Finally reaching the city he set out on a pilgrimage for, Ibn Battutah arrives in Mecca and prays there.  He goes into immense detail about the beauty of Mecca, including the people there as well, and it is clear his focus was towards the religious significance of this place. Ibn Battutah goes on to talk about preparing for their arrival in Mecca, saying that on the way he “entered the pilgrim state and in my enthusiasm I did not cease crying Labbaika Allahumma through every valley and hill and rise and descent” (46). This “pilgrim state” seems to be a deep religious state of mind that involves constant praying, but even more interesting is how he says it excites him, which really puts into perspective the role of religion in his time. That being said, the section where he actually talks about being in Mecca is eclipsed somewhat by his continued retelling of travelling away from it, and while staying there Ibn Battutah decided he desired to continue travelling the world for the remainder of his life. His further travels after Mecca involve meeting several important people too, including several sultans and kings as well as many others that he recalls fondly and left impressions on him. Most of the basis on which he meets these new people is still in the context of his religious endeavors though, even more so considering the importance of Mecca as a holy place.

The journey to Mecca began with a lot of emphasis on the maintenance of water reserves. Given this attention to detail, it seems that Ibn Battutah does not exaggerate the dangerous aspect of this pilgrimage in the slightest. Hardship is never lacking in religious ventures of this time, but the pilgrimage to Mecca appears especially brutal. Yet while it is also important to plan and not die of thirst, Ibn Battutah makes it clear that over supplying oneself is not acceptable either. “They provision themselves and wash their clothes, and also deposit any surplus of provisions they may have, taking with them only the amount of their strict necessities” (45). Part of the pilgrimage involves humility and sacrifice, otherwise it would not be as important when the pilgrim arrives in Mecca. So while the journey is definitely through harsh environment with food and water being scarce, part of the struggle with traversing this terrain is self inflicted to a degree.

I think a main goal of Ibn Battutah focusing so much on the arrival at Mecca is to inspire others to follow in his footsteps and make the Pilgrimage themselves. At the same time, he seems to be preparing the reader for what they should expect from this journey (up to this point of course). The descriptions of these places as beautiful and captivating serves to arouse curiosity, while the talk of provisions and days of painful travel also warn future pilgrims to prepare accordingly. In this sense, even the knowledge of someone else’s experience should be considered useful in preparing for the trip. This section of the text was very heavy on Islamic religious practices, and while I found that very interesting, it also was a bit repetitive at times. Not only did he pray a lot, but Ibn Battutah must have really enjoyed talking about praying too.