Ibn Battuta is one of history’s great explorers. He set out from his native Tangier in 1325, when he was just 21. By the time he returned home for good almost 30 years later, he had covered some 120,000 km and nearly every part of the Islamic world. What makes me so astonished is to read about this great scholars account of his visit to the Somali coastal capital Mogadishu in 1331. Here is a quote of his travels to Somalia where he paints a picture of an exotic, vibrant and rich nation which played a vital role in world trade:

Mogadishu is a very large town. The people are merchants and very rich. They own large herds of camels…and also sheep. Here they manufacture the textiles called after the name of the town; these are of superior quality and are exported to Egypt and other places.

Inspirational!