1 Ibn Battuta-Rihla Ibn Battuta left Tangier on his travels when he was 20 years old in 1325. His main reason to travel was to go on a Hajj, or a Pilgrimage to Mecca, as all good Muslims want to do. But his traveling went on for about 29 years and he covered about 75,000 miles which were then mostly under the governments of Muslim leaders of the World of Islam, or Dar al-Islam. Ibn Battuta traveled overland at first alone riding a donkey. Then for protection he joined a caravan with other pilgrims and traders.