African American Journey

The sense of exploration and adventure is in the air. It is September 11th, 1525 and I have been sailing for weeks from Libson and will arrive in the town of Malindi on the East coast of Africa. I always wondered about the African cultures and life styles. Well we are to arrive at the city tomorrow and I will have a busy day on my hands. September 12th, 1525, I wake up to a humid and dry day with the sun beating down on decks of the ship. In the distance, I can see Malindi, a gleaming city out of the African coast line. As the ship is being pulled in, I saw the people of the town, a lot of them were “black and white” with the blacks “covering only their private parts with cotton and silk cloths” (Barbosa, “Duarte Barbosa on the Swahili City-States:
While geography affects Africa, it will only keep the continent separate from the rest of the world. Plus, the slave trade across Europe is probably going to take any unfortunate soul from their family. For what I see, Africa is likely going to turn into ruin because they are vulnerable to outside forces like the Portuguese or Muslim traders. Their influence is going to rid of Africa’s native culture and replace it with something unfamiliar. Look at Abdul and how his family practice Islam due to its simplicity than their ancestors. Perhaps in a couple hundred years or so all of Africa will lose their culture and assimilate to foreign
I arrived at Istanbul on May 25th, 1540 and entering the bay toward the city was breathtaking. From the top of Istanbul, stood a tremendous cathedral looking building with a domed roof and 4 smaller but grand towers. I could not wait to get off the boat to explore the city. Once ashore, I was stopped by someone in lavish clothing with a chest and book with him. He asked me, “Are you Muslim or not?” I told him no and he then opened the chest and asked for some gold. I was confused at first but he then explained, “If you wish to be protected in the city, you must pay the jizya or tax.” (McKay, World Societies, pg. 606). I presented the gold and once he was about to leave, he said, “Welcome to Istanbul.” Besides my encounter with the tax collector, I roamed the city and made my way toward the market. The market was so crowded I could barely move in the market because it was tightly packed. There were a lot of merchants there selling elegant cloth such as silk, and cotton. They were selling gems, gold and silver jewelry and even more impressive pieces of art (McKay, World Societies, pg. 610). No wonder the place is so packed, everyone wants to buy the beautiful craftsmanship of the Ottomans. It appears most of the Ottomans make their living by being part of a trade or by being a merchant. After leaving the market I wanted to check out the giant building I saw when entering the city. I made my way