EXPLORERS

by Omar Ragab

EXPLORERS

​Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier, Morocco 1304. He was an Islamic scholar and was an explorer known for his extensive travels. He set out, aged 21, on a hajj, or pilgrimage to Makkah. He travelled more than 75,000 miles and over a period of 30 years, he travelled through most of the Islamic world. He visited all the Arab lands and stopped off in Spain, Russia and Turkey. He carried on to India before he got to China.

When he got back to his native city, he dictated an account of his journeys to Ibn Juzayy and called it the rihla, or The Journey.

He was called 'the traveller of the age' and is now considered one of the greatest travellers of all time. He died in 1369. The Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, UAE, was inspired by his travels and a film about him called Journey to Makkah came out in 2009.

​Ahmad ibn Majid

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​Ahmad ibn Mäjid was born in Julphar (Oman) in the early 1430s and became famous during the last half of the fifteenth century. The portuguese described him as the Master of Astrological Navigation.

His father was a famous navigator and so ibn Mājid grew up listening to stories about the lands beyond the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. He was finally able to look around new countries for himself on his first voyage when he was seventeen.

Ibn Majid was famous for writing many books about marine science, oceanography and navigational maps, as well as creating many new inventions. This work included details and technical instructions that enabled ships to sail from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa and India for hundreds of years.

His most famous work was the Book of Lessons on the Foundation of the Sea and Navigation.

​However, ibn Majid gained his reputation in the west as he was believed to be the navigator who helped Vasco da Gama to create the first trade route between Europe and India by sea. It is believed that he died some time around 1500.

​Valentina Tereshkova

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Valentina Tereshkova parachuted out of over 125 aircraft before she jumped out of the spacecraft for cosmonaut training and her achievement of becoming the first woman in space.

Tereshkova was born on 6 March 1937, in western Russia. As a teenager she worked in a textile plant and took up parachuting in her spare time.

When Tereshkova was selected for the Soviet space programme in 1962 because of her parachuting skills, she became the first recruit without experience as a test pilot. Tereshkova was chosen to be the pilot of the Vostok 6 mission. The pilots called her Chaika, Russian for 'seagull. The spacecraft lifted off from Tyuratam Launch Centre on 16 June 1963. It re-entered the Earth's atmosphere

on 19 June and Tereshkova parachuted to the ground, landing near Kazakhstan in central Asia. On 3 November 1963, Tereshkova married another cosmonaut. They had a daughter, Elena - the first child born to parents who both went into space.

Multiple Choice

Who listened to stories about travel from his father?

• Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Majid

• Tereshkova

Multiple Choice

Who studied his religion?

• Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Majid

• Tereshkova

Multiple Choice

Who had a name related to a seabird?

• Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Majid

• Tereshkova

Multiple Choice

Who went on a holy journey?

• Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Majid

• Tereshkova

Multiple Choice

Who could speak many languages?

• Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Majid

• Tereshkova

Multiple Choice

Who had a relationship with someone who did the same job?

• Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Majid

• Tereshkova

Multiple Choice

Who helped another famous sailor?

• Ibn Battuta

• Ibn Majid

• Tereshkova