Book of The Day ~ Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah (Paperback) by Tim Mackintosh-Smith

Hello members of Travel / Food / Wine Book Reviews and anyone else who stumbles upon this review.

"I have milked the Teats of Time, pair after pair, Wandered the world around, and rivalled al-Khadir in my circumambulations."

Abu Dulaf, "The Ode of the Banu Sasan"

In the 1300's, Ibn Battutah, a classically educated Muslim Berber growing up in Tangiers (in present day Morocco) began a 29 year pilgrimage to Mecca and the lands of the east. I am a great believer in synchronicities and coincidences, so also is Tim Mackintosh-Smith, a Brit who's lived in Yemen for many years. In 2001, his book "Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah" chronicling his retracing of Ibn Battutah's travels was published. It began with a series of synchronicities and coincidences. The first was a neighbor challenging him to come up with the origin of the Arabic word for potato-batatah. Hs friend contended that its root came from Ibn Battutah (IB). Mackintosh-Smith was shopping for a Yemeni history book, when he ran across IB's travel diary, so he picked it up. Later that day, his friend Hasan popped in and began reading IB's travels aloud. He stopped in mid-sentence. He was so excited because that particular passage told of IB meeting with Hasan's direct paternal ancestor. These coincidences piqued Mackintosh-Smith's interest and he decided to do his own trip; attempting to find places and people referenced in IB's book.

I received this book as part of a book ring - where it is going around the world being read by a large group of people. I chose it because I've been broadening my world by reading books written by authors from around the world or books about other parts of the world and this one really intrigued me. I really do believe that all coincidences sign post things that are meant to be heeded. Several other books I've read recently touched on similar places or people as "Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah." Since IB traveled in the 1300's I didn't expect that, but "Crusade" by Robyn Young is an historical novel and many of the characters and places are mentioned in IB's Travels. Also, "A Year in the World" by Frances Mayes went to several of the same places and enjoyed some of the same foods. I've found that the connections I make from books I read, music I listen to, films I see, and food I eat strengthen the memories I make.


What I Liked

Even though, I probably won't retain nearly enough of this book, I loved learning about all the people and places Mackintosh-Smith encountered as he followed IB's path. He ate a lot of weird things (1 ¼ inch birds on a skewer, lamb brain burger, dried shark), went to places I've only seen on a map and actually went to a multitude of mosques, chapels, shrines and temples that were around for IB to see and touch and hear (church bells in The Crimea). I remember the awe I felt the first time I saw a painting by Caravaggio and considered how many hundreds of years ago it was painted and then was even more enthralled when I thought about Caravaggio touching paint to that canvas. Or the times I visited Monticello and Mount Vernon and thought about the great presidents living there and sitting under the trees that were still growing there. Mackintosh-Smith lets his awe shine through all the dust and bugs and discomfort of his trips when he comes across one of these historical touch points as he travels from Tangiers, across North Africa, through Egypt, Syria, Oman, Turkey, and the Crimea. It made it all worthwhile.

I also loved all the great historic quotes heading each chapter, and it was fun to find that the woman he talks about in the first chapter pops up full circle in the last.


What I Didn't Like

I have to admit that I'm hopeless when it comes to pronouncing Arabic, Persian, or Russian names. I had to just scan past the names of people and places sometimes and then regretted it later when Mackintosh-Smith brought them up again and I had to try to place them.


Final Recommendation

"Travels with a Tangerine: From Morocco to Turkey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah" by Tim Mackintosh-Smith is a great book for picking up a lot of history, reading about the present day issues in the Middle East, and making a new, really smart friend.


If you liked this book review, you might like to read some of my other book reviews which you can find by clicking on this link.

2008 © Susan K Barton

Book Description
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (June 8, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812971647
ISBN-13: 978-0812971644
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches