On their way to “the Gate of the Turks” (10), Fadlān and his group stop in Jurjānīya and were forced to stay there for three months because the Jayhun river froze and the “ice was seventeen spans thick” (8), though the notes show that this is an exaggeration. In this section, Ibn Fadlān describes the cold environment, how it seems to impact hospitality, and the group’s preparations for the next part of the journey. Fadlān states: “We saw a land which made us think that a gate to the cold of hell had opened before us”. In this environment, Fadlān notes, hospitality is built on warmth and sharing “a good fire”. This society also does not leave beggars out in the cold; they can come into the houses to warm up by the fire (8). Though not much information is given, it could be interpreted that being generous towards others in culturally important in Jurjānīya. In February, when the ice began melting, the group was able to start preparing for their journey. Some of the supplies they needed were camels, folding boats, “three month’s supply of bread, millet, and dried and salted meat”, and much warmer clothes (9). The group stayed in Jurjānīya from December 921 through February 922. Fadlān describes the weather as being quite dire, mentioning camels that die out in the cold and his beard freezing into a block of ice. He describes his living situation during this stay, saying that he “slept in a house, inside which was another, inside which was a Turkish felt tent” but even in this insulated state his “cheek froze to the pillow” (9).  

One arguable cultural difference that Fadlān encounters here is the treatment of beggars. He says that “it is a rule among them (the people from Jurjānīya) that beggars do not wait at the door, but come into the house…” (8). This implies that in Baghdad, and other places Fadlān has visited, that this is not the case. He writes without judgment and in a very neutral way in this section, so his style doesn’t make it seem strange to take care of beggars but, rather, that this custom is particular to the area. Given this idea, maybe beggars are well taken care of in Baghdad, but they don’t just enter someone else’s home. This is a concept that is interesting enough to Fadlān as a medieval traveler to mention, but also is strange enough for the modern reader to be made uncomfortable by. For many modern cultures, it would be unthinkable to walk into someone else’s home since there are now such strong ideas of property and ownership, along with what could be considered, in this way, a more individualist approach to life. Fadlān also calls the weather that he is experiencing “the cold of hell”. This begs the question; how does this theologian conceptualize hell? In Islam, there is a belief that some parts of hell are hot and others are cold. Because he was raised in a warm climate, does the idea of a cold hell hold more sway for Fadlān?