رحلة ابن بطوطة الأولى

فِي سَنَةِ أَلْفٍ وَثَلَاثِمِئَةٍ وَخَمْسٍ وَعِشْرِينَ، خَرَجَ شَابٌّ اسْمُهُ ابْنُ بَطُّوطَةَ مِنْ مَدِينَةِ طَنْجَةَ فِي الْمَغْرِبِ. كَانَ عُمْرُهُ وَاحِدًا وَعِشْرِينَ عَامًا فَقَطْ. رَكِبَ حِمَارًا فِي الْبِدَايَةِ ثُمَّ انْضَمَّ إِلَى قَافِلَةِ تُجَّارٍ. سَافَرَ عَبْرَ شَمَالِ أَفْرِيقْيَا وَرَأَى مُدُنًا كَثِيرَةً لِأَوَّلِ مَرَّةٍ. كَانَ الطَّرِيقُ طَوِيلًا وَصَعْبًا أَحْيَانًا. مَرِضَ فِي الطَّرِيقِ لَكِنَّهُ لَمْ يَتَوَقَّفْ عَنِ السَّفَرِ. وَصَلَ إِلَى مِصْرَ وَأَعْجَبَهُ نَهْرُ النِّيلِ كَثِيرًا. تَعَرَّفَ عَلَى أُنَاسٍ مِنْ بِلَادٍ مُخْتَلِفَةٍ وَتَعَلَّمَ عَادَاتِهِمْ. كَانَتْ هَذِهِ بِدَايَةُ رِحْلَةٍ اسْتَمَرَّتْ ثَلَاثِينَ سَنَةً. زَارَ فِيهَا أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَرْبَعِينَ دَوْلَةً حَوْلَ الْعَالَمِ.

In the year 1325, a young man named Ibn Battuta left the city of Tangier in Morocco. He was only twenty-one years old. He rode a donkey at first, then joined a merchants' caravan. He traveled across North Africa and saw many cities for the first time. The road was long and sometimes difficult. He got sick on the way, but he didn't stop traveling. He reached Egypt and was very impressed by the Nile River. He met people from different countries and learned their customs. This was the beginning of a journey that lasted thirty years. During it, he visited more than forty countries around the world.