Rare Ibn Battuta manuscript fetches nearly Dh1 million at Abu Dhabi book fair
Abu Dhabi: Nearly seven centuries after Ibn Battuta chronicled an epic journey that took him across the Hejaz and the Gulf, a rare manuscript of his famed Rihla has fetched close to Dh1 million at the 35th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF 2026). Only seven complete or incomplete copies of the Rihla are known to survive worldwide, making the manuscript an exceptionally rare record of one…
In 1325-1333, Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta embarked on a journey that traversed an astonishing 120,000 kilometers across the Islamic world, including stops in the Hejaz, Gulf, and other parts of the medieval world. A rare manuscript chronicling his travels, known as the Rihla, has recently sold for nearly Dh1 million at the 35th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF 2026).
Only seven copies of this manuscript remain worldwide, making it an exceptionally scarce record of one of history’s most remarkable journeys. London-based dealer Peter Harrington brought the manuscript to the Abu Dhabi fair. The remarkably preserved 250 by 190mm quarto manuscript, written in Maghribi script on laid paper and bound in black-brown calf, offers valuable eyewitness accounts of locations in present-day Oman, UAE, and the Gulf, including Nizwa, Qalhat, Kalba, and Khorfakkan.
The document also preserves early descriptions of the Hajj and the Gulf, along with extensive details of Ibn Battuta’s extensive travels that far exceeded those of Marco Polo.
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