Fatih Sinan Esen

RAPHAEL AND BATTUTA

Many people say that “travel broadens the mind”. In Turkish Literature, there is a byword about this:” Cok okuyan degil, cok gezen bilir”. The exact translation of this byword in English is “the person, who travels more, knows more than the person who reads more”. But traveling also shows the social and cultural values are relative –that changes place to place and time to time. While comparing Ibn’ Battuta and Raphael in More’s book, we can say that they have different perspectives about this relativity. First of all, Ibn’ Battuta traveled for enjoyment and pleasure. He doesn’t consider the differences between cultures and social arrangements very much. But Raphael in Utopia travels with Americo Vespucci along the oceans and seas and makes some observations in the places he traveled. He stays about five years in Utopia. He compares other places with Utopia and thinks that some things go wrong at those places. But he never thinks that cultural and social arrangements are relativistic.

Raphael compares the justice in Utopia and other nations. He thinks the system works very well in Utopia and none of other nations can reach this prosperity, although

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they always make laws. Thus, he says that Utopia lives in prosperity by the help of the characteristics of their laws. But he never considered that every nation may its own social structure and the characteristics of laws and justice changes as cultural arrangements changes. He objects the system where he goes.

Ibn’ Battuta does not consider this and thinks like Raphael. He travels and explains what he sees. He seems like a traveler that travels for recognizing cultures that is Muslim or has connections with Muslims. He does not criticize but talks about what he notices strange.

Ibn’ Battuta acts like the person describe above with Turkish byword. He looks the environment while traveling and recognize different people from different lands, different cultures. He, probably, thinks how they are different each other. Thus, he may think the relativity of cultures and values of people. For an instance, he observes that different kinds of governments give different names to their governors. Their leaders take distinct names such as khan, sultan, melikh or bekh, etc. There are also similarities that in every nation in Anatolia there exists sovereignty at the government.

Battuta gives descriptions to the places and community, mostly, and observes. “We (he and his slave girl) journeyed next to Bursa, a great city with fine bazaars and running

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springs. Outside it are two thermal establishments, one for men and other for women, to which patients come from the most distant parts.” (Ibn’ Battuta - Travels) Thus, all the writing goes like this, no objections, no critics and no advices.

Raphael praises Utopian government and justice. This is a way of comparison. He looks people and nation that he travels with a critical way, other than traveling only for knowledge or pleasure. More explains states this: “After Raphael had discoursed with great judgment on the many errors that were both among us and these nations; had treated of the wise institutions both here and there, and had spoken as distinctly of the customs and government of every nation through which he had passed, as if he had spent his whole life in it”. (Thomas More - Utopia) But in fact, with writing Utopia, Thomas More states the differences with his country, England, and the perfect land Utopia. His aim is to show that his country hasn’t got a good governing system.

As a conclusion, one can say that the travellers, Ibn’ Battuta and Raphael Hytloday, traveled for different reasons. Battuta traveled for knowledge and fun, while Raphael Hytloday travels to show the differences between Utopian nation and other nations. He says that Utopian government is managing the country very well and the

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community lives in prosperity. While Raphael criticizes the nations other than Utopia, he does not think that every nation and every culture may have distinct values and social arrangements. He has a prejudice that all other nations should adopt the system that Utopians have. But, Ibn’ Battuta travels distinct nations with an assumption that they are different from each other and this differences should be seen, they worth seeing. Because his curiosity was big enough to make him travel long distances that no one can at those times.

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SOURCES:

• Travels in Asia and Africa 1325-1354 - Ibn’Battuta – Transl. H.A.R.Gibb. 1983. Darf Publishers: London

• Utopia – Thomas More – Penguin Books: London 2003

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