Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Travel Log #5

While traveling around the world, I like to write journal entries for some of my more favorite places i've been to, and some crazy things that have happened, and well, here it is.

After crossing the Red Sea, I arrived in Somalia, and oh man let me tell you.  Somalia is a huge city with a great bazaar, but its the dirtiest, smelliest, most repulsive place I have ever been to.  I hate that place.  I travelled along the East African coast to cities such as Mombasa and Kilwa.  In Kilwa, I met the local sultan Abu al-Muzaffar Hasan.  He was a man of great humility.  I even saw him talking and eating amongst his poor brethren.  If leaders took the time to sit down with the common people and take the time to know what was truly in the people's interest, we would all have much better countries to live in.  The world needs more Abu al-Muzaffar Hasans.  Later, I can't remember where, but someone had told me about a place called Oman and in Oman was a Sultan who was extremely generous to Muslim scholars.  So with that promise of royal generousity, I headed out to Oman, but it would take me 3 years to get there.  
I made my way back to Cairo, then around the east coast of the Mediterranean through Gaza and Hebron, then to a Genoese ship bound for of Anatolia, then boarded a second ship across the black sea to Crimea.  Never should have done that, this ship ride made me hate sea travel for the rest of my life.    We went strait through a huge storm, I wish I could find out what was going through the captain's head when he decided to steer us through that ordeal.  However, God was merciful that day and we safely arrived in the Mongol Kipchak Khanate.  By this time I had accumulated a personal entourage, good amount of horses, several hot wives and concubines.  Not so bad for the little boy from Tangier huh?

No comments:

Post a Comment