Editing Ibn Battuta (section)

====Arabia====
[[File:OldtownSanaa.JPG|thumb|[[Sana'a|Old City of Sana'a]], Yemen]]
Ibn Battuta remained in Mecca for some time (the ''[[Rihla]]'' suggests about three years, from September 1327 until autumn 1330). Problems with chronology, however, lead commentators to suggest that he may have left after the 1328 ''hajj''.{{efn|Ibn Battuta states that he stayed in Mecca for the ''hajj'' of 1327, 1328, 1329 and 1330 but gives comparatively little information on his stays. After the ''hajj'' of 1330 he left for East Africa, arriving back again in Mecca before the 1332 ''hajj''. He states that he then left for India and arrived at the Indus river on 12 September 1333; however, although he does not specify exact dates, the description of his complex itinerary and the clues in the text to the chronology suggest that this journey to India lasted around three years. He must have therefore either left Mecca two years earlier than stated or arrived in India two years later. The issue is discussed by {{harvnb|Gibb|1962|pp=528–537 Vol. 2}}, {{harvnb|Hrbek|1962}} and {{harvnb|Dunn|2005|pp=132–133}}.}}

After the ''hajj'' in either 1328 or 1330, he made his way to the port of [[Jeddah]] on the [[Red Sea]] coast. From there he followed the coast in a series of boats (known as a jalbah, these were small craft made of wooden planks sewn together, lacking an established phrase) making slow progress against the prevailing south-easterly winds. Once in [[Rasulids|Yemen]] he visited [[Zabīd]] and later the highland town of [[Ta'izz]], where he met the [[Rasulid]] dynasty king (''[[Malik]]'') Mujahid Nur al-Din Ali. Ibn Battuta also mentions visiting [[Sana'a]], but whether he actually did so is doubtful.<ref>{{harvnb|Dunn|2005|pp=115–116, 134}}</ref> In all likelihood, he went directly from Ta'izz to the important trading port of [[Aden]], arriving around the beginning of 1329 or 1331.<ref>{{harvnb|Gibb|1962|p=373 Vol. 2}}</ref>