Makkah and Damascus in "Travels of Ibn Jubayr "A study of some aspects of civilization: Religious Architecture and Markets as Models

This study investigates Makkah and Damascus as illustrated in Travels of Ibn Jubayr. It focuses on two aspects: the religious architecture, the markets, the commercial goods and the accompanying facilities in the two cities. This journey is the truest mirror of the era in which the author lived. What he wrote is an important reference source on both Makkah and Damascus in the sixth century, with what the two cities enjoyed in archeological sites such as monuments, religious buildings and commercial markets. Ibn Jubayr's description of religious places was more detailed, as will be shown in this research later. He accurately described the Grand Mosque and the interior of  Kaaba with precision and exactness. Spending a relatively long time in Makkah  gave him a chance to enter Kaaba several times and scrutinize it. He was also interested in Damascus, and considered it the Paradise of the East. He mentioned many details of this city, even its soil which, he said, is fed up with the abundance of water and yearns for thirst. He elaborated on the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the accompanying facilities, booths, domes, gates, orphanages, monuments and the other sights and archeological signs of the city.