Ahmad ibn Fadlan begins his story with a prayer and recalls being dispatched to a distant kingdom by the Caliph of Baghdad in June of 921, AD. This assignment was a punishment for Ahmad’s interaction with the beautiful wife of an elderly and influential miser. The miser convinced the Caliph to send Ahmad away.

Ahmad is made the ambassador to the King of Saqaliba. He travels north with other diplomats and a large retinue of attendants. Ahmad provides detailed descriptions of the party’s itinerary. During the winter, they stay for a long time in Gurganiya, where the cold astounds Ahmad. They resume their journey when the weather improves, riding east through snowstorms until they reach warmer regions. Eventually, they arrive in an area populated by a Turkish tribe called the Oguz. 

Ahmad describes the Oguz as atheist “nomads” who live in felt tents. They rarely bathe and resent Ahmad and his Muslim entourage, who wash before praying. Ahmad describes the cultural differences between his Islamic home and the Oguz community. Ahmad finds Oguz attitudes toward women, marriage, and sex to be strange. He also describes Oguz burial practices. Ahmad’s party travels through the Turkish regions, encountering different tribes, staying in tents, and paying bribes when they need to.