Ibn Fadlan’s purpose for going on this trip was to get to Bulghar. He arrives in Bulghar after a lofty journey. He doesn’t state how long it takes him to get to Bulghar from Baghdad, but it was seventy days from Jutijaniya and a year and a half round trip. The final push, to where the King he needs to meet resides, was a day and a night’s journey. When they arrived, they were greeted by the four kings under the king of the Saqaliba, as well as their brothers and sons. Fadlan’s group was given tents to sleep in. He gives far less detail about the condition of these tents than he did in Jurijaniya. However, he does state that they arrived in May, so it was warmer then it was when he was in Jurijaniya, despite being more northern. Fadlan describes their wait for everyone to assemble to read the letter that the Calif had sent. Fadlan spends quite a lot of time describing the formalities of their stay. He describes the reading of the letter, the gifts he received, the dinner they sat through, and the King’s adoption of a Muslim name. He also describes their discussion of the money. After he gets through the practicalities of his job, he continues to mention their improper religious rituals. He then describes their customs as well as the things he witnesses (such as the northern lights). He spends quite a lot of time mentioning food and animals. He mentions Islam a few more times towards the end of the section, and then he goes into all of the legends of the area.

            It’s interesting how he organizes this section of his writing. He intertwines their legends, customs, and their improper religious customs or Islamic conversion. This section seems to encapsulate his purpose for writing. He gets down to his business that he must accomplish. He describes this early on as it is the priority for traveling. This makes sense because he was sent on this journey to deliver money to help build a mosque. This would have been a priority to the Calif who was reading this. He would have wanted to be informed about the details that transpired between Fadlan and the King. Then Fadlan goes on to describe the customs that come with judgment. For example, he states that they “use fish oil, so that everything they make with it smells bad” (35). Between describing their culture, he goes into Islamic practices. This seems like it is included to please the Calif. He spends significantly more time describing the customs; this is seemingly where his interest lies. His judgment and religious mentions obviously show aspects of his culture. However, where I think the most interesting tell about his beliefs lies in the descriptions of their legends. He describes the Gog and Magog, which is not a belief that was only held by the Turks. The description of their physical differences is very interesting. Fadlan is reporting the story that he heard from the King. This story upholds the belief that the people who are outside the known world of the Muslims are bad and different. Fadlan displays this bias in his descriptions of culture, contradicting himself with the reporting of this legend. His ideas about the people he met as he traveled more North were created by this idea of the unknown and hellish people. He believes this tale he hears from the King, which shows the same biases he previously held about the Turks he is currently with. This shows how, not only in Islamic culture but in the early Middle Ages, legends, beliefs, and biases are spread. This section shows a larger way that information was spread in the Middle Ages, rather than just a close-up into Fadlan’s cultural beliefs.