You might be interested in reading the travel accounts of Ahmad Ibn Fadlan (full name Ahmad ibn Fadlān ibn al-Abbās ibn Rāšid ibn Hammād), an Abassid envoy who

You might be interested in reading the travel accounts of Ahmad Ibn Fadlan (full name Ahmad ibn Fadlān ibn al-Abbās ibn Rāšid ibn Hammād), an Abassid envoy who travelled all the way up to Russia in the early 10th century and apparently witnessed a Viking funeral: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Fadlan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Fadlan His account is collected with a few other Arab travelogues in the North in "Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness: Arab Travellers in the Far North" Someone created a reconstructed map of the possible route: http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=e83699d539a048e4a78be4425896b492 http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=e83699d...