1. Traveler’s Tales and Observations in the Post-Classical Period
Xuanzang & Ibn Battuta
Traveler’s Tales and Observations in the Post-Classical Period

5. Background
Each of these documents was written by an outsider to the people or society he is describing.
Ibn Battuta mostly travelled throughout the MUSLIM world (75,000 miles in all)
At the time was WAY bigger than the Christian world
He was born in Morocco
Often not too happy about the way Islam was being practiced by “newer” converts
In this document, he is in West Africa (Mali) in 1354 after crossing the Sahara with a caravan.

6. Xuanzang was a Buddhist monk who travelled to India with the goal of getting a better understanding of the religion from its source.
Spends 10 years travelling around India
Returns to China and spends the remainder of his life translating Buddhist texts into Chinese
Some of his writings are observations of life in India in the 8th Century

7. Today’s Class
Using the Venn diagram and the documents provided, find at least three differences for each document, two similarities between each.  Pay special attention to:
How their journey and observations show the extent and limitations of cultural interactions
the purpose of the trips
where they went
how they viewed the people that they came across
the point of view of each author
what they chose to write about an even what they chose NOT to write about – it’s all fair game.
 This is a difficult assignment - take your time and really try to analyze each document.