"I saw a mountain in this land that was made entirely of salt. It was a truly astonishing sight."

"I have indeed - praise be to God - attained my desire in this world, which was to travel through the earth, and I have attained in this respect what no other person has attained to my knowledge."

"I saw a rhinoceros for the first time near the Indus River. It looked like a huge pig with a horn on its nose, and it was uglier than anything I had ever seen."

"The Chinese are a people who are very skillful, but they are not religious."

"The people of this city are very skilled in craftsmanship. They make beautiful pottery and intricate textiles."