Arabic Travel Writing: 10th-21st Centuries PDF

Arabic Travel Writing 10th – 21st Centuries Outline ´ Key developments ´ Typology ´ Themes Religious and Scholarly Inspiration ´ The emergence of the genre is bound up with the importance of travel in Islam. ´ In the Qur’an, travel often appears as a duty, whether in respect of the pilgrimag...

Arabic Travel Writing 10th – 21st Centuries Outline ´ Key developments ´ Typology ´ Themes Religious and Scholarly Inspiration ´ The emergence of the genre is bound up with the importance of travel in Islam. ´ In the Qur’an, travel often appears as a duty, whether in respect of the pilgrimage or, simply, to ‘see how God originated creation’ Say, [O Muḥammad], "Travel through the land and observe how He began creation. Then Allah will produce the final creation [i.e., development]. Indeed Allah, over all things, is competent.” (Q.29:20) ´ In addition, travel was vital in the quest for knowledge (ṭalab al-ilm), and an obligatory rite of passage for any would be scholar, to consult libraries or to study under famous teachers. Etiology of Travel ´ Combination of piety and education ´ Dār al-Islām (‘House of Islam’) vs Dār al-Ḥarb (‘House of War’) or Dār al-Kufr (‘House of Unbelief’). ´ Scholars travel to collect hadith from famous transmitters. ´ Travel as a way of ‘conquering knowledge’ was integral to the scholar’s formal training through instruction from recognized authorities and their endorsement in the form of a written permission (known as ijāza), to teach their works. ´ Knowledge as social and cultural capital bestowed status and ensured recognition, which could be ‘translated’ in paid employment, as a teacher or scribe. The Earliest Account of non-Muslim Lands ´ The earliest account of non-Muslim lands can be dated to the mid-ninth century ´ Akhbar al-Sin wa-l-Hind, ‘News of China and India,’ in two books ´ the author or the compiler of the first book is unknown ´ the compiler (not author) of the second book being Abu Ziyad Al-Sirafi. ´ It combined practical information about these far-flung corners of the known world with wondrous tales (‘aja’ib) redolent of the Arabian Nights. ´ The part on China is almost devoid of the mythical ´ Useful information for traders who needed practical information, not myths. ´ Besides the first descriptions of tea, porcelain and Confucian ethics, it provides often detailed ethnographic comments regarding gender relations, toilet habits, or the treatment of Muslim traders. ´ The comments tend to be factual and in some cases even admiring; the foreign is worthy of interest and is approached in a detached, rather than judgmental fashion. Travel Genre in Arabic Literature The beginnings… ´ When? ´ 10th century Abbasid Empire ´ 12th century Andalusia ´ Who? ´ Baghdad-born Ibn Fadlan ´ Valencia-born Ibn Jubayr ´ Purpose? ´ Religio–political mission ´ Pilgrimage ´ Travel route? ´ Baghdad to the Volga Bulgars ´ Granada to the holy city of Mecca Travel Genre in Arabic Literature Ibn Fadlan, b. 877, Baghdad, d.c.960 Jurist (faqih) and traveler Famous for his account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Abbasid caliph, Muqtadir of Baghdad, to the king of Volga Bulgaria (today’s European Russia) Almish Yiltawar is believed to On 21 June 921, a diplomatic party left have been the Baghdad for the purpose of explaining Islamic first Muslim ruler law to the recently converted Bulgar peoples. (emir) of Volga Ibn Fadlan served as the group's religious Bulgaria advisor and lead counselor for Islamic religious doctrine and law. Fun Fact: Ibn Fadlan’s account of the Volga Bulgars and the Rūs ´ Many of the Volga Bulgars peoples and societies to Ibn Fadlan were ‘like asses gone astray. They have no religious bonds with God, nor do they have recourse to reason.’ ´ As for Ibn Fadlan's account of a people he called the Rūs or Rūsiyya, generally assumed to be Volga Vikings of Scandinavian origin and Slavs and others (mostly traders), he said that: ´ their bodies tall as (date) palm-trees, with blond hair and ruddy skin. Each is tattooed from "the tips of his toes to his neck" with dark blue or dark green "designs" and all men are armed with an axe, sword and long knife. ´ Ibn Fadlan describes the Rūs as "perfect" physical specimens and the hygiene of the Rūsiyya as disgusting and shameless, and considers them vulgar and unsophisticated. ‘They are the filthiest of all Allah’s creatures’ Ibn Fadlan’s rihla ´ Combining travel and autobiography, the author-traveler includes a collection of observation with a record of private experience, and an autobiographical account of a man pursuing an adventure. ´ Provides almost a day-to-day account of his progress, and events are linked to places. ´ Dates are infrequently used. ´ The introduction includes praise to God and the ruler or patron, the reason for the trip, and preparations for the journey. ´ Fellow travelers generally remain hidden and anonymous; they do not intervene in the travel experience. ´ The traveler journeys – or writes – not as a member of an ethnic or regional group, but as a Muslim. The Father of pilgrimage rihla Ibn Jubayr, b. 1145, Valencia, d. Geographer, 1217 traveler and a poet One of the most interesting features of his travelogue is the inclusion of both Christian and Muslim calendar dates, a practice which would not be repeated until the nineteenth century. It provides further proof of the Muslim perception – and acceptance – of the bicultural nature of the Mediterranean space within which they moved. The Travels of Ibn Jubayr Introduction: Giraffe anyone? Fun fact During his pilgrimage, Ibn Jubayr, a 12th century Arab Andalusian geographer, traveler and writer, encountered an unusual spectacle in Egypt. He came across a giraffe that had been brought as a gift for the Ayyubid Sultan Salah al-Din. The giraffe was paraded through the streets as part of the extravagant procession for the sultan's arrival. 13th century: The Age of Prosopography ´ Second half of the thirteenth century witnessed a new trend ´ The emphasis veered away from geographical and ethnographic descriptions, in favor of the prosopographical. ´ Lists of scholars met by the author and/or residents in the places they visited, books read, and ijāzas obtained. ´ The destination hardly mattered, nor did the journey. ´ it was about the aggrandizement of the traveler's scholarly capital and prestige. The Most Famous Arab Traveler Ibn Battuta (1304-1377) Ibn Battuta departed his native Tangier (Morocco) at the beginning of June 1325, and only returned after nearly a quarter of a century (and two pilgrimages) of travelling across the globe, including China, Sumatra, Ceylon and the Maldives. In a further twist, Ibn Battuta’s account was “ghosted” by a scholar by the name of Ibn Juzayy, which has, naturally, given rise to speculation and doubts regarding the content of the rihla. From journey to text ´ The itineraries of hajj rihlas tended to be fixed, but the length of journeys varied considerably, from an average of one year to many decades. ´ Travelogues, generally, were often written a long time after travelling ´ Al-Balawī (d. 1365), for instance, took almost twenty years to complete the record of his five-year journey to the Mashriq in 1335. ´ Quite naturally, this implied a reprocessing of the experience, compounded in some cases by the use of a scribe. ´ The amount of detail that was often included meant that authors must have relied on notes, as well as memory. ´ The travelogues often used many other sources, such as historical chronicles, geographical manuals, or earlier travelers, even though they were not always acknowledged. ´ In some cases, references were more than likely added when the author had access to his library, while others travelled with key works. ´ After discussing essential tools, including needle and thread, to take for emergencies along the way, al-Tayyib (d. 1756) added that: ‘a knowledgeable person will also take what he needs in terms of books in all branches of knowledge.’ 17th Century: The Age of Ambassadors & Priests The seventeenth century saw a number of developments in the rihla literature, in terms of authorship and destination, with, for the first time, a number of travelogues relating to journeys to European states. Travel with a bitter taste: Diplomatic Missions to Europe The travel experience of the ambassadors was different from that of their pilgrim counterparts: ´ For a start, they journeyed towards the ‘House of War’, which was highly problematic; not only was this censured by Islamic law, but it also necessitated close-quarter contact with Christians and unreligious practices (e.g. alcohol, absence of halal food). ´ Secondly, in many cases it involved travel to formerly Muslim territory and constant reminders of the ignominy of Christian conquest. ´ Thirdly, the information gleaned often came mediated through a third party, as the delegations were given an interpreter, usually a Levantine cleric. ´ Finally, even though the format of the ambassadorial rihlas was similar to the pilgrimage travelogues, the former had a purely official intent. The Forerunners ´ The first account of a diplomatic mission to Europe was written by a Moroccan of Andalusian descent, Ibn Qāsim al-Ḥajarī (d. 1645), who travelled to France and the Low Countries (1611-3) to negotiate a treaty on behalf of the Moroccan sultan. v Fact: Low Countries consist of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These are together known as the Benelux countries, from the initial letters of their names. ´ Moroccan envoys were also sent to Europe to ransom Muslim captives; ´ al-Wazīr al-Ghassānī went to Spain (1690-1) ´ al-Miknāsī chronicled two missions: 1. Spain (1779-80) and 2. Malta, Naples and Sicily(1781-3) Travelers in this period felt compelled to preface their rihlas with a ‘disclaimer,’ explaining their reasons for travelling to Europe The Bitter Experience ´ Experiences were viewed through a prism of not just an encounter with the foreign, but with Christianity, onto which the humiliation of the Reconquista was projected. ´ There was a disgust with all things Christian, while Spain was consistently referred to as al-‘aduwa (‘the enemy’), its king ‘the despot’ (taghiya). ´ Whenever mentioning a town formerly held by Muslims, the authors prayed ‘God restore it to Islam!’ (a’adaha Allah dar al-Islam). ´ There was dishonor in the present, too, as the envoys were there to liberate Muslim captives. ´ The relatively new practice of quarantine was also resented as a sign of Christian power, and al-Miknāsī refused confinement in the lazaretto, preferring, instead, to remain on his ship. A Bitter-Sweet Experience The sense of humiliation is bound up with another key aspect of the Moroccan ambassadorial accounts. ´ Their principal quest is not for personal recognition or ‘soft capital,’ but for signs of Muslim and regal power, both past and present. ´ There are numerous references to the respect with which envoys are treated, thus conveying the importance of their ruler and, of course, by extension, the umma. ´ Al-Ghassani reported that the Spanish king ‘often asked questions about our Master, al-Manṣur billah, and as he mentioned his name, he doffed the sombrero he was wearing, as a sign of respect and esteem. A Sense of Fascination ´ When discussing areas once under Muslim control, authors’ attention focused on the lost glory of historical Muslim elements. ´ Though Christian dogma and practices elicited harsh criticism, the envoys related reasonably well to Christians on an interpersonal level, and found many favorable characteristics ´ Cleanliness ´ Kindness ´ Charity ´ They faithfully recorded all aspects of European societies they visited, with special interest in their hosts’ military capability as the sultan eagerly awaited information about defenses, weaponry, shipbuilding, and naval infrastructure. One should be wary of interpreting the favorable comments as a recommendation to adopt the inventions and wonders they observed, not merely because of the abovementioned fear of being branded an infidel, but also to avoid the displeasure of the ruler. Levantine (Christian)Clerics ´ Whereas Muslim travelers were constantly reminded that they were in enemy, ‘infidel’ country, there was another group of travelers in this period, namely Levantine clerics, whose journey was one of integration in the Christian world. ´ Here, too, piety often coincided with knowledge, and many of the travelers received their clerical training in Rome. ´ The link with the seat of Western Christianity also explains the fact that of the seven known extant Levantine travelogues, ´ Four involved journeys to Italy ´ Two ventured much further afield: ´ the Patriarch of Damascus, Makarius, travelled to Slav lands (Wallachia, Moldova, Ukraine, Muscovy) in 1655- 1659 in order to raise funds for his congregation ´ the Iraqi priest, Ilyas Ibn Hanna al-Mawṣuli, produced the first Arabic account of a lengthy stay in Central and South America (1668-1683) Muslim vs Christian ´ Just like the Muslim pilgrimage rihlas, Christian travelers' itineraries contained a recognized set of religious sites (particularly churches), which are often described in great detail, as are feasts and festivals. ´ Linguistically, the Christian travelers' accounts stand out, mainly through the informal style and often abundant use of dialectism, which contrasted with the literary features of most of the Muslim rihlas. ´ As there was no established readership for the Christian travelogues, they very quickly receded into oblivion. v Dialectism is the art or practice of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments Al-Nahda: The Arab Revival and Rifa’a al-Tahtawi ´ Besides inviting foreign advisors, Muslims were for the first time being sent to the west to study. ´ The most famous mission left Egypt for France in 1826 and involved over forty students. ´ It was the imam of the group, Rifa’a al-Tahtawi (1801-1872), who chronicled his five-year stay in the first printed rihla on Europe. ´ It remains one of the most extensive ever written, combining travel journal with manual for the new sciences and technologies, as well as geography and ethnography. ´ The broad sweep of subjects made al-Ṭahtawi’s rihla eminently suitable as a textbook, and the Egyptian ruler, Muhammad Ali Pasha, had it distributed to his civil servants and students at the new schools. ´ It was translated to Turkish the year after it was published in Arabic and sent to the Ottoman Sultan in Istanbul, where it was equally avidly read. Al-Nahda: The Arab Revival and Rifa’a al-Tahtawi ´ For the first time, a wide Arabic readership, from Morocco to Iraq, was introduced to concepts ranging from parliamentary democracy and revolution to European table etiquette. ´ From the outset, Rifa’a’s aim was clear: ´ to observe in great detail everything that would take place on this trip, everything that was strange and wondrous, and ´ to write it down so that it could be useful to discover the face of this region ´ for it to remain a guide for travelers wishing to go there The Pilgrimage of Modernity ´ In total, some forty-eight travelers left over sixty accounts of journeys to a wide variety of destinations in Europe – and beyond, including Brazil, Russia and the United States of America. ´ France topped the list as it was thought to be the embodiment of the modern West, crystallizing all that was admired in Europe. ´ No travelogue was considered complete without a visit to Paris. ´ A visit to Europe become a mark of modernity and the coping stone of a modern education. ´ The reasons for travel varied in the course of the century, as perceptions of Europe changed, from the exotic to the threatening, and Western influence in the Arab world grew. ´ Muhammad al-Muwaylihi (1858-1930), who spent several years in Europe, divided Egyptian travelers into several categories: ´ students ´ tourists seeking entertainment and recreation, and who only wanted to see for themselves what others had written about, or impress their compatriots with the wonders they had seen there ´ government officials, who went there for study or tourism ´ those who sought knowledge and made a careful examination of things Arab Travelers in America ´ America entered the Arab consciousness and, to some degree, became part of ‘the West’ towards the end of the Nahda period. ´ Egyptian Adwār Ilyās and the Lebanese Khalīl Sarkīs visited exhibitions in Philadelphia (1876) and Chicago (1893), respectively. ´ However, in both cases, their visit to the United States was secondary to their European journeys, to which they devoted most of their attention. Women vs Men and the “Immorality” of the West European women as a recurring theme for the immorality of the Christian West continued to run through the (pre-)modern Arabic rihlas. Some authors praised the freedom women enjoyed in Europe, but none – not even the Christians – thought it appropriate for their own countries. European men, for their part, were taken to task for their lack of jealousy and submission to the whims of their women. Arab women, for their part, remained invisible in the travel literature. This excludes the Memoirs by the Omani princess Salma Bint Sa’id (who became known as Emily Ruete after settling in Germany with her husband) as these were originally written in German (1886) Europe in 19th century Arabic Travel Literature ´ The Europe in Arabic travel literature was a composite, within which merged the (semi-)mythical Europe of progress, industry and science with the Europe of wonders. ´ The importance of the travel accounts lies not just in how nineteenth- century Arabs saw Europe (the perception of the Other), but also in the way Europe saw itself and the image it conveyed of itself to the outside world (the perception and projection of the Self). ´ Arab visitors conveyed the West’s image of its superiority and, by implication, the inferiority of non-European societies in general, and those of Muslim states, in particular. ´ It is this view that would continue to loom large in the next period.  20th and 21st Centuries ´ The twentieth century saw a number of dramatic changes in Arabic travel writing as regards destinations, motive, style and authorship. Many of the changes were, as before, driven by reaction to conflict. ´ The single biggest innovation in this period was the emergence of women’s travel literature ´ Until World War II, travel remained the preserve of intellectuals and the elite, and tourism became the main reason for travel. ´ Egyptian and Levantine authors continued to dominate; it would take until the second half of the 20th century for Gulf authors (mainly from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) to appear on the scene. ´ The most famous travel writer in the first half of the century was the Egyptian secondary-school teacher Muhammad Thabit, who put his summer holidays to good use. ´ In the course of two decades (1926-1946), he covered some 200,000 miles, travelling from Europe to the Far East, from Africa to Afghanistan, to the Americas and, finally, Australia and Hawaii, producing a total of eight travelogues! ´ Thabit took his educational role very seriously and provided his readership with a multitude of geographical, historical and ethnological facts, as well as a multitude of photographs. 20th and 21st Centuries’ Themes: Reaction and Conflict ´ In the aftermath of the Second World War and the subsequent decolonization movement, travelogue sometimes became a tool in the anti-imperialist struggle. ´ The main target was the USA, which replaced Europe as the center of education and modernity. ´ During the second half of the 20th century, Arabic travel writing became increasingly dominated by ´ the relationship between the Muslim world and the West ´ the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, more recently, ´ the perceived link between Arabs/Islam and terrorism, and ´ Islamophobia Arab Settlers in the West ´ The growing body of travel literature produced by those settled in the West addresses the highly complex issues of ´ Identity ´ Politics of displacement ´ Exile ´ Alienation ´ Belonging ´ exclusion ´ The most interesting aspect of these works is the fragmentation of ‘the Other,’ as authors negotiate the Western and multifarious immigration spaces.