In Antaliyah, there is the first obvious divide between cultures. According to Ibn Battuta, “inhabitants live by themselves, separated from each other section. Thus Christian merchants reside in a part of it called al-Mina and are encircled by a wall […] The Rum[…]live in another part encircled by a wall[…] Jews in another part with a wall around them;[…]the king and his officers and mamluks live in a separate township from the sections we have mentioned” (Battuta 103). They all live right around each other, they might even interact during the day yet at night they close themselves off from one another. This is strange to me it also seems almost hypocritical as well. If they can live in the same area why can’t they get along well enough to not need walls? It is almost like the early immigration days of America, where groups of people stuck together in one area.

Then in stark contrast there is the tale of the Young Akhis. They are an apparently chivalrous group of individuals who all live in one area together, under one elected leader.  All of the work they do goes toward the groups collective good. They also enjoy sharing their fortune with people travelling through the land.

Whats interesting is that Ibn Battuta does not seem to think that the separation of the groups in Antaliyah is in fact not strange at all. However, everything the fityan did seemed to astonish hi, in a good way.  Both ways of life seem odd to me. For the groups in Antaliyah to live so close together but to fight so hard to keep them selves separate is pointless to me. On the other hand, doing everything for the group is a little to socialist for someone raised in America to understand.

In Kawiyah, there is another example of culture division. Ibn Battutah and his group go to the home of one of the Akhis, who speaks Turkish. They attempt to speak to him in Arabic, needless to say, this does not work. The Akhis then says “Call the doctor of the law, for he knows Arabic.”. Unfortunately, this man did not know Arabic, he simply pretended like he did, in order to impress the Akhis.  What I did find amusing is Ibn Battuta’s translation of what the legist said, even though at the time he had no knowledge of Persian when he heard it and this must be at least a few years later.

In Muturni, there is another language barrier. Ibn Battuta sends two of his servants for chopped straw and ghee. They go and attempt to retrieve these items. They are only 50 percent successful because to them samn is ghee, but in Turkish samn is chopped straw. Ibn Battuta then says that he eventually figured out the ghee is rughan.

I have a question though. When they were in the city of Qastamuniyah, Ibn Battuta, seeks out a Shaikh, in order to receive his blessing. I have noticed in other areas people either seek out Shaikhs or other important people for blessings. What is this all about?

You also asked us to be on the look out for amusing things in this story. In Sanub Ibn Battuta hears about the areas former ruler, who apparently could perform superhuman tasks. However, just like the green lantern has to charge his ring the former ruler also had to restore his power. The ruler did that by consuming lots and lots of hashish.