, Persian and Romans,
• The poetic spirit of Arabic language and its historic roots,
• The Arabs: cycles of unity and disunity.

Conversation key insights

• Chronologically, Islam comes in the middle of the Arabs history.
• Arabic language and constant migration are two central elements of the Arabs identity. 
• What holds the Arabs together is language. Arabs is a slippery but also a sticky label lasted for three thousand years. 
• The history of Arab peoples has been more like Odyssey than Iliad as Odyssey is an epic in motion, a constant search for home and identity. 
• Arabs political unity did not last long, but linguistic cultural unity is what lasted. 
• Arabs were the people who filled up the vacuum between two crescents: South fertile crescent in Yemen and North fertile crescent between the two rivers.
• Safaitic graffiti, which is believed to be the root of Arabic language, has a powerful poetic spirit full of declarations of love, loss, and genealogies. 
• One of the greatest achievements of Islam was bringing together the settled people of the south and the mobile tribes in Arabia. 
• Antisemitic means being anti to all the descendants of Sam-Noah’s son-including the Arabs. 

Terms

• Ḥaḍar (Arabic): Settled
• Badw (Arabic): Bedouin
• Sha’ab (Arabic): State-nation
• Ḥadith (Arabic): Tales, stories

A passage from the book

After we had enjoyed the privilege of visiting [the tomb of] the Commander of the Faithful 'Ali (peace be on him), the caravan went on to Baghdad. But I set out for al-Basra, in company with a large troop of the Khafaja Arabs, who are the occupants of that country....We set out from Mashhad ‘Ali (peace be on him) and halted [first] at al-Khawarnaq, the seat of al-Nu'man b. al-Mundhir and his ancestors, the kings of the house of Ma' al-Sama'. It is still inhabited, and there are remains of vast domes, lying on a wide plain on a canal derived from the Euphrates. Travels of Ibn Battuta translated by Hamilton Gibbs published by Hakluyt Society

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

Kohl is a generic term for a cosmetic eyeliner made using naturally-sourced materials, a pulverized powder which darkens the edges of the eyelids. A cosmetic with a long and captivating history, kohl has been widely used by men, women and children throughout the ages across swathes of Africa and Asia, altering the appearance for a range of purposes and effects. In this episode, we will trace the history of kohl to its known origin and will unveil the depth and multi-dimensionality of this near-universal make-up.

Zahra Hankir in her latest book Eyeliner: A Cultural History explores the intersections of history, culture, and society over the ubiquitous cosmetic: eyeliner. She traces the history of the naturally-sourced eyeliner commonly known as kohl, over millennia. She traverses space, time, and cultures to delve into the deeply human importance of a makeup tool which symbolizes power, religiosity, and commitment to moral codes.

What we cover in this episode

· What’s Kohl?

· What do we know about the historic roots of kohl?

· What has inspired Muslim communities to apply kohl?

· What were the various ingredients of sormeh in Iran?

· What role does kajal play in Indian traditional dancing?

Conversation key insight

· I hope people would realise that when they are wearing eyeliner, it carries much more than just an aesthetic, it carries history.

· When you start seeing eyeliner you can’t unsee it, you can see it pretty much everywhere.

· Eyeliner lent Nefertiti a very regal look and helped her to channel her power.

· Muslim communities around the world have been wearing eyeliner not just as a form of protection of their eyes but also as a channel to practice their religiosity, because it’s sunnah, because it’s the way of prophet.

· Juniper tree bark and Farsetia plants are widely-used for kohl-making among bedouin communities living across Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon.

· In Iran, nuts are being used to produce sormeh: walnut, hazelnut, pistachio. Also, precious stones including pearls, emeralds, rubies, diamonds, gold, and silver were crushed, and the powder was used to form the most prestigious and expensive sormeh, this substance was called the sormeh of Seven Jewels.

· Kajal is worn in a very distinct way in in performance art in India. In kathakali dance, eyes are decorated and adorned very heavily and can indicate the qualities of the characters. Eyeliner plays a big role in dances and performances in making the eyes very distinctly visible from afar, so people in the audience can be drawn into the eyes.

Terms

· Ḥalāl (Arabic): Permissible according to the Islamic laws

· Eid (Arabic): A religious holiday

A passage from the book

Next came my journey from Cairo by the route of the Sa'id, with the object of crossing the noble Hijaz. I stayed on the night following my departure at the convent which Sahib Taj al-Din ibn Hanna' built at Dair al-Tin.

It is an enormous convent built by him for the sake of certain possessions of great pride and illustrious relics that he deposited in it, namely, a fragment of the wooden basin of the Prophet, the pencil with which he used to apply kohl to his eyes, the dirafsh, that is to say, the awl, which he used for sewing his sandals, and the Qur'an of the Commander of the Faithful 'Ali b. Abi Talib, written in his own hand.

[Travels of Ibn Battuta translated by Hamilton Gibbs, Hakluyt Society]

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

A ‘Mahmal’ was an empty, richly decorated carriage, which was mounted on a camel and journeyed annually from Cairo to accompany the Hajj pilgrim caravan to Mecca. On his journey toward Mecca in year 1326, Ibn Battuta was lucky enough to witness the illustrious mahmal procession ceremony in the bustling streets of Cairo. In this episode, we try to unfold the meaning of this devotional object and associated practices.

Professor Richard J. A. McGregor explores religion at the intersections of philosophy, theology, aesthetics, and embodiment. His latest book Islam and the Devotional Object: Seeing Religion in Egypt and Syria published by Cambridge University Press traces the turbulent lives of key religious objects: the precious dress sewn for the Ka’ba: Kiswa, and large colorful sedan chairs mounted on camels: the Hajj Mahmal.

What we cover in this episode

• What is the Hajj mahmal 
• The role of Egypt in dispatching annual Hajj Mahmal to Mecca
• The historic, social, and political context of Hajj Mahmal 

Conversation key insights

•  Mahmal guards its secrets; there are plenty of outstanding questions that we have never been able to answer.  
• The guiding structure of the Islamic calendar is pilgrimage. 
•  Making a Kiswah, the dress covering the Ka’ba, happens every year, from pre-Islamic era up until today.
• The political story of producing and dispatching both Kiswa and Mahmal has been always an inextricable part of the ritual.
• We can mark middle of the 13th century to the early of 20th for the Egyptian Mahmal, we can call it Cairene Egyptian Mahmal Parades. With the rise of the House of Saud, inspired by Wahhabi version of Islam, mahmal ritual entered the last chapter of its 700 years life.
• Mahmal was not simply a symbol of a royal authority, instead it had a rich interpersonal life with Muslims all along its life at each stage.
• The energy of mahmal ceremony was contagious, whether you are Egyptian, Copt, Muslim, or non-Muslim, the Mahmal would get you.

Terms

• Barakah: Blessing
• Zovvar: plural for Zaer, pilgrim 

A passage from the book

This is the day of the procession of the Mahmil round the city, a festival day. Their ceremonial on this day is as follows. The four Grand jurists, the Intendant of the Treasury, and the Muhtasib, all are mounted, and along with them ride the principal jurists, the syndics of the heads of corporations, and the officers of state. They all proceed together to the gate of the citadel, the residence of al-Malik al-Nasir, whereupon the mahmil comes out to meet them, borne on a camel,  and preceded by the amir who has been designated for the journey to the Hijaz in that year. All classes of the population, both men and women, assemble for this ceremony, then they go in procession with the mahmil round the two cities of al-Qahira and Misr.... This takes place in Rajab, and thereupon resolves are inflamed, desires are excited, and impulses are stirred up, and God Most High casts into the heart of whom He will of His servants the determination to set out upon the Pilgrimage, so they start to equip themselves and to make preparations for it. [The Travels of Ibn Battuta, Translated by Hamilton Gibbs,  Hakluyt Society]

Recommended reading
 Islam and the Devotional Object: Seeing Religion in Egypt and Syria, Richard J. A.

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

Inspired by Ibn Battuta observations from Cairo in the 14th century, in this episode we walk through Cairo at the time of the Mamluks (13th-16th CE) and reach across the ages to touch upon dazzling facets of the city, as well as the sultanate - with a guest whose heart is always in Cairo.

Doris Behrens-Abouseif is Professor Emerita at SOAS, University of London. Her many publications encompass a wide range of subjects within socio-cultural and art historical contexts, with a focus on Egypt and Syria covering architecture, urbanism, material culture and the decorative arts. She has written a widely-admired book on the golden era of the city, Cairo of the Mamluks: a history of the architecture and its culture.

What we cover in this episode

• Cairo of the Mamluks: cityscape, socio-cultural, political, and religious landscape
• Mamluks’ contribution to Cairo’s evolution into a metropolis
• Why the Mamluks supported a multi-rite policy, respecting all branches of Islam
• Why the Mamluks so generously supported the Sufis and Sufi foundations
• Why the Mamluks were fond of amusement and ceremonies.

Conversation key insights

‘Mamluk rulers were ambitious builders, with the urban vision to expand the city’s boundaries. A collective building activity - to have as many buildings, mosques, minarets, baths, charities, as possible - was representative of the Mamluks’ identity and patronage.’

‘With a non-hereditary succession system, the Mamluks focus’ was on building and construction of monuments, as a strategy to leave their mark on history: to not be forgotten and to be commemorated after their death’. 

‘The stability of Egypt, at the time of Mamluks, being safe from the external threats, encouraged many migrants to come to Cairo from the territories in the East and beyond, to reside, study, and make commerce in Cairo’.

‘There was a distinct caste in Mamluks’ society, between Man of the Pen (learned locals to hold positions like judges and scholars) and Man of the Sword (Mamluks in military positions), who were identifiable by their dress codes’.

‘Ethnicity and religious identity played a key role in the medieval setting, rather than national identity’.

‘Sufism worked as a melting-pot across the Muslim world, whereby people from different origins could find a common platform’. 

‘Parade and processions were an integral part of the communication between sultans and its people at the era of Mamluks’.

Terms

• Maristan [Bimarestan]: hospital
• khanaqah: Sufi hospice

A passage from the book

It is said that in Cairo there are twelve thousand water-carriers who transport water on camels, and thirty thousand hirers of mules and donkeys, and that on its Nile there are thirty-six thousand vessels belonging to the Sultan and his subjects, which sail upstream to Upper Egypt and downstream to Alexandria and Dumyat, laden with goods and commodities of all kinds. On the bank of the Nile opposite Cairo is the place known as al-Rawda ['the Garden'], which is a pleasure park and promenade, containing many beautiful gardens. The people of Cairo are fond of pleasure and amusement. I once witnessed a fete there which was held for al-Malik al-Nasir's recovery from a fracture which he had suffered in his hand. All the merchants decorated their bazaars and had rich stuff, ornaments, and silken fabrics hung up in their shops for several days [The Travels of Ibn Battuta, translated by Hamilton Gibbs, Hakluyt Society]

Recommended reading

Dress and Dress Code in Medieval Cairo: A Mamluk Obsession, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Brill, 2023

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

Inspired by Ibn Battuta observations from Cairo in the 14th century, in this episode we walk through Cairo at the time of the Mamluks (13th-16th CE) and reach across the ages to touch upon dazzling facets of the city, as well as the sultanate - with a guest whose heart is always in Cairo.

Doris Behrens-Abouseif is Professor Emerita at SOAS, University of London. Her many publications encompass a wide range of subjects within socio-cultural and art historical contexts, with a focus on Egypt and Syria covering architecture, urbanism, material culture and the decorative arts. She has written a widely-admired book on the golden era of the city, Cairo of the Mamluks: a history of the architecture and its culture.

What we cover in this episode

• The Mamluks' origin, sultanate, historic context
• Territories ruled under the Mamluks sultanate
• An Impression on the prosperity held within the mega-city of Cairo during Mamluks era 

Conversation key insights

• ‘Walking through the medieval Cairo should have been an overwhelming experience for any traveller, in terms of the size, the density of population, the wealth of its monuments, the luxury of goods, richness of markets and its cosmopolitan character.’ 
• ‘Mamluks’ was the period which created the medieval Cairo: there is something fascinating about this old Cairo which has held great appeal for intellectuals like Najib Mahfuz and Hussain Fawzi.’
• ‘Mamluks were neither a dynasty nor slaves. They were not a dynasty because their succession system, despite the exceptions, was mainly non-hereditary; on the contrary, the system mainly worked based on a system of appointment and recruitment.’ 
•  ‘In conjunction with their religious patronage, Mamluks were trusted because they fulfilled the challenge of military expectations by standing up against and repelling the Mongols and Crusaders.’
• ‘Egypt, Greater Syria - including Lebanon, Palestine, and a big part of southeast Turkey - were all part of the Mamluks’ territories; they had also the privilege of being the guardians of the holy cities in Hijaz: Mecca and Medina.’ 

Terms

El-Qahira: Cairo

A passage from the book 

I arrived at length at the city of Misr [Cairo], mother of cities and seat of Pharaoh the tyrant, mistress of broad provinces and fruitful lands, boundless in multitude of buildings, peerless in beauty and splendour, the meeting place of comer and goer, the stopping-place of feeble and strong. Therein is what you will have of learned and simple, grave and gay, prudent and foolish, base and noble, of high estate and low estate, unknown and famous; she surges as the waves of the sea with her throngs of folk and can scarce contain them for all the capacity of her situation and sustaining power. Her youth | is ever new in spite of the length of days, and the star of her horoscope does not move from the mansion of fortune; her conquering capital has subdued the nations, and her kings have grasped the forelocks of both Arab and non-Arab. She has as her peculiar possession the majestic Nile...; her territory is a month's journey for a hastening traveller, of generous soil, and extending a friendly welcome to strangers [The Travels of Ibn Battuta, translated by Hamilton Gibbs, Hakluyt Society]

Recommended reading

• Cairo of the Mamluks: a history of the architecture and its culture, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, I.B.Tauris: London, 2007. 

•  سندباد مصری، حسين فوزي، دار المعارف، 1969

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced. 

In this episode we will explore Ibn Battuta's multiple motivations for stepping into 29 years of traveling and search to find out more about his multifaceted personality with Tim Mackintosh-Smith who has dedicated his life tracing Ibn Battuta.

Tim Mackintosh-Smith is a British, Oxford-educated Arabist, writer, traveller, translator and lecturer, based in Yemen for many decades but currently nomadic. He is one of the foremost scholars of the Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta. Mackintosh-Smith has published a trilogy recounting his journeys in the footnotes of Ibn Battuta: Travels with A Tangerine (2001), The Hall of a Thousand Columns (2005) and Landfalls (2010). In 2007, Mackintosh-Smith presented a major BBC documentary series, Travels with a Tangerine, recounting his experiences tracing Ibn Battuta's fourteenth-century travels in the present day. In 2016 he published an edited abridgement of The Travels of Ibn Battuta with Macmillan Collector's Library.


What we cover in this episode

• Ibn Battuta multiple motivations for stepping into 29 years of traveling.
• Ibn Battuta’s dream in Munyat and its interpretation. 
• Multilayered personality of Ibn Battuta. 

Conversation key insights

• 'Never so far as possible to cover a second time any road’ [A quote by Ibn Battuta in his Travels].
• ‘Ibn Battuta is a very attractive character: fun to meet, he has a big head but also a big heart.’
• 'Most travelers follow a path…When you look at Ibn Battuta's path, it is like a crazy spider or something running across the world. It is only when you look into his motivations does it begin to have its own logic. He was always in search of something.’
• ‘Ibn Battuta saw humanity in everyone.’

Recommended reading

The Travels of Ibn Battuta, edited by Tim Mackintosh-Smith, Macmillan Collector's Library, 2016.

Thanks to the episode contributors:

• Kate O’Connell | Editor, Creative Consultant
• Aydogan Kars | Academic Advisor
• Ashkan Bahrani | Academic Advisor 
• Frank Youakim | Narrator 
• Ali Gorgin | Music
• Tia Goodwin | Cover art designer

We acknowledge the Aboriginal peoples as the enduring Custodians of the land from where this podcast is produced.