Question 1

True or false: Ibn Battuta was a Moroccan scholar who started his travels at age 21.

Accepted Answer

True. Born in Tangier, Morocco, in 1304, he left for Mecca in 1325 at age 21 and didn't return for nearly 30 years.

Question 2

True or false: He never visited China, despite claiming to have reached Beijing.

Accepted Answer

False. Historians confirm he did travel to China, visiting ports like Quanzhou, though he may have exaggerated some details.

Question 3

True or false: Ibn Battuta traveled over 75,000 miles, more than Marco Polo.

Accepted Answer

True. His journeys spanned about 75,000 miles across Africa, Asia, and Europe, far exceeding Polo's estimated 15,000 miles.

Question 4

True or false: Ibn Battuta traveled alone for most of his journey to avoid detection.

Accepted Answer

False. He often traveled with large retinues, including servants, wives, and slaves, and was frequently hosted by rulers.

Question 5

True or false: His travelogue, the Rihla, was dictated to a scribe after he returned home.

Accepted Answer

True. Upon returning to Morocco in 1354, he dictated his adventures to Ibn Juzayy, who wrote the Rihla in Arabic.

Question 6

True or false: Ibn Battuta visited the court of the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople.

Accepted Answer

False. He never reached Constantinople; his travels took him to Anatolia, but not the Byzantine capital itself.

Question 7

True or false: He was appointed as a judge in the Maldives by the local sultan.

Accepted Answer

True. In the Maldives, he served as a qadi (judge) and even married into the royal family, but left after political conflicts.

Question 8

True or false: He once survived a shipwreck in the Indian Ocean by clinging to driftwood.

Accepted Answer

False. While he faced many dangers, including pirates and illness, there is no record of a shipwreck survival by driftwood.

Ibn Battuta Trivia Questions