Ibn Battuta is regarded as the Marco Polo of the East. In the 14th century, he traveled from Morocco through Mecca and India to China. His famous travel accounts are finally appearing in a new translation that conveys the liveliness and freshness of the original to the reader. The journeys of Ibn Battuta seem almost like a fairy tale: he visited nearly all the Islamic countries of his time, the Christian Constantinople, the Maldives, and China. Time and again, he paused to serve as a judge, marry, and father children. Ibn Battuta takes his readers on adventurous sea voyages and caravan journeys. He describes exotic cities and people, plants and animals, rulers and miracle workers. Through his personal and vivid narrative style, he comes across as remarkably modern. Did Ibn Battuta really experience all of this? Ralf Elger demonstrates in his informative afterword that the entire account is...