ular preparation for a long and dangerous journey, but it is a
preliminary which would immediately suggest itself to a Mussulman of
good character. In fact, it was equivalent in those days--and still
would be, in some parts of the Orient--to a proclamation of his
respectability. Ibn Batuta, however, was not fortunate in this
matrimonial adventure. Two months afterwards, he naively informs us:
'There arose such a disagreement between myself and my father-in-law,
that I was obliged to separate from my wife. I thereupon married the
daughter of an official of Fez. The marriage was consummated at the
castle of Zanah, and I celebrated it by a feast, for which I detained
the caravan for a whole day.'

After this announcement, he is silent concerning his domestic relations.
Perhaps the number of his connubial changes was too great to be
recorded; perhaps no son was born to establish his honor among men;
perhaps, with increasing sanctity, he forswore the sex. The last
conjecture is probably correct, as it tallies with the reputation for
wisdom and purity which he gradually acquired.

Finally, in April, 1326, our traveler reached Alexandria, the first
strange city which impressed him by its size and splendor. 'Alexandria,'
says he, 'is a jewel whereof the brilliancy is manifest--a virgin which
sparkles with her ornaments. She illumines the Occident with her
splendor: she unites the most diverse beauties, on account of her
situation midway between the Rising and the Setting.' At that time the
celebrated Pharos was still standing, and the following description of
it, though not very clear, will interest the reader: 'It is a square
edifice, which towers into the air. Its gate is raised above the surface
of the earth, and opposite to it there is an edifice of similar height,
which serves to support planks, across which one must wait to arrive at
the gate of the Pharos. When these planks are taken away, there is no
means of crossing. Inside of the entrance is a space where the guardian
of the edifice is stationed. The interior of the Pharos contains many
apartments. Each of its four sides is a hundred and forty spans in
length. The building is situated on a high hill, one parasang from the
city, and on a tongue of land which the sea surrounds on three sides.
One can therefore only reach the Pharos from the land side, by leaving
the city. I directed my course towards the Pharos a second time, on my
return to the West, in the year 1349