Description
Book SynopsisThe Travels of Ibn Battuta: A Guided Reader is a unique Arabic literature and history textbook for students at the High Intermediate to Advanced level. Ibn Battuta was the greatest traveler of the medieval period, and his narrative provides an unmatched view of medieval civilization from Spain to China, and from Russia to Mali. Students will read the authentic descriptions of Ibn Battuta's encounters with cannibals, desert bandits, Mongol chieftains, and his impressions of wonders from Timbuktu to Constantinople to Quanzhou. This book provides a guided and scaffolded survey of Ibn Battuta's greatest travels through twenty lessons, each with extensive preparatory, explanatory, and application exercises, enabling students to read the actual words of the original text without undue difficulty.While telling a fascinating narrative as a whole, each of the twenty lessons is designed to stand alone for classroom or individual study. Individual sections focus on classical grammar and stylistics, historical and cultural background and critical evaluation of the texts. The book also provides teachers with a wide range of comprehension, composition, interpretation, and research activities.
Trade Review"Dimeo and Hassan seamlessly blend critically important historical, religious, and cultural information about the medieval world together with meticulously planned Arabic grammar and vocabulary lessons. Structured around one of the most important texts of classical Arabic—Ibn Battuta's travels through cosmopolitan Islam of the fourteenth century—this text is the perfect springboard into advanced language study and cultural knowledge."—Jonathan Smolin, Dartmouth College
"DiMeo and Hassan take an exciting and effective approach to repositioning culture at the center of Arabic-language learning. Instructors will find this textbook a useful, enriching, and valuable asset for their students."—Mbaye Bashir Lo, Duke University
"This textbook is unique in its sound pedagogical approach, its rich historical background, its smooth transitioning within and across lessons, and its use of a wide variety of text-handling strategies that enhance students' reading and comprehension skills of authentic material." —Hanada Al-Masri, Denison University
"The authentic texts of one of the best known Arabic literary classics combined with a wealth of activities, including vocabulary and writing skill building, comprehension and discussion questions, grammar explanations and exercises, and culture and history notes prepared by two innovative and dedicated teachers make this textbook an indispensable contribution to the field of Arabic language instruction. I will definitely use it in my advanced Arabic classes at Cornell University and I highly recommend it to my colleagues in Arabic-as-a-foreign-language programs." —Munther Younes, Cornell University
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Lesson 1 – Setting off on the Greatest Journey
Lesson 2 – The Lighthouse at Alexandria, one of the Wonders of the World
Lesson 3 -The Mamluk Sultan of Egypt
Lesson 4 – Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock
Lesson 5 – Damascus, Paradise of the East
Lesson 6 - The Hajj Journey and Medina
Lesson 7 – The Hajj to Mecca
Lesson 8 – Baghdad, City of the Caliphs
Lesson 9 – Yemen, the Gateway to East Asia
Lesson 10 - The African Coast
Lesson 11 – Travels along the Arabian Gulf
Lesson 12 – The Golden Horde of Mongol Russia
Lesson 13 – Constantinople, Capital of the Byzantine Empire
Lesson 14 – The Sultan of India
Lesson 15 – Delhi, the Capital of Muslim India
Lesson 16 – Judge in the Maldives
Lesson 17 – The Rich Kingdom of China
Lesson 18 – Muslim Spain (al-Andalus)
Lesson 19 – Return Home
Lesson 20 – To Mali and Timbuktu
Appendices
Glossary
List of Grammar Points
Index of People
Index of Places (Arabic and English)
Further Reading
