Due !

source: ibn battuta, rihla,1356. (rihla means "journey in arabic)
note: some historians believe that, after leaving walata. mansa musa's hal made the difficult trip north
to taghaza. we have no record of mansa musa's stay in taghaza, but we do have a description
of the place from the famous arab scholar and traveler ibn battuta (ib-n ba-tu-tah), who visited
taghaza in 1352. this is 28 years after mansa musa would have passed through.
this is a village with nothing good about it. one of its marvels is that
its houses and its mosque are of rock salt and its roofs of camel skins. it has
no trees, but is nothing but sand with a salt mine. they dig in the earth for
the salt, which is found in great slabs lying one upon the other as though
they have been shaped and placed underground. a camel carries two slabs
of it. nobody lives there except the slaves of the masufa who dig for the
salt. they live on the dates imported to them [from morocco) and on camel
the sudan [black peoples from the gold-producing forest lands to
the south) come to them from their land and carry the salt away. one load
of it sold at the city of [niani] for 30 or 20 mithqals (of gold).
the sudan use salt for currency as gold and silver is used. they cut it
into pieces and use it for their transactions. despite the meanness [desola-
tion of the village of taghaza they deal with quantity) upon [quantity of
gold there.
we stayed there for ten days, under strain because the water there is
brackish (salty]. it is the most fly-ridden of places.
document analysis
1 what does ibn battuta think of taghaza? why would anyone li
hink of taghaza? why would anyone live there?