Discovery is the sole purpose of travel. There are two kinds of journey, described in Islam by the words rihla and safar. A rihla is a journey on which we embark to discover the world and other cultures; to learn and acquire knowledge. It should not be confused with tourism. A holiday trip is neither a journey, nor a migration. People migrate in search of a better life or to flee war and persecution, whereas journeys are of a voluntary nature. They must be consciously planned and are often time-consuming, not only for the hours spent on the road and at various halts, but also at the final destination. In order to meet other people and cultures, to learn about them and from them, you must learn their languages, beliefs and customs. You must live among them, building a second home in a new place.

Ancient Muslim travellers, such as Ibn Jubair in the 12th century, or Ibn Battuta, who traversed the world in the 14th century, left us their wonderful rihlas (or travelogues). Ibn Jubair visited the entire Arabian Peninsula, writing