no this phrase came from the same era, there were travellers in every time and place, there is even the mention of "peacock" in one book from that time. Peacocks did not exist in Hejaz but only in India. There is also a mention of silk, (it was only found in China at that time) - Think about it.
What istafa wrote was by his person - he was not referring to someone in that point of time, still if he was he's wrong as historians, travellers etc have lived in every era.
