Could you travel 75,000 miles in 30 years? Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta did—by foot, horse, camel, or boat—in the 1300s. Trace his journey and imagine the marvels he saw!

• 1.

  The legendary Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta lived by this motto: "Never, if possible, cover any road a second time." In 30 years he ventured on horse, camel, foot, and boat. Battuta visited countries from Morocco through North and East Africa, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, India, Indonesia, and into China. Imagine traveling more than 75,000 miles—without a car or a plane!

• 2.

  Read Traveling Man, The Journey of Ibn Battuta. Read and research to learn more about this little-known explorer. Trace his journeys on maps before creating a drawing of a fascinating marvel that he visited.

• 3.

  To frame your picture, draw a rectangle in the center of your paper using Crayola® Colored Pencils. Within the rectangle, use Crayola Twistables to draw and color a scene from one of the fascinating places Battuta visited. Your could draw in corner photos tabs to create a contemporary photo album look.

• 4.

  Around the frame of your picture, use your imagination to draw swirls of color with Crayola Gel Markers. Inside the swirls, write a caption with a Crayola Fine Tip Marker to explain your drawing.

Benefits

• Students learn about Ibn Battuta, who traveled the Middle and Far East for 30 years during the 1300s, and trace his path on maps.
• Students gain an understanding of the world of the 14th century because Ibn spent the last 23 years of his life in Morocco writing a complete travel document of all he had seen and learned.
• Students create a scene of one of the interesting places Ibn visited during his journey.

Adaptations

• Create an album of Battuta’s travels. Each student draws a different place he visited.
• Choose one of the many places Ibn visited. Create a diorama or triarama to show this scene.
• Research Marco Polo’s travels and adventures. Compare them to Ibn’s travels.
• Read and discuss Traveling Man orally with younger children or those with special needs.
• Look at all the interesting places Ibn visited through videos and other images.