Thursday, November 1, 2012

Ibn Battuta's perspective of Constantinople

Ibn Battuta's has a generally neutral view on Constantinople.  He describes the trade and commerce of Constantinople in a positive light, "They are all men of commerce and their harbour is one of the largest in the world; I saw there about a hundred galleys and other large ships, and the small ships were too many to be counted." His view clearly shows Constantinople as a thriving center of commerce as their harbour is one of the largest in the world and there are more ships than he could count. Meanwhile, his description of the bazaars and the churches are negative, "The bazaars in this part of the town are good but filthy, and a small and very dirty river runs through them. Their churches too are filthy and mean." His description of the bazaars and the churches as being filthy show the uncleanliness and pollution that comes with a large population. He also describes the churches as being mean, showing that they are not the hospitable places he expected them to be.


I think this is the most trustworthy description out of all three.  Ibn Battuta describes the city in both positive and negative light.  It makes sense that as a result of the massive amount of trade and the huge population size of Constantinople, the city would be filthy.  His views seem the least biased out of all three, and therefore, I trust this description of Constantinople the most.


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