Lesson 75 · B2
Leaving Tangier
One Thursday in 1325, Ibn Battuta left Tangier alone, aged twenty-two, bound for Mecca. He wouldn't be back for twenty-four years. Someone else wrote it down, Ibn Juzayy, who allows himself an aside halfway down the page. Good storytelling is just that: thread, background, asides.
- Separate what happened from the background.
- Open an aside and get back on track.
- Order a story in time.
- Read the opening of the Rihla.
Twenty-four words
The first two families are storytelling tools: time and asides. The rest, the journey and the farewell in the text.
The thread of time
- دَاكْ النّْهَارْ dak n-nhar that day
- مْنْ بْعْدْ men b3d afterwards
-
عَادْ
3ad
only then; not until then
3ad fhemt, “only then did I understand”.
- فْالْأَخِيرْ f l-akhir in the end
- فْجْأَة fej'a suddenly
Going off and coming back
- بْالْمُنَاسَبَة b l-munasaba by the way
- عْلَى ذِكْرْ 3la dikr speaking of…
-
الْمُهِمّْ
l-muhimm
anyway
Closes the aside.
- نْرْجْعُو لْلْقِصَّة nrej3u l l-qissa back to the story
- كِيفْ كُنْتْ كَنْقُولْ kif kont kanqul as I was saying
The journey
- الرّْحْلَة r-re7la journey; the Rihla
- خْرَجْ مْنْ khrej men to leave (a place)
-
فَارَقْ
fareq
to part from
Form III.
-
بُوحْدُو
bu7du
alone; on his own
bu7di, bu7dek…
- الرّْفِيقْ r-rfiq companion
- الْحَجّْ l-7ajj pilgrimage
-
مَسْقَطْ الرَّاسْ
masqat r-ras
birthplace
“Where the head fell”.
The farewell
- الشّْوْقْ sh-shewq longing
- الْفْرَاقْ l-fraq parting
- الْوَالِدِينْ l-walidin parents
- الطّْيُورْ t-tyur birds
Who's telling
- الرَّاوِي r-rawi narrator
- حْكَى 7ka to tell; recount
-
زَادْ
zad
to add
Here, “and he added that…”.
Thread, background, aside
Four lines from the Darija retelling. Which tell what happened? Which one wanders off?
- خْرَجْ مْنْ طَنْجَة نْهَارْ الْخْمِيسْ، بُوحْدُوkhrej men Tanja nhar l-khmis, bu7du
- كَانْ عْمْرُو تْنِينْ وْ عْشْرِينْ عَامْ، وْ الْوَالِدِينْ كَانُو عَايْشِينْkan 3mru tnin u 3shrin 3am, u l-walidin kanu 3ayshin
- بْالْمُنَاسَبَة، ابْنْ جُزَيّْ كَيْقُولْ بْلِّي تْزَادْ فْ 1304b l-munasaba, Ibn Juzayy kayqul blli tzad f 1304
- الْمُهِمّْ، نْرْجْعُو لْلرّْحْلَة: فَارَقْ الدَّارْ بْحَالْ الطّْيُورْl-muhimm, nrej3u l r-re7la: fareq d-dar b7al t-tyur
Why does line 2 have kan and line 1 doesn't? Which word opens the aside and which closes it?
The rule
Foreground: events, simple past, one after another: khrejt, mshit, weselt.
Background: age, state, what was going on: kan + ka- present or participle: kan kaymshi, kanu 3ayshin, kan 3mru 22 3am.
Aside: open with b l-munasaba or 3la dikr; close with l-muhimm, nrej3u l l-qissa or kif kont kanqul.
Time thread: dak n-nhar, men b3d, f l-akhir; and 3ad for “only then”.
Storytelling pieces
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| خْرْجْتْ، مْشِيتْ، وْصْلْتْ | khrejt, mshit, weselt | I left, went, arrived |
| كَانْ عْمْرِي تْنِينْ وْ عْشْرِينْ عَامْ | kan 3mri tnin u 3shrin 3am | I was twenty-two |
| الْوَالِدِينْ كَانُو بَاقْيِينْ عَايْشِينْ | l-walidin kanu baqyin 3ayshin | the parents were still alive |
| كُنْتْ كَنْمْشِي بُوحْدِي | kont kanmshi bu7di | I was travelling alone |
| بْالْمُنَاسَبَة، هُوَ تْزَادْ فْطَنْجَة | b l-munasaba, huwa tzad f Tanja | by the way, he was born in Tangier |
| الْمُهِمّْ، نْرْجْعُو لْلْقِصَّة | l-muhimm, nrej3u l l-qissa | anyway, back to the story |
| كِيفْ كُنْتْ كَنْقُولْ… | kif kont kanqul… | as I was saying… |
| دَاكْ النّْهَارْ، عَادْ فْهَمْتْ | dak n-nhar, 3ad fhemt | that day, only then did I understand |
Rows 2–4: background with kan. Rows 5–7: opening and closing an aside.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: “he left” / “he was travelling”. Simple past vs past progressive maps onto past / kan + present.
Free: “by the way”, “anyway”, “as I was saying”: same hinges.
Costly: age. English “he was 22” has a verb; Darija present “3mru 22” doesn't, so you forget to add kan in the past.
Your mistake, not someone else's
Present-tense age has no verb in Darija, so in the past you leave kan out.
×مْلِّي خْرَجْ، عْمْرُو تْنِينْ وْ عْشْرِينْPast age without kan.
✓مْلِّي خْرَجْ، كَانْ عْمْرُو تْنِينْ وْ عْشْرِينْ“When he left, he was twenty-two”.
Same with 3ndu, fih, kayn: past is kan 3ndu, kan fih, kan kayn.
Leaving Tangier
The real opening of the Rihla, in 14th-century rhymed prose. Ibn Battuta dictated it and Ibn Juzayy wrote it down, and it shows: the last paragraph is the scribe's aside. Below, the same opening retold in Darija for this lesson.
قَالَ الشَّيْخُ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِ: كَانَ خُرُوجِي مِنْ طَنْجَةَ مَسْقَطِ رَأْسِي فِي يَوْمِ الْخَمِيسِ الثَّانِي مِنْ شَهْرِ اللهِ رَجَبٍ الْفَرْدِ عَامَ خَمْسَةٍ وَعِشْرِينَ وَسَبْعِمِائَةٍ، مُعْتَمِدًا حَجَّ بَيْتِ اللهِ الْحَرَامِ، وَزِيَارَةَ قَبْرِ الرَّسُولِ عَلَيْهِ أَفْضَلُ الصَّلَاةِ وَالسَّلَامِ.
مُنْفَرِدًا عَنْ رَفِيقٍ آنَسُ بِصُحْبَتِهِ، وَرَاكِبٍ أَكُونُ فِي جُمْلَتِهِ، لِبَاعِثٍ عَلَى النَّفْسِ شَدِيدِ الْعَزَائِمِ، وَشَوْقٍ إِلَى تِلْكَ الْمَعَاهِدِ الشَّرِيفَةِ كَامِنٍ فِي الْحَيَازِمِ.
فَحَزَمْتُ أَمْرِي عَلَى هَجْرِ الْأَحْبَابِ مِنَ الْإِنَاثِ وَالذُّكُورِ، وَفَارَقْتُ وَطَنِي مُفَارَقَةَ الطُّيُورِ لِلْوُكُورِ.
وَكَانَ وَالِدَايَ بِقَيْدِ الْحَيَاةِ، فَتَحَمَّلْتُ لِبُعْدِهِمَا وَصَبًا، وَلَقِيتُ كَمَا لَقِيَا مِنَ الْفِرَاقِ نَصَبًا. وَسِنِّي يَوْمَئِذٍ اثْنَتَانِ وَعِشْرُونَ سَنَةً.
قَالَ ابْنُ جُزَيٍّ: أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِ بِمَدِينَةِ غَرْنَاطَةَ أَنَّ مَوْلِدَهُ بِطَنْجَةَ فِي يَوْمِ الِاثْنَيْنِ السَّابِعَ عَشَرَ مِنْ رَجَبٍ الْفَرْدِ سَنَةَ ثَلَاثٍ وَسَبْعِمِائَةٍ.
ابْنْ بَطُّوطَة خْرَجْ مْنْ طَنْجَة، الْمْدِينَة فِينْ تْزَادْ، نْهَارْ الْخْمِيسْ، فْعَامْ 1325. كَانْ بَاغِي يْمْشِي لْلْحَجّْ.
خْرَجْ بُوحْدُو، بْلَا رْفِيقْ وْ بْلَا قَافْلَة، حِيتْ الشّْوْقْ كَانْ كْبِيرْ.
بْالْمُنَاسَبَة، هَادْشِّي مَا كْتْبُوشْ هُوَ: حْكَاهْ لْابْنْ جُزَيّْ فْغَرْنَاطَة، وْ ابْنْ جُزَيّْ هُوَ اللِّي كْتْبُو. وْ زَادْ بْلِّي ابْنْ بَطُّوطَة تْزَادْ فْ 1304.
الْمُهِمّْ، نْرْجْعُو لْلْقِصَّة: الْوَالِدِينْ دْيَالُو كَانُو بَاقْيِينْ عَايْشِينْ، وْ الْفْرَاقْ كَانْ صْعِيبْ. فَارَقْ الدَّارْ بْحَالْ الطّْيُورْ مْلِّي كَيْخْرْجُو مْنْ الْعْشّْ. كَانْ عْمْرُو تْنِينْ وْ عْشْرِينْ عَامْ.
Ibn Baṭṭūṭa (dictado a Ibn Juzayy), Tuḥfat an-nuẓẓār fī gharāʾib al-amṣār (s. XIV), «La salida de Tánger». Texto de ar.wikisource.org; vocalización y versión en darija de Learning Darija · dominio público
Did you follow?
When did he leave, and why?
Show answers
A Thursday in Rajab, year 725 AH, to make the pilgrimage and visit the Prophet's tomb.
Who was he travelling with?
Show answers
No one: no companion, no caravan.
What does he compare leaving to?
Show answers
Birds leaving the nest.
What does Ibn Juzayy add?
Show answers
That Ibn Battuta told him in Granada he was born in Tangier in 703 AH.
Check
Two here, three more in the B2 book.
Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the B2 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.
1Sort
Event or background?
خْرَجْكَانْ بَاغِيوْصَلْكَانُو عَايْشِينْفَارَقْكَانْ كَيْمْشِيمْشَىكَانْ عْمْرُو
Event
Background
2Fill the gap
With the storytelling piece that fits.
بالمناسبةالمهمكانمن بعد
- ملي وصلت، ___ الجو بارد
- ___، خويا حتى هو ساكن تما
- ___، نرجعو للقصة
- تغديت، و ___ خرجت نتمشى
3True or false?
According to the Rihla.
- Ibn Battuta left his home town.
4Event or background?
Put into the past as the clue in brackets says.
- عْمْرُو عْشْرِينْ عَامْ (فَاتْ)
5Your departure
Tell a journey or move in eight sentences. Background with kan and at least one aside.
دَاكْ النّْهَارْكَانْبْالْمُنَاسَبَةالْمُهِمّْمْنْ بْعْدْفْالْأَخِيرْ
The rest is in the B2 book
The B2 bookShow answers
| 1. Sort | Event: خْرَجْ · وْصَلْ · فَارَقْ · مْشَى / Background: كَانْ بَاغِي · كَانُو عَايْشِينْ · كَانْ كَيْمْشِي · كَانْ عْمْرُو |
|---|---|
| 2. Fill the gap | كان · بالمناسبة · المهم · من بعد |
The B2 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Separate events and background with kan.
- Open and close an aside.
- Order a story in time.
- Read the opening of the Rihla.