 As a primary source his medieval geography tends to exaggeration and his depiction of the barbaric uncivilised Christians of Palermo, reflects the prevailing politics of his time.Yet his geographic accounts of his personal travels were relied upon, and found useful, by medieval Arab travellers.The chapters on Al-Andalus, in Muslim-held Spain, and particularly on Sicily, describe the richly cultivated area of Fraxinet (La Garde-Freinet), and detail a number of regional innovations practiced by Muslim farmers and fishermen.