Trickster's Travels

Al-Hasan Al-Wazzan, though only a single man, is actually a fascinating look at the intersection between Muslim and Christian sects in what we now usually think of as the Middle East, and certain parts of the third world. Al-Wazzan, though not the only man to have traveled far and wide, is certainly a fascinating example of what it meant to travel, and what happened when one did, which is an interesting contrast to the idea that most people in history didn't venture further than five miles from where they were born. Al Wazzan's travels actually sound more like an adventure novel, with our protagonist wading his way through many different governments and meeting different people, even being captured and held hostage for periods of time. 

The only difference between Al-Wazzan's travels and any other adventurer is, of course, that he wrote them down. Al-Wazzan actually wrote a book about his travels called, rather uncreatively, "Descriptions of Africa." Though the author herself admits that the account is spotty at best, it does give rather great insight into some of the customs of the period in different parts of the world, and how they might look to an outsider, which gives us a great eye into the customs since someone who had grown up celebrating them would never think to write them down,assuming that they would perpetuate. It's interesting, because unlike some of the others that we have read that have questionably qualified as microhistories, this one almost certainly does. In fact, it's almost like an autobiography that's been curated by a historian, if that makes sense.