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Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footsteps of Islam's Greatest Traveler
In 1325, the great Arab traveler Ibn Battutah set out from his native Tangier in North Africa on pilgrimage to Mecca. By the time he returned nearly thirty years later, he had seen most of the known world, covering three times the distance allegedly traveled by the great Venetian explorer Marco Polo—some 75,000 miles in all.
Captivated by Ibn Battutah’s account of his journey, the Arabic scholar and award-winning travel writer Tim Mackintosh-Smith set out to follow in the peripatetic Moroccan’s footsteps. Traversing Egyptian deserts and remote islands in the Arabian Sea, visiting castles in Syria and innumerable souks in medieval Islam’s great cities, Mackintosh-Smith sought clues to Ibn Battutah’s life and times, encountering the ghost of “IB” in everything from place names (in Tangier alone, a hotel, street, airport, and ferry bear IB’s name), to dietary staples to an Arabic online dating service— and introducing us to a world of unimaginable wonders.
By necessity, Mackintosh-Smith’s journey may have cut some corners (“I only wish I had the odd thirty years to spare, and Ibn Battutah’s enviable knack of extracting large amounts of cash, robes and slaves from compliant rulers.”) But in this wry, evocative, and uniquely engaging travelogue, he spares no effort in giving readers an unforgettable glimpse into both the present-day and fourteenth-century Islamic worlds.
Captivated by Ibn Battutah’s account of his journey, the Arabic scholar and award-winning travel writer Tim Mackintosh-Smith set out to follow in the peripatetic Moroccan’s footsteps. Traversing Egyptian deserts and remote islands in the Arabian Sea, visiting castles in Syria and innumerable souks in medieval Islam’s great cities, Mackintosh-Smith sought clues to Ibn Battutah’s life and times, encountering the ghost of “IB” in everything from place names (in Tangier alone, a hotel, street, airport, and ferry bear IB’s name), to dietary staples to an Arabic online dating service— and introducing us to a world of unimaginable wonders.
By necessity, Mackintosh-Smith’s journey may have cut some corners (“I only wish I had the odd thirty years to spare, and Ibn Battutah’s enviable knack of extracting large amounts of cash, robes and slaves from compliant rulers.”) But in this wry, evocative, and uniquely engaging travelogue, he spares no effort in giving readers an unforgettable glimpse into both the present-day and fourteenth-century Islamic worlds.
351 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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About the author
Tim Mackintosh-Smith
7 books123 followersTim Mackintosh-Smith is an eminent Arabist, translator, and traveler whose previous publications include Travels with a Tangerine and Yemen. He has lived in the Arab world for thirty-five years and is a senior fellow of the Library of Arabic Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
July 2, 2024
I read this book in 2011, before I wrote reviews, and enjoyed it a lot. There are three in Mackintosh-Smiths series, and I recently acquired the third, which was reason enough to re-read book one and two.
Tim Mackintosh-Smith (TMS) is without doubt an academic, but one who is also interested in getting involved in the experience, and travelling the route himself. In this book, he visits numerous locations, following the route of Ibn Battutah (IB) who set out in 1325 from his native Tangier in Morocco on a thirty year 'look around' the world. TMS won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award with this boo, when published in 2001.
The thing about this book, is it is perhaps not the easiest of reads. I find it quite self-indulgent - although I qualify this by saying that isn't a bad thing - TMS obviously writes about the things he is passionate about, and so he should - but it hops around from topic to topic somewhat wantonly, and is particularly "Saint" and "tomb" heavy, but such was IB's own interest and writing similarly focussed.
Rather than ramble on too long, I have added some of the more amusing parts I enjoyed:
P199
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I remain pretty happy with my original 4 star rating.
Tim Mackintosh-Smith (TMS) is without doubt an academic, but one who is also interested in getting involved in the experience, and travelling the route himself. In this book, he visits numerous locations, following the route of Ibn Battutah (IB) who set out in 1325 from his native Tangier in Morocco on a thirty year 'look around' the world. TMS won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award with this boo, when published in 2001.
The thing about this book, is it is perhaps not the easiest of reads. I find it quite self-indulgent - although I qualify this by saying that isn't a bad thing - TMS obviously writes about the things he is passionate about, and so he should - but it hops around from topic to topic somewhat wantonly, and is particularly "Saint" and "tomb" heavy, but such was IB's own interest and writing similarly focussed.
Rather than ramble on too long, I have added some of the more amusing parts I enjoyed:
P199
The typography of IB's route was, not surprisingly, unchanged; but its human geography had altered. Sur had grown, Qalhat - Marco Polo's Calatu, 'a noble city... frequented by numerous ships with goods from India" - had all but disappeared. And there was a new toponym, al-Anji. I had heard the name in Sur while asking a tug-master for directions, and rifled my memory for a mention of the place. It certainly wasn't in the Travels", and it seemed to have eluded Ibn al-Mujawir, whose thirteenth-century anecdotal geography is the best guide to the bottom half of Arabia. "You know," the tug-master said. "The end of the pipeline." It clicked al-Anji was 'LNG' - the Liquefied Natural Gas terminal.
P301
It wasn't the age of the Crimean Air plane that was alarming, but the colour scheme. The walls and curtains, in two shades of blue - pleasing enough, rather Oxbridge - were teamed with a fudge coloured carpet and blood-clot seats. Several of these collapsed under my fellow passengers. They were all Turks, all male and all very excitable, and the cabin was filled with whoops and cheers.
Crimean Air, according to my boarding pass, was my reliable partner for journeys to Tashkent, Krasnodar, Minsk, Murmansk, Chelyabinsk - what a poetical boarding pass! - Novosibirsk, Windhoek... Windhoek? As my mind boggled at the idea of Crimeans in the Kalahari, an air hostess appeared through the cockpit door. She was wearing a retina-jangling red trouser-suite, and looked very strict. Chatter ceased, and she began reciting the safety procedure.
I remain pretty happy with my original 4 star rating.
January 10, 2022
I haven't finished reading this book. I'm two thirds of the way through and I need a break. It's an interesting journey, the premise of which is the author following in Ibn Battutah's footsteps, but it is a bit self indulgent at times and there's too much emphasis on a mind-boggling number of saints' tombs. I'll put it back on the shelf and finish it in a few weeks' or months' time. It's probably 4 stars but I have to give it 3 because I'm wearying of it. Update: DNF - I didn’t find the energy to pick this up again so it went to the charity shop to find a new home.
October 28, 2020
Tim Mackintosh-Smith traces some of the travels of Ibn Battuta, an avid traveler of North Africa and the Middle East in the Middle Ages. The writing is dense (he loves a good turn of phrase) but I enjoyed reading it, visiting the late 1990s version of some of these places, with the underlying current of the 14th century - Tangiers, Alexandria, Aleppo, Sur, etc. Some of these locations have been forever changed in the 21st century so this was a bit of time traveling. The author talks about how the world feels like it contracts or expands depending on how easy it is to travel - Ibn Battuta did most of his travels as the Black Plague started, which reduced travel and trade worldwide. Funny how we are in a similar situation right now!
I've read books set so many of these places that this connected to many of my reads from the last year. The author has lived in Yemen for decades and I may want to read his book about that country too.
I've read books set so many of these places that this connected to many of my reads from the last year. The author has lived in Yemen for decades and I may want to read his book about that country too.
April 5, 2015
This is going to be a really objective review.
The book is about an intelligent and witty Englishman who travels through the Middle East in the footsteps of a great Islamic travel writer.
Alright, so I lied. I would have given five stars without reading a single page. But I did read it, and I discovered some other reasons for doing so :).
Tim Mackintosh-Smith starts out from Ibn Battutah's underwhelming tomb in Tangiers, Morocco, and journeys through Egypt, Syria, Oman, Turkey and the Crimea. Ibn Battutah himself had travelled further than that, even reaching China, but these places offer more than enough material for one book.
The author recounts Ibn Battutah's writings, meets people who can tell him more, and then compares what he has heard to his own experiences. This leads to an interesting portrait. You see how difficult it is to travel those routes today, but that it was way more difficult in the 14th century. The perception of travellers, of the importance of culture and religion has changed as well, and it is fascinating to see this documented.
Mackintosh-Smith brings his own sense of humour, which is something I always love in a travel writer. He's not offensive, but he is very cheeky at times. In all his observations you can feel his love for the subject, and it is always an enjoyable read for me when I can see that the author enjoyed it.
Every now and then, his explanations are accompanied by illustrations, done by Martin Yeoman. They feel like the sort of unfinished sketches you would do if you saw something on a journey and that makes them feel authentic. (I also like it because I can then imagine what the finished painting - or place - might look like and as a result I spend more time with those than with finished paintings.)
Mackintosh-Smith has also presented a travel documentary for the BBC that follows this book. After reading this I really want to see it.
When Tim Mackintosh-Smith reaches the end of his journey in Istanbul, there isn't a lot of reflection. (There isn't in the rest of the book either. This isn't about finding yourself, it is about tje joy of experiencing foreign places.)
Indeed, there isn't even a real goodbye. Mackintosh-Smith seems to think that he will be back in Ibn Battutah's footsteps before long. I would gladly join him. And I can do so, Hall of a Thousand Columns and Landfalls: On the Edge of Islam with Ibn Battutah are out already.
The book is about an intelligent and witty Englishman who travels through the Middle East in the footsteps of a great Islamic travel writer.
Alright, so I lied. I would have given five stars without reading a single page. But I did read it, and I discovered some other reasons for doing so :).
Tim Mackintosh-Smith starts out from Ibn Battutah's underwhelming tomb in Tangiers, Morocco, and journeys through Egypt, Syria, Oman, Turkey and the Crimea. Ibn Battutah himself had travelled further than that, even reaching China, but these places offer more than enough material for one book.
The author recounts Ibn Battutah's writings, meets people who can tell him more, and then compares what he has heard to his own experiences. This leads to an interesting portrait. You see how difficult it is to travel those routes today, but that it was way more difficult in the 14th century. The perception of travellers, of the importance of culture and religion has changed as well, and it is fascinating to see this documented.
Mackintosh-Smith brings his own sense of humour, which is something I always love in a travel writer. He's not offensive, but he is very cheeky at times. In all his observations you can feel his love for the subject, and it is always an enjoyable read for me when I can see that the author enjoyed it.
Every now and then, his explanations are accompanied by illustrations, done by Martin Yeoman. They feel like the sort of unfinished sketches you would do if you saw something on a journey and that makes them feel authentic. (I also like it because I can then imagine what the finished painting - or place - might look like and as a result I spend more time with those than with finished paintings.)
Mackintosh-Smith has also presented a travel documentary for the BBC that follows this book. After reading this I really want to see it.
When Tim Mackintosh-Smith reaches the end of his journey in Istanbul, there isn't a lot of reflection. (There isn't in the rest of the book either. This isn't about finding yourself, it is about tje joy of experiencing foreign places.)
Indeed, there isn't even a real goodbye. Mackintosh-Smith seems to think that he will be back in Ibn Battutah's footsteps before long. I would gladly join him. And I can do so, Hall of a Thousand Columns and Landfalls: On the Edge of Islam with Ibn Battutah are out already.
July 29, 2012
Travels with a Tangerine, Tim Mackintosh-Smith's account of retracing Ibn Battutah's 14th century pilgrimage to Mecca, is a book that falls into the category of topics I love (travel/history writing, modern day recreations of famous voyages) but executions I dislike. I found Mackintosh-Smith's writing overly pedantic and dense. I don't know much about 14th century Arabic history and spent much of the book wishing that Mackintosh-Smith had provided more of a historical overview. Mackintosh-Smith seemed more concerned with a long dead traveler and historical monuments than it was with the modern lands he traveled through, and Travels with a Tangerine lacked the humor that would have helped make it relatable.
October 16, 2020
Brilliant! Riveting! Being that I usually set aside my evenings to do my reading, I would spend my entire day anticipating the moment when I could pick up where I had left off the night before! This was a very enjoyable read retracing the steps of Ibn Battuta!!Tim Macintosh-Smith was a most entertaining rafiq on our journey.
I left a trail of tangerine seeds: #TravelsWithATangerine #MackintoshSmith2020
I left a trail of tangerine seeds: #TravelsWithATangerine #MackintoshSmith2020
December 16, 2007
The first thing many people ask me when they hear I'm writing a fantasy novel is whether I, with all my travelling experience, shouldn't be writing a travel book instead. I used to wonder about that myself, but every time I consider it, I inevitably come across a real travel writer, someone who has an interesting angle, has thoroughly researched the places he is visiting and is always willing to do something outrageous if it will result in a good story -- things I might not necessarily be willing to do myself.
Tim Mackintosh-Smith is such a writer. An Arabist who lived in the Middle East for seventeen years, speaks fluent Arabic and seems to have learned whole libraries' worth of books by heart, he decided to follow in the footsteps of Ibn Battutah, possibly the greatest traveller the world has ever known. This book (the first of two about a present-day attempt to recreate Ibn Batuttah's journey) sees him travelling from Morocco to Turkey, trying to do and see the things his fourteenth-century hero did and saw on his journey, like visiting tombs of ancient saints, eating odd and frankly rather unappetising dishes, and so on. Interspersed with witty descriptions of these quests are equally amusing conversations he has with locals, as well as heaps of quotes from Ibn Battutah's book and other contemporary sources, many of which are downright hilarious. Mackintosh-Smith clearly loves Arab culture, and his enthusiasm is contagious. He also has a deliciously dry, British sense of humour which practically drips off the pages. The result is a ferociously erudite, well-researched book which can be slow-going in parts but packs enough weirdness and humour to be eminently engaging. I frequently found myself laughing out loud while reading it, and reading out passages to others. More importantly, though, the book gave me an itch to read more Arabic literature and learn more about Arab culture and history, which is a testament to the infectiousness of Mackintosh-Smith's enthusiasm. In short, it's one of the best travel books I've ever read, which sets a standard few writers (and certainly not yours truly) can ever hope to emulate. Sigh.
Tim Mackintosh-Smith is such a writer. An Arabist who lived in the Middle East for seventeen years, speaks fluent Arabic and seems to have learned whole libraries' worth of books by heart, he decided to follow in the footsteps of Ibn Battutah, possibly the greatest traveller the world has ever known. This book (the first of two about a present-day attempt to recreate Ibn Batuttah's journey) sees him travelling from Morocco to Turkey, trying to do and see the things his fourteenth-century hero did and saw on his journey, like visiting tombs of ancient saints, eating odd and frankly rather unappetising dishes, and so on. Interspersed with witty descriptions of these quests are equally amusing conversations he has with locals, as well as heaps of quotes from Ibn Battutah's book and other contemporary sources, many of which are downright hilarious. Mackintosh-Smith clearly loves Arab culture, and his enthusiasm is contagious. He also has a deliciously dry, British sense of humour which practically drips off the pages. The result is a ferociously erudite, well-researched book which can be slow-going in parts but packs enough weirdness and humour to be eminently engaging. I frequently found myself laughing out loud while reading it, and reading out passages to others. More importantly, though, the book gave me an itch to read more Arabic literature and learn more about Arab culture and history, which is a testament to the infectiousness of Mackintosh-Smith's enthusiasm. In short, it's one of the best travel books I've ever read, which sets a standard few writers (and certainly not yours truly) can ever hope to emulate. Sigh.
December 16, 2008
One of my favorite books! It's not for everyone, but I loved Mackintosh-Smith's fascinating account of his attempt to follow the travels of the 14th century Muslim traveler and explorer Ibn Battutah. Battutah traveled widely in and beyond the Middle East, but Mackintosh-Smith, a Brit living in Yemen, sticks to the Arabic speaking world. His knowledge of culture, Arabic and the obscurities of the English language (he even came up with a word his editor didn't know) makes for a wonderful read.
May 28, 2018
One of the best travel writers around!
October 14, 2018
great travel book on Ibn Battutah the arab geographer and explorer. vivid. interseting to the full. a must
June 25, 2022
This is a life altering book. There is so much packed into its 300-odd pages. Tim Mackintosh-Smith (TMS) follows his beloved IB (Ibn Battutah) across cities, countries, continents and cultures and meets so many unforgettable characters on the way who help him or leave him puzzled. We tag along in this ride. He becomes our IB. What starts off as a question about potatoes (batata) phonetically recalling Ibn Battutah turns into a life-long obsession.
I must add that TMS is an excellent comic writer. He has an eye for the humour lying dormant in every situation. His witty observations and insightful aphorisms are a feast. The books starts off slow. TMS was just warming up, I realised. But a few pages in, I was hooked. This was not a book to hurry through. I savoured it over months. Read because old world travel still appeals to you.
I must add that TMS is an excellent comic writer. He has an eye for the humour lying dormant in every situation. His witty observations and insightful aphorisms are a feast. The books starts off slow. TMS was just warming up, I realised. But a few pages in, I was hooked. This was not a book to hurry through. I savoured it over months. Read because old world travel still appeals to you.
April 9, 2015
I am giving it three stars just because the subject Mackintosh-Smith is dealing with - Ibn Battutah and his travels - is quite fascinating and there's so much historical importance and intrigue to it.
In that regard - this book is important. But, oh my, it takes some nerves and patience to go through it. I don't think Mackintosh-Smith executed this well, the book could be much more interesting, vivid, playful, funny, challenging - you name it.
There was so much potential in this and I really wish it turned out better. The writing is mainly dull and dry, and I didn't like the pinch of misogyny I could taste at times in Smith's portrayal of (some) women.
That being said, I still think it's important and there's objective value to it, hence the three stars.
In that regard - this book is important. But, oh my, it takes some nerves and patience to go through it. I don't think Mackintosh-Smith executed this well, the book could be much more interesting, vivid, playful, funny, challenging - you name it.
There was so much potential in this and I really wish it turned out better. The writing is mainly dull and dry, and I didn't like the pinch of misogyny I could taste at times in Smith's portrayal of (some) women.
That being said, I still think it's important and there's objective value to it, hence the three stars.
April 14, 2023
Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah
By: Tim Macintosh-Smith
This is one of the books I started, left and resumed many times. Finally, it's done.
As a travelogue, I have never read such an interesting book. The aspect that made it charming is that the author quotes from the 'Travels of Ibn Battutah', Ibn Juzzay, Al-Harawi, Ibn Rushd and many other medieval Muslim scholars along with his own experiences of revisiting the places after about seven centuries.
A gem of a book from a Christian author without any sort of prejudice that must be praised and recommended.
By: Tim Macintosh-Smith
This is one of the books I started, left and resumed many times. Finally, it's done.
As a travelogue, I have never read such an interesting book. The aspect that made it charming is that the author quotes from the 'Travels of Ibn Battutah', Ibn Juzzay, Al-Harawi, Ibn Rushd and many other medieval Muslim scholars along with his own experiences of revisiting the places after about seven centuries.
A gem of a book from a Christian author without any sort of prejudice that must be praised and recommended.
June 25, 2008
Great story - looking forward to reading "Hall of a Thousand Columns" (further travels with Ibn Battutah)!
October 8, 2024
The bad news: this isn't a book about traveling the world with nothing but a small piece of citrus fruit to keep you company. Kidding.
The ok news: As Mackintosh-Smith follows in the footsteps of a 14th century globetrotter named Ibn Battutah, a man from Tangiers (the Tangerine of the title), the author puts a lot of effort into his descriptions and metaphors, writing of "a large and elderly Englishman from within whose carapace of summer-weight tweed an Audenesque head moved slowly, periscopically, as if he were a turtle on a constitutional." Or, trying to navigate Tangiers, he finds that his street map "resembles the biopsy of some many-vesicled organ."
I usually love following along as cranky Brits take on the world, but here, Mackintosh-Smith loses me. I was also rubbed the wrong way by his reported interactions with others. Speaking with two Englishwomen who, despite their modest clothing, are attracting a lot of attention from the Moroccan men, the author pontificates to them they’re attracting so much attention because they are "the other." And when a local taxi driver offers the author a condo with a bar and some girls, Mackintosh-Smith replies (in Arabic, as he likes to remind us), "Thank you, but historical geography's more my thing." I wish he'd gone to that condo and loosened up a little.
The ok news: As Mackintosh-Smith follows in the footsteps of a 14th century globetrotter named Ibn Battutah, a man from Tangiers (the Tangerine of the title), the author puts a lot of effort into his descriptions and metaphors, writing of "a large and elderly Englishman from within whose carapace of summer-weight tweed an Audenesque head moved slowly, periscopically, as if he were a turtle on a constitutional." Or, trying to navigate Tangiers, he finds that his street map "resembles the biopsy of some many-vesicled organ."
I usually love following along as cranky Brits take on the world, but here, Mackintosh-Smith loses me. I was also rubbed the wrong way by his reported interactions with others. Speaking with two Englishwomen who, despite their modest clothing, are attracting a lot of attention from the Moroccan men, the author pontificates to them they’re attracting so much attention because they are "the other." And when a local taxi driver offers the author a condo with a bar and some girls, Mackintosh-Smith replies (in Arabic, as he likes to remind us), "Thank you, but historical geography's more my thing." I wish he'd gone to that condo and loosened up a little.
April 7, 2010
What a misleading title! Nothing to do with comedy fruit smuggling, everything to do with the Arab&Islamic world's greatest traveler, a near contemporary of Marco Polo who actually went to the places he talks about. Tim M-S recreates the first leg of Ibn Battuta's voyages, and finds a surprising continuity between the fourteenth century and today. The best parts for me were the excerpts from IB's write-up of his travels. Tim M-S is an okay writer, but his experiences are pedestrian compared to those of his forebear, and I closed the book with far fewer insights into contemporary Maghrebian society than into the fourteenth century. Perhaps I should look up the abridged version of IB's Travels that Tim M-S has translated from the Arabic...and buy another copy of a genuinely great Mediterranean travel book, A Fez of the Heart by another Tim Someone, that I loaned to a friend about a decade ago and still miss.
September 20, 2012
The relatively unknown Ibn Battutah (1304-1368) grew up in Tangier, Morocco. At the age of 21, he embarked on a journey throughout the Middle and Far East for almost 30 years. The author, a British man who has lived in Yemen for 17 years and is fluent in Arabic undertakes a journey that will be about a third of Ibn Battutah's.
I used to read a lot more travelogues and I've really enjoyed them. Not this one, though. In fact I'm surprised I got as far as I did with this one (more than half-way). The author's prose is dry, uncompelling, and rambling. Yeah, he knows a lot of history... but he doesn't convey it very well. He's just dull.
I used to read a lot more travelogues and I've really enjoyed them. Not this one, though. In fact I'm surprised I got as far as I did with this one (more than half-way). The author's prose is dry, uncompelling, and rambling. Yeah, he knows a lot of history... but he doesn't convey it very well. He's just dull.
October 23, 2011
Not quite the engaging travelogue the flyleaf led me to believe...
Our author decides to trace the footsteps of an ancient Moroccon's global travels throughout Africa, Middle East, India, and Orient. The travel stories are mixed with quite a bit of history and detail about architecture, but I could have used more entertaining anecdotes, sidebars on cultural/interpretive differences, explanations about religions, etc.
Our author decides to trace the footsteps of an ancient Moroccon's global travels throughout Africa, Middle East, India, and Orient. The travel stories are mixed with quite a bit of history and detail about architecture, but I could have used more entertaining anecdotes, sidebars on cultural/interpretive differences, explanations about religions, etc.
February 25, 2014
An engaging travel memoir through the Middle and Near East (and Middle and Modern Ages) that unfortunately never quite comes together. Despite promising ingredients, fascinating experiences and exhaustive historical references, something about it never quite landed for me. The book stands on its own, but the narrative never entirely gels, and one suspects that Mackintosh-Smith has had his mind too much on the rest of his Battutah trilogy to make this part of it work properly.
August 21, 2007
An interesting attempt to follow Ibn Battutta's footsteps in the Gulf by well travelled Mackintosh-Smith. The author cleverly intertwines his own experience and descriptions with those of "IB", but I found it at times slow and somewhat artificial - maybe lacking in feelings and awe for the people and the landscape...
July 28, 2011
I really enjoyed this book and I feel that Tim has developed greatly as a writer since his last work Yemen. I like the fact that he shares about himself as well as the facts he brings to light. His next installment for this series is already in print.
July 11, 2018
Really interesting insight to the Muslim world and some less traveled locations along the long path of Ibn Battutah.
Mackintosh-Smith is not exactly my type of traveller but he surely knows how to use his senses and relay his experiences in writing. All in all great reading experience.
Mackintosh-Smith is not exactly my type of traveller but he surely knows how to use his senses and relay his experiences in writing. All in all great reading experience.
March 29, 2021
There are some amusing anecdotes but quite academic
October 9, 2020
This great non-fiction read is a combination of a travel journal and history book. Tim Mackintosh Smith follows the travel itinerary of Ibn Battoutah, the Fourteenth Century traveler from Tangier, (hence the name Travels with a Tangerine), starting out in Morocco, traveling on to Egypt, Syria, Oman, Turkey and Crimea. The reader is presented with Ibn Battutahs notes and then Mackinotsh Smiths impressions. This could easily be very dry but the writing style is engaging and often funny in an off the wall way. I had read Yemen: Travels In Dictionary Land in 1998 while I was living in Yemen. Mackinotsh-Smith, a Oxford graduate of Arabic language, was living there at time. I had not kept up with him and had no idea he had written so many books since then. I look forward to reading more!
September 12, 2023
Remarkable, challenging, humorous, travel narrative of a mostly Islamic old world following in the path of the Great Arab traveler, Ibn Battutah wrote wrote about his travels in the early 14th century.
August 4, 2024
Funny, clever, perfect travel writing. TMS is so obsessed with the world of IB that he barely acknowledges the real world around him whilst he pursues his ‘inverse archaeology’ - as a result the best bits are all those where the scene has not changed much in 650 years!
June 11, 2020
I bought this book in 2013 before my trip to Morocco. The book isn't about Morocco but follows first leg of Ibn Batuta's travels from his hometown Tangier all the way to Middle-East. I read the section about Morocco back then but couldn't finish it and hence picked it up again from the beginning.
This is an extremely important book for the journey it has taken. The author knows his stuff but I got weary of the book which is a shame as I really looking forward to reading this book and traveling vicariously. I understand author's need & desire to look for the tombs and shrines but after a while it was repetitive. I wish I had enjoyed it more.
This is an extremely important book for the journey it has taken. The author knows his stuff but I got weary of the book which is a shame as I really looking forward to reading this book and traveling vicariously. I understand author's need & desire to look for the tombs and shrines but after a while it was repetitive. I wish I had enjoyed it more.
April 6, 2013
I bought this book several years ago; finally this was the year to read it.
It took me several months - reading other books in between. It's not a standard travel book by any means. It's written in an episodic and discursive style where there's no compelling narrative to demand continual attention start to finish.
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier (hence Tangerine - who knew?) in 1304. He left on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1325 and didn't return home until 1349 having travelled far and wide, including south to Zanzibar and east to India and even China.
Mackintosh-Smith, a fluent Arabic speaker with a degree from Oxford, has lived in San'a Yemen for many years. He didn't follow in all of IB's - as he called him - footsteps, but his narrative includes Egypt, Syria, the coast of Oman, Anatolia, the Crimea, and Istanbul.
Mackintosh-Smith, in his English way, is highly literate and very witty, full of pungent and amusing asides.
"Like the pavement outside the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles the Islamic world is littered with celebrity footprints....The rule of thumb is...the earlier the celebrity the bigger the foot. Old Testament means outsize." (p. 166)
About the primacy of the Tatars over the princes of Muscovy "Chaucer heard about it -'in the Londe of Tatarie/There dwelt a King the werried Russie.' Seven hundred years on, the Tatars were still apparently werrying the Russians." p 311.
A book for those interested in history and places off the beaten path for current travelers.
It took me several months - reading other books in between. It's not a standard travel book by any means. It's written in an episodic and discursive style where there's no compelling narrative to demand continual attention start to finish.
Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier (hence Tangerine - who knew?) in 1304. He left on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1325 and didn't return home until 1349 having travelled far and wide, including south to Zanzibar and east to India and even China.
Mackintosh-Smith, a fluent Arabic speaker with a degree from Oxford, has lived in San'a Yemen for many years. He didn't follow in all of IB's - as he called him - footsteps, but his narrative includes Egypt, Syria, the coast of Oman, Anatolia, the Crimea, and Istanbul.
Mackintosh-Smith, in his English way, is highly literate and very witty, full of pungent and amusing asides.
"Like the pavement outside the Chinese Theater in Los Angeles the Islamic world is littered with celebrity footprints....The rule of thumb is...the earlier the celebrity the bigger the foot. Old Testament means outsize." (p. 166)
About the primacy of the Tatars over the princes of Muscovy "Chaucer heard about it -'in the Londe of Tatarie/There dwelt a King the werried Russie.' Seven hundred years on, the Tatars were still apparently werrying the Russians." p 311.
A book for those interested in history and places off the beaten path for current travelers.
November 13, 2007
Travels with a Tangerine by Tim Macintosh-Smith is a slow read, but one that I savored. It is a travel book that describes the wonders of travel by following the footsteps of the fourteenth century pilgrim, Ibn Battutah who had “the specific sense of [the]mystical,[and]transcendental” (114). I like when an author introduces new ideas, images, places, and vocabulary in the rich context of history. The lush text reads with a sensual and conversational intimacy. Some of his expressions are new to me, just as they are when one travels. “The air from the Rosetta, or Bolbitine, branch of the Nile was fresh, but the teahouse was fuggy with gossip” (65). Fuggy, I would ask if I was there, but the dictionary is always available to the reader to help clarify-- musty and stale. Highlights: The description of Cairo in the 1300’s (83+), the vivid detail of architectural descriptions throughout, brief discussion on copromania (74), chewing tambul (betel) (234+) or qat, the description and experience of the whirling dervishes (277+). As I was reading about Smith’s experience in Crimea (401+), I coincidentally bumped into a fascinating discussion by Errol Morris on Susan Sontag’s comment about Roger Fenton’s photographs during the Crimean War (http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/... )
Overall—Tim Macintosh-Smith provides a richly informative read.
Overall—Tim Macintosh-Smith provides a richly informative read.
July 10, 2015
Apparently if you do not exist in a world oblivious to 90% of history like I do, you would know that Ibn Battutah is not only as famous as Marco Polo in the Arab world, but actually traveled a lot MORE than Polo. So MacKintosh-Smith gets the nutty idea to try and retrace his steps on a meandering trip from Tangiers to Mecca. It took me a while to get into this book, I'm not sure why. It took me forever to read the first few chapters. But eventually I succumbed and then it sped along. This book exemplifies one of the main reasons I read. It took me somewhere I will likely never go, and let me picture this place in my mind, without imposing either a) the actual on my mind or b) some filmmaker's view of the actual. Traveling without the detritus of travel, it's quite a pleasant thing. This book clearly took a TON of research, both before the trip, and afterward to fully describe where he'd been.
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