"الجغرافيا الشرقية لابن حوقل، رحّالة عربي من القرن العاشر" [‎١‎٨] (٣٨٨/٣٣)

PREFACE.
ikhmm
genious Koehler* " that no letter copy of the Mesalek al
Memalekf exists, than the manuscript preserved in the Li
brary at Leyden, which is exceedingly imperfect and very
badly written." It seems, indeed, the lot of Ebn Haukal 5
work, in whatsoever form it appears, to be censured for
incorrectness and defects, by writers of different ages, and of
different countries; for to the passage above quoted, we may
add the following from Abulfeda :
J I ^ I laX/u2J Aj!
AJtjLJ I J c3 Lo L--J It
" The book of Ebn Haukal is a work of considerable
" length, in which the different countries are described with
" sufficient exactness. But neither are the names of places
" marked by the proper points, nor are their longitudes or
" latitudes expressed; this frequently occasions aji uncer-
" tainty inspecting the places, proper names, &c"
# (C
E bn H aukal, de quo dolendum modo non mtegrlus exemplum extare illo quod in
Bibliotheca Leldensi asservatur, valde mutilum ac pessime scrip turn,'" &c. Proem, ad
Abulfeda Tabul. Syr. p. II. helps, id edition, 1786.
t See the Leyden Catalogue before quoted.