The Travels of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela
A.D. 1160-1173.
Hebrew Preface
This book contains the reports of Rabbi Benjamin, the son of Jonah, of blessed memory125, of Tudela, in the kingdom of Navarre. This man travelled through many and distant countries, as related in the following account, and took down in writing in each place what he saw or what was told him by men of integrity, whose names were known in Spain. Rabbi Benjamin also mentions some of the principal men in the places he visited; and when he returned, he brought this report along with him to the country of Castile in the year 933 (A.D. 1173). The above-mentioned Rabbi Benjamin was a man of wisdom and understanding, and of much information; and after strict inquiry his words were found to be true and correct, for he was a true man.