Mountain he demanded who built it and what was his design To whom the Mollah return'd this Answer Sir said he I built that Bridge that when your Majesty came to Tauris you might inform your self from the mouth of him that built it By which it appear'd that the Mollah had no other ambition than to oblige the King to speak to him A League from Tauris to the West in the middle of a Field stands a great Brick Tower call'd Kanhazun It is about fifty Paces in Diameter and though it be half ruin'd yet it is very high It seems to have been the Dungeon of some Castle there being very high Walls round about it which though they be but of Earth nevertheless appear to be very ancient It is not certainly known who built this Tower but the Arabian Letters upon the Gate afford us some reason to conclude that it was a Mahometan Structure In the year 1651 there happen'd a terrible Earthquake in Tauris and the parts thereabout by which many Houses were overturn'd and this Tower then cleaving from the top to the bottom a good part of it fell down and fill'd up the hollow within-side Besides the little River that runs by Tauris there is another bigger to be cross'd about half a League from the City over which there is a very fair Stone-Bridge Near to it stands a Sepulcher cover'd with a little Duomo where the Persians say that the Sister of Iman-Riza lyes interr'd and they have it in great veneration The River that runs under the Bridge comes from the Mountains of the North and falls into the Lake Roumi thirteen or fourteen Leagues from Tauris They call it Aggisou or bitter-Bitter-water for the Water is very bad and without any Fish The Lake which is fifteen Leagues in compass has the same quality the Water being blackish the Fish that happen into it out of other Rivers that fall into it presently become blind and in a short while are found dead by the Shoar This Lake takes its name from a Province and a little City which are both call'd Roumi being not above eleven Leagues from Tauris In the middle of the Lake upon the way that leads to a little City call'd Tokoriam there is a little Hill that rises insensibly the ascent whereof is very smooth and out of it there rise many little Springs The farther they run from the Head the wider grow the Streams and the Earth which they water is of two distinct qualities the first Earth that is dig'd serves to make Lime the next to that is a hollow spungy Stone that is good for nothing but under that again is a white transparent Stone which you may see through as through Glass which being smooth and polish'd serves to adorn the Houses This Stone is only a congelation of the Waters of these Streams for sometimes you shall meet with creeping Animals congeal'd within The Governour of the Province sent one piece to Sha-Abas as a great Present wherein there was a Lizard congeal'd of a Foot long He that presented it to the Governour had twenty Tomans or three hundred Crowns afterwards I offer'd a thousand for the same Piece In some parts of the Province of Mazandran where the Euxin Sea stretches farthest into the Persian Territories these congeal'd Stones are to be found but not so frequently as near the Lake Roumi and you shall many times find pieces of Wood and Worms congeal'd in the Stones I brought away a Camels-loading of these Stones and left them at Marseilles till I could find what use to put them to CHAP. V. A Continuation of the Constantinopolitan Road from Tauris to Ispahan through Ardevil and Casbin FRom Tauris to Ispahan the Caravan makes it generally twenty-four days journey The first day you cross over dry Mountains and four Leagues from Tauris you meet with one of the fairest Inns in Persia. This Inn Sha-Sefi caus'd to be built it is very convenient and large enough to lodge a hundred persons with their Horses Over all Persia especially from Tauris to Ispahan and from thence to Ormus you meet every day with Inns at an equal distance The next day you descend a Mountain in very rugged and narrow way At the foot of this Mountain there are two ways for the Merchants to choose that will go to Ispahan They that will go the ordinary road and the direct way through Kom and Kachan leave a Lake upon the left hand that parts the two Roads and they that will go through Ardevil and Casbin two other good Cities leave the Lake upon the right hand and coast along by the side of the Mountain From Tauris to Ardevil it is not above a dozen Leagues and having pass'd the Lake the Country is very good Which is the Road I intend to describe first Ardevil being at so small a distance from Tauris lyes almost in the same Degrees and Minutes of Longitude and Latitude This City is famous as well for being the first Market of Silks that come from Guilan from which it is not far off as also for the Sepulcher of Sha-Sefi the first of that Name King of Persia. The avenues to it are very pleasant being as it were Alleys of great Trees which are call'd Tchinar planted in a streight line at a due distance It is of a moderate bigness and seated in a lovely opening of the Mountains The next to the City which is call'd Sevalan is the highest in all Media The Houses of Ardevil are built of Earth as are most of the Houses in the Cities of Persia but the Streets are very uneven dirty and narrow There is but one which is handsom at the end whereof is built the Armenian Church A little River runs through the middle of the City which descending from the neighbouring Mountains runs from East to West It is by Industry brought into many Cutts to water the Gardens and in many places there are very fair Trees planted which are very delightful to the Sight The Meydan or Market-place is a very great one more long than round where stands a very fine Inn upon one side which the Kan caus'd to be built There are several others in several parts of the City which have the Prospect over several lovely Gardens especially that which belongs to the King to which you go through a long and stately Walk of four rows of Trees at the end whereof stands a large Gate that gives you entrance Though the Country about Ardevil be proper to bear Vines yet there are none thereabouts nor is there any Wine made till about four or five Leagues from the City The Armenians that dwell in the City are very well stor'd with it though there be no place in all Persia where there is so much Caution to be us'd either as to the Importing it or the Drinking it both which must be done very privately Which proceeds from the Mahometan Superstition the Persians having so peculiar a Veneration for that place that they
which he made the Grand-Signor was in Iron and Steel and a great number of Slaves The first time of his Audience he had a train of above 200 Persons But every day he sold two or three to defray his expences So that at his departure he had none but his Secretary and two Vassals more left He was a man of presence but no wit and every time he went to visit the Grand-Visier he presum'd to wear the white Bonnet which all the Franks wonder'd at when they saw that the Grand Visier wink'd at it For should any other Christian have done so he had been most certainly put to death or constrain'd to turn Mahumetan By which it was apparent how much the Grand Signor valu'd the Friendship of the King of Mengrelia and how careful he is of offending those that are sent from his Court He knew those People suffer no affronts but upon the least word presently draw besides that there is nothing to be got by provoking them This Embassadour going once upon a visit into the Country returning home was surpriz'd with a Storm whereupon he pull'd off his Boots and carri'd them under his Coat choosing rather to go bare foot to his lodging then to spoil his Boots Another time it being the custom of all Catholick Ambassadors to go to Mass to the Covent of Grey Friars in Pera upon St. Francis's day the Mengrelian Ambassador after Mass was done coming out of the Church and seeing several baubles which the Pedlers expose in the Cloyster upon that day bought a Tin Ring two or three small Looking-Glasses and a Pipe which he put in his mouth and went piping all the way i' th Street as Children do coming from Fairs But to return to the matter you must take notice that there are not only Iron Mines but also Mines of Gold and Silver in two places five or six days Journey from Teflis the one call'd Soiianet the other Obetet But the mischief is the people can hardly be got to work there for fear the Earth should tumble down and bury them in the Mine as it has many times happen'd There is also a Mine of Gold near to a place which is call'd Hardanoushé and a Mine of Silver at Gunishé-Koné five days Journey from Erzerom and as many from Trebisond As for the people themselves both Georgians and Mengrelians they never trouble themselves about the jgnorance and viciousnes of their Priests or whether they be able to instruct them or no. The richest among them are they which are in most credit and absolutely give Laws to the poor There are also some heads of the Church that assume such a jurisdiction over the people as to sell them both to the Turks and Persians and they choose out the handsom'st Children both Boys and Girls to get the more money by which authority also the great men of the Country enjoy Marry'd Women and Maids at their pleasure They will choose out their Children for the Bishops while they are yet in their Cradles and if the Prince be dissatisfi'd at it all the Clergy joyns with him that makes the choice and then together by the Ears they go In which Skirmishes they will carry away whole Villages and sell all the poor people to the Turks and Persians And indeed the custom of selling men and women is so common in that Country that a man may almost affirm it to be one of their chiefest Trades The Bishops dissolve Marriages when they please and then Marry again after they have sold the first If any of the Natives be not Marri'd to his fancy he takes another for such a time as he thinks fit for which he pays her all the while as the Turks do Very few of these people know what Baptism means Only two or three days after the woman is brought to bed the Priest comes and brings a little Oyl mumbles over a few Prayers and then anoints the Mother and the Infant which they believe to be the best Baptism in the World In short they are a people of no Devotion at all neither in their Ceremonies nor in their Prayers But there are great store of Nunneries where the young Maids apply themselves to their Studies and after such an age whether they stay in the Nunneries or betake themselves to the Service of any of the great Lords they Confess Baptize Marry and perform all other Ecclesiastical Functions which I never knew practis'd in any other part of the World beside CHAP. XI Of Comania Circassia and of certain people which they call Kalmouchs COmania is bounded toward the East by the Caspian Sea Westward by the Mountains that divide it from Circassia Northward it lies upon Muscovia and Southward it is bounded by Georgia From the Mountains that bound upon the North-East to Tercki which is the River that parts Moscovia from Comania it is all a level Country excellent for Tillage and abounding in fair Meadows and Pasturage However it is not over-peopl'd which is the reason they never Sow twice together in one place The Climate is much the same as between Paris and Lion where it Rains very much and yet the Country people have cut several Channels from the Rivers to water the Grounds after they have Sow'd them which they learnt from the Persians Those Rivers fall from the Southern Mountains being not at all tak'n notice of in the Map There is one among the rest a very large River which can be forded at no time They call it Coyasou or The thick water in regard it is continually muddy the stream being so slow that they can hardly discern which way it runs It falls gently into the Caspian Sea to the South of the mouth of Volga Not far from this River in the months of October and November all along the Shore of the same Sea you may see vast shoals of fish about two foot long Before they have two legs like a Dog's legs behind instead of legs they have only claws Flesh they have none but only fat with a bone in the middle Now in regard they are but flow pac'd when they come upon Land the Country people easily knock them on the head and make Oyl of them which is the greatest Trade they have The people of Comania commonly call'd Comouchs dwell for the most part at foot of the Mountains because of the Springs so plentiful in those places that in some Villages you shall have above twenty or thirty Three of these Spings meeting together make a stream strong enough to drive a Mill. But this is not the sole reason for there is Water enough in the plain But in regard they are a people that only live upon the spoil and plunder of their Enemies and of one another as they are in continual fear of being set upon they love to dwell near the refuge of the Mountains whither they fly with their Cattle upon any occasion of danger For all the people round about as Georgians Mengrelians
Pallekis to go to Madesou-basarki This was a great Town three Leagues from Casen-basar where lay Cha-Est-Kan's Receiver General to whom I presented my Bill of Exchange He told me it was very good and that he would willingly have paid me had he not receiv'd order the night before not to pay me in case he had not paid me already He did not tell me the reason that mov'd Cha-Est-Kan to act in that manner so that I went home to my Lodging infinitely surpriz'd at his proceeding The sixteenth I wrote to the Nahab to know the reason why he had forbad his Receiver General to pay me The seventeenth in the evening I took water for Ougueli in a Bark of fourteen Oars which the Hollanders lent me and that night and the next I lay upon the River The nineteenth toward evening I pass'd by a large Town call'd Nandi farther than which the Sea does not flow Here the Wind blew so fiercely and the Water grew so rough that we were forc'd to stay three or four hours and ly by the shore The twentieth I arriv'd at Ougueli where I stay'd till the second of March During which time the Hollanders bid me very welcome and made it their business to shew me all the divertisements which the Country was capable to afford We went several times in Pleasure-Boats upon the River and we had a Banquet of all the Delicacies that the Gardens of Europe could have afforded us Salads of all sorts Colewarts Asparagus Pease but our chiefest Dish was Japon Beans the Hollanders being very curious to have all sorts of Pulse and Herbs in their Gardens though they could never get Artichokes to grow in that Country The second of March I left Ougueli and the fifth arriv'd at Casenbasar The next day I went to Madesou-Barsaki to know whether the Nahab had sent any other orders to his Receiver For I told you a little before that I wrote upon the place to Cha-Est-Kan to complain of his proceedings and to know the reason why my Bill of Exchange was not paid The Director of the Holland Factories writ a Letter also in my behalf which I enclosed wherein he represented to the Nahab that I was too well known to him as having been formerly with him at Amadabat in the Army in Decan and other places to deserve such hard usage That he ought to consider that I being the only person that brought the chiefest rarities of Europe to the Indies it was not the way to make me eager of returning any more as he himself had invited me to do to send me away in a discontent Besides that the credit of my report would discourage others from coming to the Indies fearing the same usage as I had receiv'd Neither mine nor the Directors Letter produc'd that effect which we expected Nor was I much better satisfi'd with the new order which the Nahab sent to his Receiver which was to pay me abating twenty thousand Roupies of the sum which we had agreed upon and if I would not take the remainder that I might come and fetch my goods again This ill dealing of the Nahab proceeded from a scurvy trick that was play'd me by three Canary-birds at the Great Mogul's Court. The story whereof was thus in short Aurengzeb that now reigns at the instigation of two Persians and a Banian has brought up a custom very much to the disadvantage of Merchants that come out of Europe and other parts to sell Jewels at Court. For whether they come into India either by Land or Sea the Governour of the place where they first arrive has order to send them to the King together with their goods whether they will or no. As the Governour of Surat dealt by me in the year 1665 sending me to Delhi or Jehanabad where the King was There were then attending upon his Majesty two Persians and a Banian who are entrusted to view and examine all the Jewels which are to be sold to the King One of those Persians is call'd Nahab-Akel-Kan that is the Prince of the Spirit who keeps all the Kings Jewels The name of the other is Mirza-Mouson whose business is to rate every stone The Banian whose name is Nalikan is to see whether the Stones be false or not or whether they have any defect These three men have obtain'd a Licence from the King to view before ever he does whatever forreign Merchants shall bring to Court and to present their goods to him themselves And though they are under an Oath not to take any thing from the Merchants yet they extort whatever they can get from them though it be to their ruine When they see any thing that is lovely and likely to bring great profit they would perswade you to sell it to them for less by half than the thing is worth and if you refuse to let them have it when they are in the Kings presence they will set a price upon it at half the value knowing that Aurengzeb is not very covetous of Jewels loving his Money far better Upon the Kings Festival-day of which I shall speak in another place all the Princes and Nobility of the Court present him with most magnificent gifts And when they cannot meet with Jewels they send him Roupies of Gold which the King likes far better than Stones though Jewels are the more honourable present Therefore when this Festival draws nigh he issues out of his Treasury a great quantity of Diamonds Rubies Emraulds and Pearls which he who is entrusted to prize the Stones delivers to several Merchants to sell to the Nobility who are bound to present the King by which means the King gets the Money and his Jewels again There is also another thing very disadvantageous to a Merchant Jeweller which is that when the King has seen the Stones no Prince or Nobleman that knows of it will ever buy them Besides while these three persons who are entrusted to view the Jewels are considering and examining them at their Lodgings several Banians resort thither who are expert some in Diamonds some in Rubies some in Emraulds and others in Pearls who write down the weight goodness cleanness and colour of every piece So that when a Merchant goes afterwards to any Prince or Governour of any Province these people send them a note of what he has and the price which they set down at half the value For in trade these Banians are a thousand times worse than the Jews more expert in all sorts of cunning tricks and more maliciously mischievous in their revenge Now you shall hear what a trick these unworthy people serv'd me When I arriv'd at Gehanabad one of them came to my Lodging and told me he had order from the King to see what I had brought before I expos'd my goods in the Kings presence They would have rather that the King had not been at Gehanabad for they would have then endeavour'd to have bought them themselves to gain thereby by selling them
serves for the Priests Kitchin On the South-side there is a large Platform cut in the Mountain where there is a pleasing shade of many fair Trees and several Wells digg'd in the ground Pilgrims come far and near to this Pagod and if they be poor the Priests relieve them with what they receive from the rich that come there out of devotion The great Feast of this Pagod is in the month of October at which time there is a great concourse of people from all parts While we were there there was a Woman that had not stirr'd out of the Pagod for three days together and her prayer to the Idol was since she had lost her Husband to know what she should do to bring up her Children Thereupon asking one of the Priests wherefore she had no answer or whether she was to have any answer or no he told me that she must wait the pleasure of their God and that then he would give her an answer to what she expected Upon this I mistrusted some cheat and to discover it I resolv'd to go into the Pagod when all the Priests were absent at Dinner there being only one that stood at the Gate whom I sent to fetch me some water at a Fountain two or three Musket-shot from the place During that time I went in and the Woman hearing me redoubl'd her cries for there being no light in the Pagod but what comes in at the door it is very dark I felt my way to the Idol and by the glimmering light observ'd an hole behind the Idol I could not do this so quickly but that the Priest return'd before I had done He curst me for prophaning his Temple as he call'd it But we became suddenly very good friends by the mediation of two Roupies which I put into his hands whereupon he presently presented me with some of his Betlé The one and thirtieth we departed from Bezouart and past the River which runs to the Mine of Gani or Coulour It was then neer half a league broad by reason of the great rains which had fall'n continually for eight or nine days together After we had travell'd three leagues on the other side of the River we came to a great Pagod built upon a large Platform with an ascent of 15 or 20 steps Within it stood the Figure of a Cow all of very black-Marble and a number of deformed Idols four or five-foot-high some having many heads others many hands and legs and the most ugly are most ador'd and receive most Offerings A quarter of a league from this Pagod is a large Town but we travell'd three leagues farther and came to lie at another Town call'd Kab-Kali neer to which there is a small Pagod wherein there stand five or six Idols of Marble very well-made The first of August we came to a great City call'd Condevir with a double-Moat pav'd at the bottom with Free-stone The way to this Town is clos'd on each side with strong Walls and at such and such distances are built certain round Towers of little or no defence This City toward the East stretches out to a Mountain about a league in compass and surrounded with Walls At the distance of every 150 paces there is as it were an half-Moon and within the Walls are three Fortresses The second we travell'd six leagues and lay at a Village call'd Copenour The third day after we had travell'd eight leagues we came to Adanquige a very fair Town where there is a very large Pagod with abundance of Chambers which were built for the Priests but are now gone to ruine There are also in the Pagod certain Idols but very much maim'd which the people however very superstitiously adore The fourth we travell'd eight leagues and came to lie at the Town of Nosdrepar Half a league on this side there is a great River but at that time it had but little water in it by reason of the drowth The fifth after eight leagues journey we lay at Condecour The sixth we travell'd seven hours and lay at a Village call'd Dakije The seventh after three leagues journey we came to Nelour where there are many Pagods and having cross'd a great River a quarter of a league farther we travell'd six leagues and came to Gandaron The eighth after a journey of eight hours we lay at Serepelé a small Village The ninth we travell'd nine leagues and lay at a good Town call'd Ponter The tenth we travell'd eleven hours and lay at Senepgond another good Town The eleventh we went no farther than Palicat which is but four leagues from Senepgond and of those four leagues we travell'd above one in the Sea up to the Saddles of our Horses in water There is another way but it is the farther about by two or three leagues Palicat is a Fort that belongs to the Hollanders that live upon the Coast of Coromandel and where they have their chief Factory where lives also the chief Intendent over all the rest that are in the Territories of the King of Golconda There are usually within the Fort 200 Souldiers or thereabouts besides several Merchants that live there upon the account of Trade and several others who having serv'd the Company according to their agreement retire to that place There also dwell some of the Natives of the Countrey so that Palicat is now as it were a little Town Between the Town and the Castle there is a large distance of ground lest the Fort should be annoid by shot from the Town The Bastions are well-stor'd with good Guns And the Sea comes up to the very Wall of it but there is no Haven only a Road. We staid in the Town till the next day in the evening where we observ'd that when the Inhabitants fetch their water to drink they stay till the Sea is quite out and then digging holes in the Sand as neer the Sea as they can they meet with fresh-water The twelth we departed from Calicat and the next morning about ten of the clock we came to Madrespatan otherwise call'd Fort St. George which belongs to the English having travell'd not above seven or eight leagues that day We lay at the Covent of Capuchins at what time Father Ephraim and Father Zenon were both there The fifteenth we went to St. Thomas's Town to see the Austin-Friars and the Jesuits Church in the first whereof is an Iron-lance wherewith they say that St. Thomas was martyr'd The two and twentieth in the morning we departed from Madrespatan and after a journey of five leagues we arriv'd at a large Town call'd Serravaron The three and twentieth after 7 leagues travel we came to Oudecot the whole days journey being over a flat sandy Countrey On each side there are only Copses of Bambou's that grow very high Some of these Copses are so thick that it is impossible for a man to get into them but they are pester'd with prodigious numbers of Apes Those that breed in the Copses upon one side
flaw the first Carat were worth 160 Livres but for that reason I reckon it not at above 150 and so by the rule it comes to 11723278 Livres 14 Sous and 3 Liards Did the Diamond weigh no more than 279 Carats it would not be worth above 11676150 Livres so that the nine 16 ths comes to 47128 Livres 14 Sous and 3 Liards The Great Duke of Tuscany's Diamond weighs 139 Carats clean and well-shap'd cut in facets every way but in regard the water enclines somewhat toward the colour of Citron I do not value the first Carat above 135 Livres so that by the rule the Diamond ought to be worth 2608335 Livres A Diamond by the Miners is call'd Iri which the Turks Persians and Arabians call Almas CHAP. XVI Of Colour'd Stones and the Places where they are found THere are but two places in all the East where Colour'd-Stones are found within the Kingdom of Pegu and the Island of Ceylan The first is a Mountain twelve days journey or there-abouts from Siren toward the North-east the name whereof is Capelan In this Mine are found great quantities of Rubies and Espinels or Mothers of Rubies yellow Topazes blew and white Saphirs Jacinths Amethysts and other Stones of different colours Among these Stones which are hard they find other Stones of various colours that are very soft which they call Bacan in the language of the Countrey but are of little or no esteem Siren is the name of the City where the King of Pegu resides and Ava is the Port of his Kingdom From Ava to Siren you go by water in great flat-bottom'd-Barks which is a voyage of sixty days There is no going by land by reason the Woods are full of Lions Tigers and Elephants It is one of the poorest Countreys in the World where there is no Commodity but Rubies the whole Revenue whereof amounts not to above a hunder'd-thousand Crowns Among all the Stones that are there found you shall hardly see one of three or four Carats that is absolutely clean by reason that the King strictly enjoyns his Subjects not to export them out of his Dominions besides that he keeps to himself all the clean Stones that are found So that I have got very considerably in my Travels by carrying Rubies out of Europe into Asia Which makes me very much suspect the relation of Vincent le Blanc who reports that he saw in the King's Palace Rubies as big as eggs All Rubies are sold by weights which are call'd Ratis that is three grains and a half or seven 8 ths of a Carat and the payments are made in old Pagods A Ruby weighing one Ratis has been sold for Pagods 20 A Ruby of 2 Ratis and one 8 th Pagods 85 A Ruby of 3 Ratis and one 4 th Pagods 185 A Ruby of 4 Ratis and five 8 ths Pagods 450 A Ruby of 5 Ratis Pagods 525 A Ruby of 6 Ratis and a half Pagods 920 If a Ruby exceed six Ratis and be a perfect Stone there is no value to be set upon it The Natives of the Countrey call all Colour'd-Stones Rubies distinguishing them only by the colour Saphirs they call Blue-Rubies Amethysts they call Violet-Rubies Topazes Yellow-Rubies and so of other Stones The other place where Rubies are found is a River in the Island of Ceylan which descends from certain high Mountains in the middle of the Island which swells very high when the rains fall but when the waters are low the people make it their business to search among the Sands for Rubies Saphirs and Topazes All the Stones that are found in this River are generally fairer and clearer than those of Pegu. I forgot to tell you that there are some Rubies but more Balleis-Rubies and an abundance of Bastard-Rubies Saphirs and Topazes found in the Mountains that run along from Pegu to the Kingdom of Camboya Colour'd-Stones are also found in some parts of Europe as in Bohemia and Hungary In Hungary there is a Mine where they find certain Flints of different bigness some as big as eggs some as big as a man's fist which being broken contain a Ruby within as hard and as clean as those of Pegu. In Hungary there is a Mine of Opals which Stone is no-where else to be found in the World but there The Turquoise is no-where to be found but in Persia. Where there are two Mines The one is called the Old-Rock three days journey from Meched toward the North-west near a great Town which goes by the name of Michabourg The other which is call'd the New-Rock is five days journey off Those of the New-Rock are of a paler blue enclining to white and less esteem'd so that you may have a great many for a little Money Some years since the King of Persia commanded that no Turquoises should be digg'd out of the Old-Rock but only for himself making use of those Turquoises instead of enamelling to adorn Hilts of Swords Knives and Daggers of which the Persians are altogether ignorant As for Emraulds it is a vulgar error to say they come originally from the East And therefore when Jewellers and Gold-smiths to prefer a deep-colour'd Emrauld enclining to black tell ye it is an Oriental Emrauld they speak that which is not true I confess I could never discover in what part of our Continent those Stones are found But sure I am that the Eastern-part of the World never produc'd any of those Stones neither in the Continent nor in the Islands True it is that since the discovery of America some of those Stones have been often brought rough from Peru to the Philippine-Islands whence they have been transported into Europe but this is not enough to make them Oriental Besides that at this time they send them into Spain through the North-Sea CHAP. XVII Of Pearls and the Places where they Fish for them IN the first place there is a Fishery for Pearls in the Persian Gulf round about the Island of Bakren It belongs to the King of Persia and there is a strong Fort in it Garrison'd with three hundred men The Water which the people drink in that Island and all along the Coast of Persia is brackish and ill-tasted so that only the Natives of the Country can drink it Fresh water costs Strangers very dear for the people fetch it sometimes one League sometimes two Leagues from the Island from the bottom of the Sea being let down by a Rope with a Bottle or two ty'd about their wastes which they fill and stop it well and then giving the Rope a twitch are hall'd up again by their Companions Every one that fishes pays to the King of Persia five Abassi's whether he get any thing or no. The Merchant also pays the King some small matter for every thousand Oysters The second Fishery for Pearls is right against Bakren upon the Coast of Arabia the happy near the City of Catifa which together with all the Country about it is under the Jurisdiction of an
of his Countrey by his General Chan Timur Myrsa retired unto the Cossacks upon the Nepper and having contracted a Friendship with them and the bordering Russes by their assistance he gathered an Army of 40000 Men and marched towards Crim leaving behind him a revolted Ottoman with a Brigade of 3 or 4000 Men who immediately after the departure of Sultan Shaugary marched directly towards Aslamgorod and early in a Morning surprized the Castle then in the possession of the Turks put every Man in Garrison to the Sword slighted the Walls and other Fortifications retired with the Spoyl and marched to joyn Sultan Shaugary who in the interim arrived near Precop where he was met by Chan Timur and totally defeated but by good fortune escaped and by the way of Astracan got to Persia. From the Nepper we will pass unto Crim with which Countrey I am well acquainted having against my will resided there some years Crim is a small Land so near as I can conjecture 200 miles long and 50 miles broad but is wonderfully populous and exceedingly fruitful abounding with Corn and Grass the only scarcity they have is Wood which grows no where but upon the Sea-Coast from Bakessey Seray unto the Town of Crim which in former times was the chief City All the rest of the Land is a Plain where they have no Wood to burn nor any sort of Fewel but Fissheke Fusshane Curay and Stroa The Land is inclosed with the Sea excepting at two places Precop and Arbotka By Precop there is a narrow passage through which you may go to the Nepper Lithuania or Muscovy through the Desarts of Ingul and Ungul and there is a Water comes from the Teine Sea called the shallow Water and goeth along the Desart until it comes to Precop upon West-side of Crim and by North where it turns back on the North-side of Crim is almost surrounded with Water for the Black Sea is on the one side and the Ratten Sea on the other which latter produces nothing but Salt for it is so salt that no Fish can live therein I have reason to know it because I lived in a Village which was called Seekely Otta Mamutachy The Towns round about Crim on the Sea-side are these Precop Cuslowa Crim Caffa Kerse and Arbotka and within the Land Carasu Ackenesh Messheite and Bakessy Seray The Town of Arbotka lieth on the North-East side of Crim between the Black and Ratten Seas which there come so near together that there is no more Land between them than that whereon the Town of Arbotka stands and without Arbotka is a great Field 50 miles long inclosed with Water where the Tartars in Winter do keep their Hergels or Horses which Field goeth to the shallow Waters where I ran away from the Tartars I shall here take my leave of Crim and pass unto the Little Nagoy to Asshowa on the River Don which runs down from Bealla Ossharra through the Country of Russia between Russia and Lithuania until it comes to Peilesboy not far from the Wolga for from Peilesboy to the River Camusshanka is not above 20 miles all level which is called Perewolog where the Cossacks do draw their Strukes or Boats upon Wheels to the River of Camusshanka by which they pass into the Volga whereupon this Place is called Perewolog The Don runs down between the Little Nagoy and the Desarts of Ingel and Ungule so to Asshowa right under the Town and there falls into the Tein Sea This River is full of Fish especially Sturgeons well inhabited by Cossacks for there are seldom less than 10000 upon it besides those that go on Freebooting There are also 16 Gorodkees or strong Skonces well manned and with store of great Guns they being in continual fear of the Turks and Tartars and sometimes also of the Muscovites The Little Nagoy lies between the Tein and Caspian Seas the former on the West the latter on the East Shercassen to South and the Volga on the North and there is never a Town in all this Countrey excepting Asshowa It is inhabited by Tartars who go altogether in Hords their Prince in my Time was Cassay Myrsa whom the Tartars call also Sultan Ulugh or the Great Prince They sowe no Corn but Pross which they sowe upon the Sea-side up unto Asshowa and after sowing they depart with their Hords and graze up and down the Desarts to the Don to Capbane Shurpoha Yedecul Comma and Curray to Masshargorodoke and to Shercassen Land under the Rivers Terigke and Balke and almost to Pettigor and by the River of Cupba and back again unto the Black Sea Thus they ramble all the Summer until their Harvest be ripe and their Pross gathered and put into Yams under ground after which they settle from Asshowa all along the Sea-side amongst the Reeds and leave their Horses to winter in the Desarts So I shall leave the Little Nagoy and pass unto Temerassa in Shercassen Land which is 500 miles from Asshowa Now in all Circassia are but two Towns Temerossa on the Black Sea upon the Gulf that goeth from the Black Sea into the Tein Sea right over against Arbotka The other is Tumein upon the Caspian Sea the distance between them being 1100 miles and all the rest of the inhabited Places are only Cubbacks made in the Woods piled round with Timber Their Houses are very high in the midst whereof they make the Fire Their Men are proper Men very like the Irish both for person and garb for they go in Trowses with short Mantles wear long Hair on both sides of their Heads with a shorn Crown between Their Women are very beautiful and loving to Strangers for if a Stranger come unto their Houses their young Women and Maidens will look Lice in their Shirts and all about them the most private parts not excepted and will allow them the liberty to examine and handle all parts of their Bodies besides their Breasts The Circassians are excellent Horsemen and very couragious but withal exceedingly ignorant and superstitious for when they kill a Goat or Kid they cut off the privy parts and cast it against a Wall if it stick they pray to it if otherwise they cast it away and spread the Skin upon Stakes place it in their Corn-fields and worship it They have no Writing among them yet pretend to be good Christians Do strangely bewail the Dead making great Cryes scratch their Hands and Faces until they draw much Blood knock their Foreheads against the ground until Knobs arise bigger than Plums The Men are notorious Thieves stealing from each other and he that steals most is accounted the bravest Fellow Their Countrey is very fruitful abounding with most sorts of Grain and they have store of excellent Grass They have also much Fruit growing wild many sorts of Beasts as Harts Hinds Kine Eissubrass Hogs and great Adders The considerable Rivers which I know are Cubba which runs from Pettigor between Shercassen Land and the Little Nagoy betwixt
to the Sword after he had given them his Word to the contrary and promis'd to spare their Lives CHAP. IV. A Continuation of the same Road from Erivan to Tauris IT usually takes up ten days journey for the Caravan to go between Erivan and Tauris and Nacksivan is almost in the mid-way between both The first days journey you travel thorough large Plains sow'd with Rice and water'd with several Rivulets The next day you continue to travel through Plains of the same nature in sight of the Mountain Ararat which is full of Monasteries leaving it upon the South The Armenians call this Mountain Mesesoufar The Mountain of the Ark because the Ark of Noah rested upon it It is as it were unfasten'd from the other Mountains of Armenia and from the half-way to the top it is continually cover'd with Snow It is higher than any of the neighbouring Mountains and in my first Travels I saw it for five days journey together So soon as the Armenians discover it they kiss the Earth and lifting up their Eyes to Heaven say their Prayers Yet you are to take notice that the Mountain is hid in Clouds for two or three Months together In the Plains that you cross in this second days journey to the Southward a League and a half from the High-way is to be seen a Work of great Art being the Ruines of a Magnificent Castle where the Kings of Armenia were wont to reside in the time of their Hunting Divertisements more especially when they continu'd their Sports at the Mallard and Heron. The next day we lodg'd near to a Village where there was good Water which constrain'd the Caravan to stay there there being none to be met with for ten Leagues farther The next day you must travel one by one through the Pass of a Mountain and cross a large River nam'd Arpa-sou which falls into Aras It is fordable when it is low but when the Snow melts and swells the Stream you must go a League out of your way to the Southward to cross it over a Bridge of Stone From thence you go to lodge near a Village call'd Kalifakiend where you are forc'd to fetch your Water a good way off The first days journey is through a Plain at the end whereof you meet with an Inn call'd Kara-bagler standing upon a Rivulet which was finish'd in 1664. The Head of this Rivulet springs three or four Leagues higher toward the North and half a League below Kara-bagler the Water congeals and petrifies and of those Stones is the Inn built The Stone is very slight and when they have need of it they make Trenches all along the Stream and fill them with the same Water which in eight or ten Months turns into Stone The Water is very sweet and has no bad tast yet the Country-men thereabouts will neither drink it nor water their Grounds with it The Armenians say that Sem the Son of Noah caus'd the Rock to be hollow'd out of which this River issues which four or five Leagues from its Head and two from the Inn falls into Aras From this Inn to Naksivan is but a small Journey Naksivan according to the Opinion of the Armenians is the most ancient City of the World built about three Leagues from the Mountain upon which the Ark of Noah rested from whence it also takes its Name for Nak in the Armenian Tongue signifies a Ship and Sivan resting or reposing 'T was a great City now wholly ruin'd by the Army of Sultan Amurath There are the Remains of several rare Mosquees which the Turks have destroy'd for the Turks and Persians destroy one anothers Mosquees as fast as they fall into one anothers possession This City is very ancient and the Armenians report that it was in this place where Noah went to live when he went out of the Ark. They say further that he was Buried here and that his Wife has a Tomb at Marante upon the Road to Tauris There runs a little River by Naksivan the Water whereof is very good the Spring whereof is not far distant from the Head of the River of Karabagler The Armenians drove a great Trade in Silk formerly in this Town which is now very much abated however there is a Kan which has the Command there All the Country between Erivan and Tauris was wholly destroy'd by Sha-Abas King of Persia and the first of that Name to the end that the Armies of the Turks not meeting with any subsistance might perish of themselves To this purpose he sent all the Inhabitants of Zulfa and the Parts adjoyning into Persia Old and Young Fathers Mothers and Children with which he planted new Colonies in several parts of his Kingdom He sent above 27000 Families of Armenians into Guilan whence the Silks come and where the harshness of the Climate kill'd abundance of those poor People that were accustom'd to a milder Air. The most considerable were sent to Ispahan where the King put them upon the Trade of Silk and lent them Commodities for which they paid upon the return of their Markets which suddenly set the Armenians upon their Feet again These are they that built the City of Zulfa which is only separated from Ispahan by the River of Senderou calling it New Zulfa to distinguish it from the old City which was the Habitation of their Ancestors A third part of the People were dispers'd into other Villages between Ispahan and Sciras But the old People dying the young ones generally turn Mahumetans so that now you can hardly meet with two Christian Armenians in all those fair Plains which their Fathers were sent to manure Among the Ruines of Naksivan appear the Ruines of a great Mosquee which was one of the most stately Buildings in the World which some say was built in memory of Noah's Burying-place As you depart out of the City near to the River that runs by it appears a Tower which is an excellent piece of Architecture It is compos'd of four Duomo's joyn'd together which support a kind of Pyramid that seems to be fram'd of twelve little Towers but toward the middle it changes its figure and lessening like a Spire ends in a Point The Building is all of Brick but as well the out-side as the in-side is over-spread with a kind of Varnish of Parget wrought into Flowers like Emboss'd Work 'T is thought to have been an Edifice set up by Temur-leng when he had Conquer'd Persia. THE PLATFORME OF BAGDAT A League and a half from the chief of these Covents there is a high Mountain separated from all the rest which rises like a Sugar-loaf as doth the Pike of Tenariff At the foot of this Mountain are certain Springs that have the virtue to heal those that are bit by Serpents in so much that Serpents carry'd to that place will dye immediately When the Caravan is ready to set out from Naksivan for Zulfa which is not above a days journey from thence the principal Armenians usually
for the great Road. The Caravan having cross'd the Stream where we left it lodges the next Night upon the Banks of Aras over which it ferries the next Morning It does not go thorough Zulfa though it be so near it because that on the other side of the City there are three Leagues of Way very bad and unfrequented For which reason you must leave Zulfa on the right hand which is not much out of the way After two hours travel you go by a Bridge which is call'd Sugiac after which you come upon Heaths encompass'd with high Rocks All this days journey you meet with no Water but only one little Fountain and the Water is so bad that the Beasts will hardly drink it The day following you travel through an even Country but very barren where you meet with nothing but a forlorn Inn though it be a place where Cost has been bestow'd and built all of Free-stone that was fetch'd a great way off The next Stage is Marante famous for the Burying-place of Noah's Wife The Town is not very big resembling rather a Thicket than a City but the situation is very pleasant in the middle of a fertil Plain adorn'd with several well peopl'd Villages This Plain does not extend above a League round about Marante the Country beyond it being all barren However it is not altogether unprofitable for being a continual Heath it affords feeding for the Camels which are there bred for the Caravans Which is the reason that there are so many Camel-Masters at Sugiac and Marante who furnish great part of the Road. At Marante you must pay thirteen Abassi's or four Crowns for every Camel's Load for the security of the Road. Leaving Marante you lodge the next night a League from Sophiana in a bushy Plain where the Water is worth nothing after you have travell'd a mix'd Country barren enough where you meet with but one Inn in a Valley but it is a very fair one Sophiana is an indifferent large City which you cannot see till you come within it by reason of the great number of Trees planted in the Streets and round about it which makes it look rather like a Forest than a City The next day which is usually the tenth days journey from Erivan the Caravan having cross'd fair large and fertil Plains arrives at Tauris Those Plains are water'd with several Streams that fall from the Median Mountains but the Water is not all of the same goodness for there is some which cannot be drunk In the mid-way between Sophiana and Tauris lyes a Hill from whence you have a prospect over those Plains upon which the Army of Sultan Amurath Encamp'd when he besieg'd Tauris The news coming to Sha-Sefi King of Persia that he had burnt it and was marching further into the Country with a hundred thousand Men Let him come said he without any disturbance I know how to make the Turks pay for their Invasion without any great trouble They were then not above fifteen days march from Ispahan when Sha-Sefi turn'd the course of all the Streams both before and behind which only run from certain Springs and are brought in Cutts or Chanels into the Inland-parts of Persia where there are no Rivers By which means the whole Army of the Turks perish'd for want of Water in those vast unwater'd Countries where they had engag'd themselves too far Tauris lyes in 83 Degrees 30 Minutes of Longitude and 40 Degrees 15 Minutes of Latitude in an open place where there is not a Tree to be seen and environ'd with Mountains on every side but only upon the West The furthest Mountain is not above a League from the City but there is one which almost touches it being only separated from it by the River 'T is a good Country and fruitful in Corn there is good Pasturage and great store of Pulse Some think that Tauris was the ancient Ecbatane the Metropolis of the Empire of the Medes It is at this day a great City and well peopl'd as being the Mart for Turkie Muscovy the Indies and Persia. There are an infinite number of Merchants and vast quantities of all sorts of Merchandize particularly of Silk which is brought out of the Province of Guilan and other places There is also a great Trade for Horses which are handsom and cheap Wine Aqua-vitae and indeed all sorts of Provisions are cheap enough and Money trolls about in that place more than in any other part of Asia Many Armenian Families have got great Estates there by Trade and understand it better than the Persians A little River the Water whereof is very good runs through the middle of Tauris it 's call'd Scheinkaie over which there are three Bridges to cross from one part of the City to the other The most part of the Buildings in Tauris are of Bricks bak'd in the Sun the Houses not being above one or two Stories high at most The tops of the Houses are terrass'd the Roofs within are vaulted and plaister'd with Earth mix'd with chopt Straw which they whiten afterwards with Lime In the year 1638 the City was almost ruin'd by Sultan Amurath but it is almost all rebuilt again There are in it Bazars or Market-houses which are well built and many Inns very commodious two Stories high The fairest is that of Mirza-Sadé Governour of the Province who caus'd it to be built with a Market-house adjoyning to which he has added a Mosquee and a Colledge with good Revenues The great Trade of Tauris renders it renown'd over all Asia for it has a continual Traffick with Turks Arabians Georgians Mengrelians Persians Indians Muscovites and Tartars The Bazars or Market-houses which are cover'd are always full of Goods for there are some which are peculiar to the Handicraft-Trades the most part whereof are Smiths such as make Saws Axes Files and Steels to strike Fire with Tobacco-stoppers belonging to them Some there are that make Pad-locks for the Eastern People fasten their Doors only with wooden Bolts There are also Turners that furnish the neighbouring Parts with Spinning-Wheels and Cradles and some Goldsmiths that make trifles of Silver But there is abundance of Silk-weavers that are Artists and work very neatly and indeed there are more of those than of any other Trade Here it is that they dress the greatest part of the Shagrin-Skins that are vended so plentifully all over Persia for there are none unless it be the Country-people but wear Boots or Shooes of Shagrin-Leather This Leather is made either of the Hides of Horses Asses or Mules and only of the hinder part of the Hide but the Asses Hide has the best grain There are to be seen at Tauris Ruines of the stately Edifices round about the great Piazza and the neighbouring Parts they have also let run to ruine four or five Mosquees of a prodigious height and bigness The most magnificent and the biggest stands as you go out of the Town in the Road to Ispahan The Persians will
in Gardens There are three Inns with Market-places round about one of the three being large and commodious It is inhabited altogether by Mahometans or if there be any Christians they are very few The Soil about Casbin produces Pistaches The Tree that bears them is never bigger than a Walnut-tree of ten or twelve years old The great quantity of Pistaches that are exported out of Persia come from Malavert a little City twelve Leagues from Ispahan toward the East These are the best Pistaches in the World and the Country being of a large extent produces them in such abundance that it furnishes all Persia and the Indies Leaving Casbin you come to a little Village where there is but one Inn and you travel that day six Leagues through Countries fertil enough and well water'd The next day you travel through a good Country and in nine or ten hours you come to Denghé This is a great Village at the foot of a Hill through which there runs a fair River It abounds with excellent both White and Claret Wine where the Travellers take care to replenish their Bottles But generally they never lye here being desirous to go a League farther for a good Inn's sake which makes it a handsom Stage At this Town of Denghé it is where the two Roads from Tauris to Ispahan meet the first through Ardeüil and Casbin I have already describ'd Hither also come the Caravans that go for the Indies through Meshéhed and Candahar and where they leave Ispahan Road to take the left-hand Way which carries them Eastward CHAP. VI. The ordinary Road from Tauris to Ispahan through Zangan Sultanie and other places WE must now return again to the Lake six Leagues beyond Tauris where they that will take the ordinary short way through Zangan and Sultanie leave the left hand way of Ardeüil and Casbin This Lake is usually full of large red Ducks which are very good Meat From thence after twelve or thirteen hours travel in which time you meet with three Inns you come to Karashima a large Town in a deep Valley that seems to be well manur'd There is in it only a small Inn built of Earth the Doors whereof are so low that the People are forc'd to creep upon their knees to get in The next day you come to another large Village call'd Turcoma where the Soil is fertil though it be very cold There are several Caravansera's built like a long Alley cover'd which are only of Earth the Men lying at one end and the Horses at another The next day you travel over an uneven and desert Country and in eight hours time you come to Miana a little City situated in a Marsh where you pay a Toll for Guarding the Highways In this City is one of the fairest Inns in all Persia. Two hours after you leave Miana you must cross a River over a fair Bridge which runs to decay the Arches whereof are hollow within it is built of Brick and Free-stone being near as long as Pont neuf in Paris This Bridge stands almost at the foot of a Mountain call'd Kaplenton Sha-Abas caus'd all the way to be Pav'd because the Land is so fat and sloughy that when it thaws or that the least Rain falls it is impossible for the Caravan to pass Besides there are a sort of Camels in Persia that when it comes to rain in a deep Soil are not able to keep their Legs nay through the weight of the Burthens which they carry their very Quarters will rive from their Shoulders and their Bellies will burst So that before the way was pav'd they were forc'd to spread Carpets in the most slippery ways where those Camels were to pass which must be still done in some places where the Pavement is worn away At the lower part of the descent toward Ispahan upon the knap of a Hill which stands by it self appears an old forsak'n Fortress it is near the Highway and a River which falls into the Caspian Sea after it has cross'd the Province of Guilan where it is cut into several Channels But generally the Corn and Fruits which grow in Persia by the help of Water forc'd into Channels are of little esteem and much cheaper than those that grow in the Provinces whose Fertility is not Artificial Moreover that sort of forc'd Grain will not keep above a Year and if you keep it longer it breeds a Vermin that eats it 'T is the same thing if the Corn be grownd and more than that there breeds a Worm in the Flowr that makes it so bitter that t is impossible to eat it On this side the Mountain Kaplenton appear at a distance two others very high one toward the North call'd Saveland another toward the South call'd Seharâ—â—â— there is a third which cannot be seen in Ispahan-Road being too far out of the way near the City of Hamadan These three Mountains are full of Springs from whence most of the Streams do fall that water Persia And the Persians do say that formerly there were many more of these Springs but that about a hundred Years ago several of them have been dry'd up or otherwise no body can tell what is become of them There are several Villages near the Mountain that pay nothing to the King but are oblig'd to send him a certain quantity of Rice and Butter for the use of the Mosquee at Ardeüil They have also one great Priviledge That if a Man commits a Murther and flyes to any of these Villages he cannot be apprehended nor can the King himself punish him Leaving the River that runs at the foot of the Mountain Kaplenton you come to a fair Inn call'd Tshamalava built some years ago and for thirteen hours after travelling over a very barren Country you meet with another Inn which is call'd Sartcham standing in a very desert place which makes the Raders that lye there to secure the Highways very insolent finding themselves so far from any Towns or Villages From Sartcham you come to a River by the Banks whereof you travel a good while till you come to an Inn which is call'd Digbé near a large Village The Structure is very handsom the lower part being of Free-stone undulated with red and white and very hard The next day you travel a very uneven Country till you fall into a deep Valley at the end whereof you meet with Zangan a great Town and ill built However it has a very fair Inn which when I went last to Ispahan was so full that I had like to have lain abroad in the Rain but for the Courtesie of two Armenians From Zangan you go to an Inn where you must pay the Duties due to the Kan of Sultanie Sultanie is a very large City which you leave half a Mile from the Road near to a Mountain Formerly it had in it very beautiful Mosquees as may be easily conjectur'd by the Ruines that remain Many Christian Churches also were converted into Mosquees and if
you will beleive the Armenians they will tell you that there were in Sultanie near eight hundred Churches and Chappels Three Leagues from Sultanie stands an Inn and a League farther a great Town call'd Ija where there is another very commodious Inn and most excellent Wine From thence you go to Habar an ancient City and of a large extent but very much ruin'd inhabited by Armenians for the most part Here for the good Wines sake the Travellers stay to recruit their Bottles From Habar after seven hours travel you come to a Village call'd Partin From Zangan to Partin you reach in two days It stands in a fertil Plain where there are several other Villages It is not above three Leagues broad being enclos'd on each side to the East and West with a row of high Mountains Having pass'd this Plain you come to a barren Country and ill inhabited which lasts all the day till you come to Sexava You pass by the Ruines of a Village where there are but two Houses standing with the Tower of a Mosquee which is very high and slender Then you come to a Mud-wall'd-Inn built some few years since and near to that a Castle call'd Khiara upon the peek of a Hill but very ill built Sexava is a little City in a Soil that bears excellent Nuts The Inns that are there being built of Earth and being but little are very handsom and convenient their number supplying the defect of their smalness From Sexava after seven hours travel you come to a great Inn call'd Idgioup which was formerly a nobler place than now it is standing alone in a Field Three Leagues from thence you meet with another spacious Inn call'd Cochkeria and four hours farther you come to the Inn Denghé where the two Roads meet which I spake of in the foregoing Chapter From Denghé to Kom are three days journey over a barren dry and desert Country where there is no Water but Cistem-water except in some very few places where it is very good Four Leagues from Denghé is a fair Inn and three Leagues farther stands another about a Mile from a Village to the South where there grows excellent good Wine white and red From this last Inn to Sava is not above three hours travel with the Caravan Sava is a good City in a fertil Plain where there are several Villages The greatest Trade of the Town is in little grey Lamb-skins the curl whereof is very neat of which they make Furrs Two or three Leagues beyond Sava the Country is very well manur'd and after you have forded a River half a League from the City after two hours travel you come to one of the fairest Inns in all Persia which was finish'd when I went last to Ispahan From thence to Kom it is about seven or eight hours journey through a dry and sandy Road but half a League on this side Kom the Land is very good and fruitful Kom is one of the great Cities of Persia in a fat Country abounding in Rice There grow also excellent Fruits particularly large and excellent Granates The Walls are only of Earth with little Towers close one to another and the Houses being only of Earth are never the handsomer within-side At the entry into the Town you must cross a River over a stone Bridge and then turning to the right hand over a fair Key you come to an Inn very well built and very convenient That which is most remarkable in Kom is a large Mosquee no less in veneration among the Persians than the Mosquee of Ardeüil There it is that you may see the Sepulchers of Sha-Sefi and Sha-Abas the Second as also the Tomb of Sidi-Fatima the Daughter of Iman-Hoven who was the Son of Haly and Fatima-Zuhra the Daughter of Mahomet The great Gate of the Mosquee answers to a Piazza more long than broad where stands an Inn and certain Shops which without-side are somewhat beautiful One of the sides of the Piazza is clos'd up with a low Wall over which appears the Shore and a River which you cross at the end of the Piazza Over the great Portal of the Mosquee stands an Inscription in Letters of Gold in the Praise of Sha-Abas the Second The first place that you enter into is a Court of more length than breadth which may be term'd a Garden in regard that on each side of the Alley in the middle which is pav'd there are several square Beds of Flowers yellow Jasmin and other Plants which are rail'd in by a Rail that runs all the length of the Alley on each side It is not an easie thing for the Christians to get in to this Court especially such whose Habits and Aspect they do not like But as I cloth'd and carry'd my self I never was deny'd entrance into any place either in Persia or India In this first Court on the left hand as you enter are little Chambers where they that receive the Alms which by the Foundation of the Mosquee are to be distributed every day come and eat their proportion and then go their ways Those Chambers serve as an Asylum to those that cannot pay their Debts as at the Mosquee of Ardeüil Neither are these Priviledg'd places like ours where they that retire must live at their own Charge For in Persia they are fed at the Expence of the Mosquee and being in that manner freed from Care their Friends more easily bring their Creditors to Composition Out of the first Court you pass into a second which is larger and all pav'd and from that into a third which is square and rais'd like a Terrass You enter into it through a large Gate at the end of an open Passage where stand the Lodgings of the Moullah's Out of that Court by an ascent of Brickwork of ten or twelve Steps you enter into a fair Court which is also rais'd like a Terrass in the midst whereof is a fair Fountain It is continually fill'd by little Pipes of Water which run into it and is empty'd by others that carry the Water into several parts of the whole Enclosure There are some Buildings in this Court but one of the sides of it is taken up with the Front of the Mosquee which is no displeasing Structure There are three large Gates belong to it very well expanded according to the mode of the Country with a Brick-wall before about the height of a Man with Holes in it for Light made like a Lozange The Threshold of the middle Gate is cover'd with a plate of Silver and between these three Gates and that of the Duomo are several Doctors that hold Books in their hands and read perpetually This Mosquee is Octagonal and at every angle is a small wooden Door of Walnut-tree varnish'd with grey and yellow The Tomb of Sidi-Fatima is at the farther part of the Mosquee there being only room for one Man to pass between the Wall and the Tomb. It is encompass'd with a large Silver Grate sixteen
were generally more than in any other Port. But the Captains who rejected his Proposition of fighting against the Venetians believing that he would put some force upon them suddenly hois'd Sail and got away it being at a time when he could not keep them in having no Castle then built to command them The Grand Visier nettl'd at the refusal of the Captains as an affront done to his Master and to see that the Ships could come in and go out without any let or molestation bethought himself to the end he might keep them for the future under subjection of building a Fort upon the Gulf in such a part where the Vessels must necessarily touch where now there lye great Cannons level with the Water which no Vessel can escape Ever since the Convoys will not come to Smyrna as they were wont to do but lye out at Sea out of the reach of the Fort. Near to the Sea are yet to be seen some Remains of a Church two sides whereof seem to have been distinguish'd into Chappels by little Walls which are yet standing But the Natives doubt whether they be the Ruines of a Church dedicated to St. Polycarp or of an ancient Temple of Janus Smyrna has been oftentimes ruin'd either by the Wars or by the Earthquakes which often happen there One time that I staid there there happen'd one which did not last long but was very terrible About sixty Paces from the Sea are to be discern'd the Ruines of great Walls two Foot under Water and at the end of the City that looks toward the Winter-West near to the Sea appear the Ruines of a Mole and certain ancient Magazins The English Merchants have dig'd among the Ruines of Smyrna and have found great store of fair Statues which they transported into their own Country There are still found some or other every day but when the Turks find any they disfigure them presently It may be conjectur'd that there was one of a prodigious bigness by a great Toe broken off of some one and for which I paid sufficiently out of the desire I had to buy it I sent it to Paris to a Person of Quality who look'd upon it as a great Curiosity This Toe was of a hard white Stone and well shap'd and by the proportion whereof the Figure could not be judg'd to be less than the Colossus of Rhodes Upon that side of the City where the Mole was stands an old Castle of no defence at the foot whereof the Sea makes a small Creek where sometimes the Gallies of the Grand Signor lye The City is well peopl'd containing no less than fourscore and ten thousand Souls There are reckon'd no less than 60000 Turks 15000 Greeks 8000 Armenians and about six or seven thousand Jews As for the European Christians that Trade there their number is very small Every one of these Nations has the exercise of their Religion free to themselves The Turks have in Smyrna fifteen Mosquees the Jews seven Synagogues the Armenians but one Church the Greeks two and the Latins three There are also French Jesuits and Italian Observantins or a sort of Grey Franciscans The Turks the Greeks the Armenians and Jews live upon the Hill but all the lower part toward the Sea is inhabited only by the European Christians English French Hollanders and Italians The Greeks have also in the same Quarter an old Church and some few small Houses where Sea-men make merry All these different People of Europe are generally known in Smyrna by the Name of Franks Every Nation has its Consul and the French Consul has two Vice-Consuls under him the one at Scalanova the other at Chio. Scalanova or the New Port is two Leagues beyond Ephesus and being a good Haven the Vessels were wont to unlade there but the Turks would not permit it any longer For that Place being the Dowry of the Grand Signor's Mother the Vice-Consul agreed with the Governour of Scalanova who permitted the Transportation of Goods to Smyrna which is not above three little days journey with the Caravan A thing that spoil'd the Trade of the City and injur'd the Officers of the Custom-House Whereupon they Petition'd the Grand Signor that no more Goods might be unladed at Scalanova so that now no more Vessels go thither unless it be to take in fresh Victuals Chio is one of the greatest Ilands in the Archipelago of which in another place but the Vice-Consul that lives there has no more business there than the other at Scalanova for the Vessels that touch there neither unlade nor export any Goods from thence The Quarter of the Franks is only a long Street one side whereof lyes upon the Sea and as well for the Prospect as for the convenience of Unlading Goods the Houses upon the Sea are much dearer than those that lye upon the Hill The Soil about Smyrna is fertil and abounds in all things necessary for humane support but particularly in good Oyl and good Wine There are Salt-Pits also half a League from the City toward the North. The Sea affords great store of good Fish Fowl is very cheap and in a word Smyrna is a place of great plenty There is a lovely Walk all along the Sea to the Salt-Pits where generally abundance of People walk in the Summer-time to take the fresh Air and there being more liberty at Smyrna than in any other part of Turkie there is no necessity of taking a Janisary along when a man goes abroad If a man loves Fowling it is but taking a Boat which lands him two or three Leagues from the City toward the Mountains where there is so much Game that he can never return empty For the value of three Sous you may buy a red Partridge at Smyrna and all other Fowl is proportionably cheap But if Smyrna have these great advantages it has also its inconveniences the Heats are very excessive in Summer and indeed they would be insupportable were it not for the Breezes that come off the Sea these Breezes rise about ten in the Morning and continue till the Evening but if they fail t is very bad for the Inhabitants Besides there hardly passes a Year but the City is infested with the Plague which however is not so violent as in Christendom The Turks neither fear it nor flie it believing altogether in Predestination Yet I believe if the Inhabitants of Smyrna would take care to drain away the standing Puddles that gather in the Winter about the City they would not be so frequently molested with the Plague as they are It is most rife in May June and July but the malignant Fevers that succeed it in September and October are more to be fear'd more People dying of them than of the Pestilence In all my Travels I never was in Smyrna at these unfortunate Seasons There is no Basha in that City it being govern'd only by a Cady who is not so severe to the Christians as in other places For should he
River The sixth day we pass'd by the Walls of the ancient Philadelphia call'd at present Allachars which was also one of the Seven Churches of Asia There is something of Beauty still remaining in those Walls and the City is very large but ill peopl'd It is situated upon four little Hills at the foot of a high Mountain over-looking a fair Plain to the North that produces excellent Fruit. To witness its Antiquity there is yet the Ruines of an Amphitheater with certain Sepulchers from whence the Inhabitants report that the European Christians took out the Bodies that were buried there and transported them into Europe believing them to be the Bodies of Saints It is now all destroy'd but re-built of Earth by the Turks after their mode It was formerly one of the principal Cities of Mysia and in regard it was alway very subject to Earthquakes the most part of her Inhabitants liv'd in the Country The last time I travel'd that way in the year 1664 the seventeenth of June the Turks were feasting and rejoycing upon the News as they said which they had receiv'd of the defeat of the Christians in Candy But the News was false and only contriv'd to encourage the People for the Grand Signor was then making Levies in those Parts We lodg'd that day after seven hours travel upon the Bank of a small River a League and a half from Philadelphia The seventh day we travel'd eleven hours over a Mountain where those Trees plentifully grow that bear Galls and Valanede which is the shell or rind of an Acorn that Curriers make use of to dress their Leather We lodg'd in a Meadow on the top of a Mountain which is call'd Ijagli-bogase or The Mountain of Robbers The eighth day we continu'd our Journey over the same Mountain which is a very barren Country where there is no Provision to be had We travel'd but six hours and lodg'd near a River in a Plain call'd Sarrouc abaqui The ninth day the Caravan travel'd thorough dry Lands where there is not one Village to be seen and lodg'd near a Bridge built over a River call'd Copli-sou in the Plain of Inahi The tenth day after we had travel'd eight hours over an uneven and barren Country we stopt in a Valley near a River call'd Bana-sou the Water whereof is not good In the Night there arose a Tempest that put us all in a disorder and the Rain that fell was as cold as is it had been in the depth of Winter We were wet to the Skins and were forc'd to throw Coverlets over the Bales to keep the Goods from being spoyl'd The eleventh day we travel'd through a pleasant Country between Vales adorn'd with a most delightful Verdure and we were in view as we pass'd along of certain hot Baths though very little regarded We lodg'd upon the Banks of a small River by the side whereof we had travel'd for some hours The twelfth day we continu'd our Road for six hours between the same Vallies and lodg'd by a River The thirteenth day we travel'd eight hours and stop'd near to a Village in a Country call'd Doüagasse The fourteenth after a Journey of seven hours we pass'd by the Walls of Aphiom-Carassar that is The Black City of Aphiom or Opium because it has a Prospect over a fair and large Country well cultivated where they sow great store of Poppies whence they draw their Opium or Aphiom as the Turks call it Aphiom-Carassar is a great City dirty and ill built the ancient Name whereof I could never learn for the Greeks and Armenians are very ignorant But according to all probability and the situation of the place it ought to be the ancient Hierapolis situated upon the Maeander a famous River of the Lesser Asia that winds and turns the most of any River in the World And indeed we are the more to seek in regard the Turks change the ancient Names according to their own custom and pleasure and give no other Names to Rivers than that of the principal City through which they pass or else deriving their Names from the Colour of their Sands There is to be seen in that City an ancient Castle of Free-stone upon the Point of a high Rock separated from the Mountains that are next it toward the South which make a Semicircle All the Armenian Christians Subjects to the King of Persia passing thorough Aphiom-Carassar must there pay Carage from which they are not exempted though they have paid it before at Erzerom or elsewhere The Caravan does not stop at Aphiom-Carassar as well for that there are no Inns but what are ruin'd as for that about a League farther there is a place where you have excellent Fish and very cheap and they of the City bring Barley Straw and other things which the Caravan wants The Caravan therefore that day lodges upon the Banks of Maeander which is to be cross'd over a Bridge not far distant from a small Village In this River are great store of Crawfish and Carps and the Fishermen will be sure to attend upon the Caravan I have seen some Carps there above three Foot long The fifteenth our Caravan began to part it self some for Tocat some for the Road to Aleppo the one part taking the right-hand Road toward the Winter-East for Syria the other the left-hand Road North-East for Armenia After we were parted we travel'd two or three hours in sight of one another They that go to Aleppo fall into Tarsus where St. Paul was born and from Tarsus to Alexandretta But we continu'd our Road to Tocat and after we had cross'd a great Plain having travel'd six hours we lodg'd in a Mershy place near a small Village There is one thing remarkable in this Road as in many others which manifests the Charity of the Turks For in most of the high Roads that are far from Rivers they have set up Cisterns whither when the Rains fail the neighbouring Villages bring Water for the Travellers who would else be very much distress'd The sixteenth we travel'd eight hours through a very even Country but ill manur'd where we saw a little City call'd Boulavandi There are some Mosquees which the Turks have built out of the Ruines of the ancient Greek Churches from which they have taken Pillars of Marble and other pieces of Architecture to adorn their Sepulchers without any order at all which you meet with very often upon the high Roads the number is the greater because they never lay two Bodies in one Grave There is also in this City an Inn cover'd with Lead which is all the Beauty of it nor do Travellers make any use of it but only in foul weather We lodg'd a League and a half from the City and staid there all the next day The seventeenth we travel'd eleven hours through a mix'd and uneven Country and came to lodge in a Village where there are not above three or four Houses though there be excellent Pasturage about it There is
fifty Pints at a time The smaller Bottles serve to put Aqua-vitae in and the Leather whereof they are made has that peculiar to it self that it keeps the Water fresh Then you must provide Food and make a provision of Rice and Bisket as far as Tacat For as for Pullets Eggs and such like things you meet with them almost every where as also with Provision for your Horses and new Bread unless in some few places You must also carry a Tent with all its appurtenances with a Mattress and Clothes to cover the Horses at night especially in the time of the deep Snows wherein you shall find them almost buried the next morning When the Caravan comes near the place where it intends to stop every Merchant rides before to take up a convenient place for himself and his Goods for which he covets a rising Ground that if it should happen to rain the Water may run from the Bales They also in that case lay Stones under the Bales and a Cloth over them and the Servants make a Ditch about the Tent for the Water to run into But if it be fair weather there is no care tak'n to set up the Tent or if it be 't is folded up after Supper to the end the Owners may have the more liberty to look about them and may be in a better condition to look after the Thieves But if there be any likelihood of foul weather the Tent is let stand till the first Cry of the Shaoux The Horses are ty'd before the Tent with Cords fasten'd to a Nail and their hinder Legs are ty'd with other Cords to the end they may not stir out of their places If it be not seasonable for them to eat Grass you must buy Barley and Straw of the Country-men that come to serve the Caravan there being no Oats neither in Turkie nor Persia. In dressing your Victuals you must follow the custom of the Country which is to make a Hole in the Ground and then kindling a Fire in it to set the Pot over it But the greatest inconvenience which Travellers suffer with the Caravans is this that when they come to Waters which are only Wells or Cisterns or Springs where only two or three can lade up Water at a time For after the Caravan is lodg'd the Merchants shall be forc'd to stay for Water two or three hours together for they that belong to the Beasts of Carriage will not suffer any person to take any Water till the Camels Horses Asses and Mules are all serv'd Nor is there any contending with these Camel-drivers and Muleters for as they are a rude sort of people a Man runs the hazard of his Life by contesting alone of which one Example may suffice for all Setting out one day from Bander-Abassi for Ispahan with a Merchant of Babylon as we came to the Inn where we lay the first night which was call'd Guetchy the Merchant commanded one of his Slaves who was a Cafer of Mozambique to fetch him some fresh Water at the Cistern to drink The Cafer went thither and return'd without any Water telling his Master that the Camel-drivers and Muleters threaten'd to beat him and would not let him come near the Cistern The Merchant either ill advis'd or not knowing the custom bid him go back and kick those that refus'd him Whereupon the Cafer returning and finding the fame resistance as before began to give ill language to the Camel-drivers so that one of them happen'd to strike him Upon that the Cafer drawing his Sword ran him into the Belly so that he fell down dead Thereupon the whole Rabble fell upon him bound him and carry'd him back to Bander-Abassi for the Governour to put him to death The Master of the Cafer accompany'd by several Merchants went to the Governour and represented to him the insolence of those people and how the business had happen'd Upon which the Governour took the poor fellow out of their hands and caus'd him to be kept safe after that he caus'd ten or a dozen of those Muleters to be seiz'd and order'd them to be soundly bastinado'd for hind'ring a Merchant's Servant from fetching Water for his Master He also put others in Prison who had not been releas'd so soon but at the request of those Merchants whose Goods they carry'd and who stood in need of their service The Governour spun out the business on purpose that the rest might be gone but as soon as they were all departed except the two Brothers of the party slain he told them he could not do them Justice because their Brother belong'd to Schiras so that all that he could do was to send the Criminal thither The Master of the Cafer being rich and loving the Slave made hast to Schiras to tell his Story first to the Kan And I remember two days journey on this side Schiras we met in the High-way abundance of poor people the kindred of the party slain who were staying for the Cafer to carry him before the Kan and to demand Justice Two or three Leagues also from Schiras I met the Father and Mother together with the Wife and Children of the deceas'd who seeing me pass along fell at my Feet and recounted to me their Grievances I told them by my Kalmachi that their best and surest way was to take a piece of Money of the Cafer's Master and so to put up the business This Proposal that would have been accepted in Christendom was rejected by those poor Mahometans in so much that the Father tore his Beard and the Women their Hair crying out That if it were the custom of the Franks to sell the Blood of their Kindred it was not their custom so to do When the rest of the kindred came with the Cafer to Schiras the Kan did all he could to persuade the Widow to take Money but not being able to over-rule her he was forc'd to give the Cafer into their hands and how they us'd him I cannot tell being constrain'd at the same time to pass from Schiras for Ispahan CHAP. XI Of the breeding nature and several sorts of Camels THE Female Camel bears her Burthen eleven Months and her Milk is a sovereign Remedy against the Dropsie You must drink a Pint of it every Day for three Weeks together and I have seen several Cures wrought thereby at Balsara Ormus and in other places in the Persian Gulf upon several English and Holland Mariners So soon as a Camel comes into the World they fold his Feet under his Belly and make him lye upon them after that they cover his Back with a Carpet that hangs to the Ground laying Stones upon each side so that he may not be able to rise and thus they leave him for fifteen or twenty days In the mean time they give him Milk to drink but not very often to the end he may be accustom'd to drink little This they do also to use them to lye down when they go about to
Mattresses From Larneca 'till we came in view of the Coast of Syria we had the Wind very favourable but at length coming to prove a little contrary instead of carrying us to Alexandretta it cast us to the Northward two or three Leagues higher upon the Coast of Cilicia toward a Town call'd Païasses Half a League from that City lyes a vast Rock and between that Rock and the Land runs a very high Sea And here it was that the people of the Country believe that the Whale cast up Jonas again though the common Opinion reports it to have been done near Joppa in Palestine All along that Coast from Alexandretta to Païasses and farther the way is so narrow and straiten'd by the Mountain that in some parts the Camels and Horses must dip their Feet in the Sea and yet you must pass that way of necessity travelling from Syria to Constantinople Between Alexandretta and Païasses it was that the Chevalier Paul in a Vessel that carry'd only three hundred Men miss'd but little of surprizing the Caravan that every Year carries the Tribute of Egypt to Constantinople which since hath never been sent by Sea for fear of the Maltesi This Knight had landed his Men and laid them in Ambuscade but unfortunately his Design was discover'd so that the Caravan that might have been easily surpriz'd stood upon their Guard We were near the Coast when we discover'd a Skiff with fifteen or sixteen Turks that were sent by him that commanded four Galleys of Rhodes to demand the Customary Present from our Captain Those Galleys then anchor'd at Païasses and had there discharg'd themselves of their Provisions of War for Bagdat which the Grand Signor was going to besiege And it is the custom that when the Great Turk's Galleys are out at Sea that whatever strange Vessel passes by them must send them a Present either willingly or by force When the Basha of the Sea who is the Admiral of the Turks is in Person at Sea the Vessel which he meets is not excus'd for 2000 Crowns so that when he sets out from Constantinople to cruise the Vessels of the Franks do all they can to avoid him There are some that will seek to escape in sight of the Galleys but it has cost them dear And it happen'd that one day the Wind slackning they boarded a Vessel of Marseilles the Captain and Notary whereof were both seiz'd and drub'd 'till their Bodies were almost bruis'd to a Gelly and they had like to have dy'd upon it without being the better in their Purses for the rudeness of the Chastisement did not excuse them from paying the Money which was demanded Whether our Captain knew any thing of this Example or whether it were out of his natural heat of Valour he laugh'd at the Skiff-men bidding them be gone and telling them he had no Presents for them but Cannon-Bullets Thereupon the Men return'd to their Galleys who soon deliver'd us from the true fear we were in that the gallantry of the Captain had drawn us into an inconvenience For while we kept the Sea close by the Coast to observe the Countenances of the Turks they weigh'd Anchor and turn'd their Prows toward Rhodes However before they left us they sent us a Broad-side and our Captain whatever we could say sent them another which render'd us more guilty For the Turks pretend that when their Navy is at Sea or only one Squadron and that a strange Vessel is in fight she is bound to come as near as the Wind will permit her without being hal'd for which they will otherwise make the Commander pay very severely The Consuls and Merchants of Aleppo understanding what had pass'd very much blam'd the Captain fearing a worse consequence of the business But by good fortune the miscarriage was stifl'd and never went farther The same day the Wind veering to the West-North-West we sail'd into the Road of Alexandretta where we came to an Anchor about a quarter of a League from the Land Upon the advice which they have out of Christendom so soon as they of Alexandretta discover a Vessel and know what Colours she carries the Vice-Consul of the Nation to which the Vessel belongs fails not to advertise the Consul of Aleppo by a Note which is carr'yd in four or five hours though it be more than two or three days journey on Horse-back For they tye a Note under the Wing of a Pigeon who is taught what to do and she flies directly to the place whence she was brought For more surety they usually send two that if the one should miscarry i' the dark which has many times happen'd the other may supply the defect Alexandretta is nothing else but a confus'd heap of paltry Houses inhabited by the Greeks who keep little Fudling-schools for the Mariners and others the meaner sort of the people for the Merchants lye at the Vice-Consuls of the Nation There were but two then the English Vice-Consul and the French who had each of them a very convenient dwelling However they must be Men who love Money at a strange rate that accept of those Employments For the Air like that of Ormus is generally so bad especially in the Summer in so much that they who do not dye cannot avoid very dangerous Distempers If there be any so strong that they can hold out for three or four Years and can accustom themselves to bad Air they do well to stay there for for them to betake themselves to a good Air is to hazard their Lives Mr. Philips the English Consul has been the only Person that ever liv'd two and twenty Years at Alexandretta but you must know he was a brisk merry Man and of an excellent temper of Body and yet for all that he had been forc'd to be cauteriz'd That which renders the Air so bad is the great quantity of standing Pools and Plashes in the neighbouring Plains extending to the East and South but when the great Heats begin to approach the most part of the Inhabitants retire to a Village call'd Belan upon the next Mountain to the City where there are very good Waters and excellent Fruits They come also thither from Aleppo when there is any appearance of a Pestilence and yet there are few people in this Village who are not troubl'd with a sort of Fever that makes their Eyes look yellow and hollow which they never can remedy as long as they live About half a League from Alexandretta on the right band of the High-way just against the Mersh on the other side is a Tower whereon are to be seen the Arms of Godfrey of Bulloign In all likelihood it was built for the defence of the High-way which is enclos'd between these two Mershes whose Exhalations are very noxious It is but three little days journey from Alexandretta to Aleppo and some well mounted have rid it in two The Franks are not permitted to go thither on Foot For before that Prohibition in regard the
way was short every Sea-man that had a hundred Crowns more or less went on Foot to Aleppo and got easily thither in three days with little expence Now because they had but little Money to spend and were willing to dispatch their business they would not stand to give Four or Five in the Hundred extraordinary for what Goods they bought which was of dangerous consequence to the Merchants For you must observe that when the Ships arrive the first Man that either out of rashness or ignorance gives two Sous more for a Commodity that is not worth a Crown sets the Price and causes all the whole Commodity to be sold at that rate So that the Merchants that lay out ten or twelve thousand Crowns together are very careful lest those Saylors should get before them and enhance the Price of the Market To remedy which inconvenience the Merchants obtain'd an Order That no Strangers should be permitted to go a-foot from Alexandretta to Aleppo but that they should be bound to hire Horses and to give for every Horse six Plasters thither and six back which expence would soon eat out the Profit of a poor Mariner's small Sum. Usually you stay at Alexandretta three or four days as well to rest your self as to make some little Provisions for your Journey to Aleppo For though you meet with good Stages at Evening yet the Janizaries will be very glad to eat by the way Setting out from Alexandretta we travel'd over a Plain to the foot of a Mountain which is call'd Belan There is a wide Gap in the midst of this Mountain which giving liberty to the North-East Wind when it blows hard doth so enrage the Road of Alexandretta which is otherwise very calm that no Ship can ride there at that time In so much that all Ships that happ'n to be there when the Wind rises presently weigh and get out to Sea for fear of being cast away Almost at the top of the Mountain you meet with an Inn but though it be a very fair one with Fountains round about it yet Merchants never stop there but go on a little farther to a Grecian that speaks good Italian and whose entertainment is indifferent good considering the Country When you go away you give him a Crown for your accommodation which is the manner at other Stages by a custom which the Franks themselves having establish'd will never be left off Descending down the Mountain you discover the City of Antioch built upon a Hill Formerly the Road lay through that City but the Janizaries of the place exacting a Piaster from every person that travel'd that way that Road is now disus'd Antioch once made more noise in the World being fal'n to ruine ever since the Channel that ran from the City to the Sea where Galleys might ride has been stop'd up by the Sands that have encroach'd upon the Mouth of the Haven When you are at the bottom of the Hill toward the North you discover a Castle built upon a Hill standing by it self from whence you have a prospect over a good part of the Plain of Antioch It is about fifteen Leagues long and three broad in that part where the Road lyes Somewhat more than half the way you meet with a long Causey parted by several Bridges by reason of certain Rivulets that cross it without which the Road were hardly passable The frequent Revolts of Bagdat and Balsara which the Grand Signor has been forc'd so often to besiege caus'd the Grand Visier in the Reign of Achmat to undertake this Causey which together with the Bridge was finish'd in six Months that was lookt upon as a Miracle This was done for the more easie passage of the Artillery and other Provisions of War that were brought out of Romania and Greece to the Siege of Bagdat which could never have been done but for this Causey At the end of this Causey stands a Bridge very long and strongly built under which runs a River which with the other Rivulets that wind about the Plain forms a Lake toward the South that is call'd the Lake of Antioch This Lake affords a great Revenue by reason of the Eels that are caught there which are taken two Months before Lent and transported to Malta Sicily and other parts of Italy This Plain is very full of Olive-Trees which produces that great Trade of Soap that is made at Aleppo and transported into Mesopotamia Chaldea Persia and the Desert that Commodity being one of the most acceptable Presents that can be made to the Arabians Sallet-Oyl is also in great esteem among them so that when you make them a Present of it they will take off their Bonnets and rub their Heads their Faces and their Beards with it lifting up their Eyes to Heaven and cry in their Language God be thank'd Therein they have lost nothing of the ancient custom of the Eastern People of which there is often mention made in Holy Scripture About a League and a half beyond the Plain you meet with a Rock at the foot whereof is a little deep Lake wherein they catch a world of Fish that are like our Barbels I have kill'd them with my Pistol and found them to be of an excellent tast though they are not regarded at Aleppo Two hours after you ford a River which is call'd Afrora though if it have happen'd to rain you must stay 'till the Waters are fal'n Having past the River upon the Banks whereof you stay to feed your self and your Horses you come to lye at a poor Village call'd Shaquemin where there is an Inn. Here the Country-people bring Provisions of Food to the Travellers and whether you eat or no you must pay a Piaster according to the custom which the Franks have establish'd After you have pass'd the Plain of Antioch as far as Shaquemin the Horses in Summer are so terribly tormented with a sort of great Flies that it were impossible to travel three or four hours together were it not for going out of the Road either to the right or to the left and riding through the Fields which are full of those Burrs that our Clothworkers make use of For in regard they grow as high as the Crupper of the Horse they keep the Flies off from stinging and tyring the Horses Leaving the Village of Shaquemin the Road lyes among Stones and for half this tedious way for two or three Leagues round about you see nothing but the Ruines of ancient Monasteries There are some of them which are built almost all of Free-stone and about half a days journey toward the North quite out of the Road stands the Monastery of St. Simeon the Stylite with the remainder of his so famous Pillar which is still to be seen The Franks that travel to Aleppo usually go out of their way to see that place That which I find most entire and worthy observation among the Ruines of those Monasteries is the number of arch'd Cisterns of Free-stone
The Maronites depend upon the Pope not being above twelve hundred their Church being consecrated to St. Elias The Roman Catholicks have three Churches serv'd by the Capuchins Carmelites and Jesuites They reckon that in the Suburbs and City of Aleppo there are about 250000 Souls There is a vast Trade at Aleppo for Silks and Chamlets but chiefly for Gall-Nuts and Valanede which is a sort of Acorn-shell without which the Curriers cannot dress their Leather They have also a great Trade for Soap and for several other Commodities the Merchants repairing thither from all parts of the World For not to speak of the Turks Arabians Persians Indians there are several English Italians French and Hollanders every Nation having their Consul to carry on their Interests and maintain their Priviledges Nor does this place happ'n to be so great a Mart through the convenience of the two Rivers of Tigris and Euphrates as some have writt'n by which they say such vast quantities of Commodities are transported and imported out and into the City For had that been I should never have cross'd the Desert coming from Bagdat to Aleppo nor at another time going from Aleppo to Balsara And as for Euphrates certain it is that the great number of Mills built upon it to bring the Water to the neighbouring Grounds have not only render'd it unnavigable but made it very dangerous I must confess that in the year 1638 I saw a great part of the Grand Signor's Army and several Boats full of Warlike Provisions fall down the Stream when he went to besiege it but then they were forc'd to take away all the Mills that are upon the River which was not done without a vast trouble and expence As for Tigris it is not navigable 'till beyond Babylon down to Balsara where you may take Water and be at Balsara in nine days But the Voyage is very inconvenient for at every Town which the Arabs have upon the River you must be hal'd and be forc'd to leave some Money behind you Sometimes indeed the Merchants of Moussul and Bagdat and others that come out of Chaldea to Trade at Balsara carry their Goods by Water from Bagdat but in regard the Boats are only to be tow'd by Men it takes them up a Voyage of seventy days By this you may judge of the time and expence of carrying Goods by Water up the River Euphrates to Bi r where they are to be unlad'n for Aleppo In short if the convenience of Morat-sou for so the Turks call Euphrates were to be had and that Goods might be transported by that River the Merchants would never take that way for the Arabian Princes with their People and their Cattel lying all the Summer long upon the Banks of the River for the sake of the Water and the Grass would make the Merchants pay what Toll they pleas'd themselves I saw an Example of this coming one time from Babylon to Aleppo In all which Road we met but with one of those Arabian Princes who lay at Anna yet he made us pay for every Camel's Load forty Piasters And which was worse he detain'd us above five Weeks to the end his Subjects might get more of our Money by selling us their Provisions The last time I pass'd the Desert I met another of these Arabian Princes together with his Brother both young Men He would not let us go a step farther unless we would exchange two hundred Piasters in specie for Larins the Money of the Country and he forc'd us to take them what-ever we could urge to make it appear how much we should lose by them And indeed we said as much as we could for the dispute lasted two and twenty days to no purpose might overcoming right By this you may guess what the other Arabians would do who are not a jot more civil and whether the Merchants would get by taking the Road of Euphrates The City is govern'd by a Basha who commands all the Country from Alexandretta to Euphrates His Guard usually consists of three hundred Men and some years ago he was made a Vizier There is also an Aga or Captain of the Cavalry as well within the City as without who commands four hundred Men. There is another Aga who has under him seven hundred Janizaries who has the charge of the Gates of the City to whom the Keys are carry'd every Evening neither has he any dependance upon the Basha The Castle is also under another Commander sent immediately from Constantinople who has under him two hundred Musketeers and likewise the charge of the Cannon of which there are about thirty Pieces eight great Guns the rest of a small size There is also another Aga or Captain of the City who commands three hundred Harquebuzes beside a Sou-Bashi who is a kind of Provost of the Merchants or Captain of the Watch going the round every Night with his Officers through the City and Suburbs He also puts in Execution the Sentences of the Basha upon Criminal Offenders In Civils there is a Cadi who sits sole Judge without any Assistants of all Causes as well Civil as Criminal and when he has condemn'd any Man to Death he sends him to the Basha together with his Accusation with whom the Basha does as he pleases This Cady makes and dissolves all Contracts of Marriage all Acts of Sale and Purchase pass in his presence He also creates the sworn Masters of every Trade who make their inspection that there may be no deceit in the Work The Grand Signor's Duties are receiv'd by a Tefterdar or Treasurer-General who has under him several Receivers in divers places In matters of Religion the Mufti is the Chief and the Interpreter of the Law as well in relation to the Ceremonies as in all Ecclesiastical differences Among these Interpreters of the Law there is a Chieke or Doctor appointed to instruct those that are newly converted to Mahumetanism and to teach them the Maxims and Customs of their Religion Three days after I arriv'd at Aleppo Sultan Amurat made his Entry going to his Army which was upon its march to the Siege of Babylon Now you must take notice that not far from Aleppo toward the East there stands a House inhabited by the Dervies which are a Religious Order among the Turks though it formerly belong'd to the Monks of St. Basil and was a fair Covent It is still in good repair the Walls of the Chambers Halls and Galleries being all of Marble All the Dervies of this House went half a League from the City as far as Mount Ozelet to meet the Grand Signor and the Superiour at the Head of the rest having made a Speech to his Highness two Dervies came and made their obeisance in particular Which being perform'd from that place to the Castle of Aleppo for half an hours march together they went just before the Grand Signor's Horse turning round continually with all their might 'till they soam'd again at the Mouth and dazl'd the
threats or by rewards The eleventh after a Journey of ten hours we came to Ourfa where the Caravan usually stays eight or ten days for here it is that they live that hire the Horses and the Mules who have always some business in this place We lay at an Inn three or four hundred paces distant from the City toward the North. When the Inn is full the rest retire into the Grotto's which are near at hand and are very good quarters Here the Toll-gatherer presently comes and counts the Bales without op'ning them They that carry any Sacks must pay for half a Load if not he op'ns the Sack to see if there be any Merchandise therein for then the Merchant must pay the whole duty Ourfa is the Capital City of Mesopotamia built as they say in the same place where Abraham liv'd and where stood the ancient Edessa where the people of the Country report that King Abagarus generally kept his Court. There are still to be seen the ruines of a Castle from whence they add that the same King sent to CHRIST for his Picture and offer'd him his Kingdom and his people to defend him against the Jews whom he understood to be his Enemies The Chronicles of the Armenians report that Abagarus was their Country-man and that in his Reign they began to be Christians and to be Baptiz'd by the hands of an Apostle whom CHRIST sent to that Prince after his Resurrection * Neither is this Castle yet so far ruin'd but that there is still to be seen a spacious Hall and three or four handsom Rooms with some relicks of Mosaick work I was curious to see what ever was remarkable in this City And first they led me to a large Fountain which resembles a Fish-pond the Spring whereof is under the Foundations of the principal Mosquèe which was built in the honour of Abraham The Christians of the Country say that it was in that place where he pray'd before he went about to Sacrifice his Son Isaac and that two Springs of Water arose from the two places where he rested his knees which now feed the large Fountain I have made mention of It is pav'd with Free-stone and so full of fish that if you throw them in a little Bread they will follow you from place to place as you walk by the side of the Pond There is no medling with them for the Turks have a great veneration for those Fish which they call Abraham's Fish Besides that the place about the Fountain where the water wid'ns it self to water all the City is cover'd with very fair Carpets for about twenty paces in bredth This Fountain at length falls into a little River that runs by the Walls As for the Grotto where the two Springs rise there is no going into it before you have pull'd off your Shooes and it is a great favour for a Christian to see it such a favour as cost me six Piasters I also saw the Church under the portal whereof they say St. Alexis liv'd seventeen years a private life It stands in the middle of a Church-yard in the highest part of the Town in the possession of the Armenians But their principal Church is about a quarter of an hours walking from the City built by St. Ephren who is there buried The Monastery stands yet entire enclos'd with fair Walls In the Church I saw a large Bible in Armenian Characters The Sepulchre of St. Ephren is in a Cave at the foot of the Mountain to which there also belongs a Chappel where they keep three or four Lamps continually burning There are other Grotto's up and down the Mountain where are to be seen very ancient Sepulchers of the Christians The City of Ourfa is seated in a good soil very well manur'd which extends it self out of sight toward the East There are several pleasant Gardens near the walls water'd by little Channels brought thither by Art The soil produces good Wine so that a man may live as well at Ourfa as in any part of Turkie While I stay'd there I kill'd abundance of Feldfares in those Gardens and indeed there is great store of wild Fowl all the Country over The Walls of the City are of Freestone with Battlements and Towers but within the houses are small ill built and ruinous And there are several void spaces in the City which makes Ourfa to look rather like a Desert than a Metropolis The City is Govern'd by a Basha who has under him a hundred and fifty Janizaries and six hundred Spahi's standing more in need of Cavalry than Infantry by reason of the Incursions of the Arabians especially in Harvest time In short Ourfa is the place were they dress such great quantities of Cordovan Skins by reason of the waters particular to the Country which give them that peculiar beauty The Yellow Skins are drest at Ourfa the Blew at Tocat and the red Rat Diarbequir The twentieth of March we set out of Ourfa and after a Journey of six hours we lay at a pittiful Village where the Inn was fal'n all to decay There is a Fountain of excellent water by it which is all the convenience of the place for there is no Provision to be had The twenty-first we travel'd nine hours and came to lye near several Caverns which are very deep at the entry whereof there are little Rooms which are suppos'd to be the places where the People of the Country liv'd that fed their Cattel thereabouts There is also Rain-Water to be had in some of the Concavities of the Rock Half this days journey you must pass over Rocks where it is almost impossible and very dangerous to keep your Horses back The twenty-second having travel'd eleven hours we lodg'd near a Cavern having forded a River that runs at the foot of it There are two great Grotto's on each side where Travellers take up their Quarters and whither the Natives of the Country bring Provisions both for Horse and Man The Toll-gatherers coming from a Fort about three Leagues distant from these Caverns here exact two Piasters and a half for every Horse and Mules Load and search your Sacks to see if there be no Merchantable Goods therein About half the way of this days journey you meet with a City quite deserted by the Inhabitants and about an hours march after that with Tombs of Stone in the middle whereof stands a Cross with Armenian Characters The twenty-third we travel'd elev'n hours and lay at Dadacardin This appears to have been a great Town but is all ruin'd nor is there any thing remaining but a long Stone-Bridge very well built under which runs a River that is very broad when it overflows The People of the Country have no other Habitations than the Hollows of Rocks yet they bring to the Travellers Hens Butter Cheese and other Provisions which they sell very cheap The twenty-fourth we travel'd nine hours and lay at a place call'd Cara built upon a Hill The Caravan lay
Merchants that were to go along with the Caravan The way which we took was not the usual Road to Persia but it was a way wherein there were less Duties to be paid and besides it was a short cut the Caravan making but fifty-eight days Journey between Aleppo and Ispahan From the very banks of the River to the place where we Lodg'd that Evening we saw nothing but continu'd Ruines which makes me believe it was the place where the ancient Nineveh stood We stay'd two days near the Mosquée where according to the tradition of the Turks Jonas was bury'd and made choice of a Curd or Assyrian for our Caravan-Basbi though the people are generally Thieves and must be carefully look'd after But it was a piece of Policy because we were to cross the ancient Assyria now call'd Curdistan the Language of which Country is a particular Speech In the two first days Journey we cross'd two small Rivers that fall from the Mountains and empty themselves into Tigris Our first Journey was through a plain Country all along by the side of a little River and the second Evening we lodg'd by the side of a great River that falls from the Mountains toward the North and running to the South discharges it self into Tigris It is call'd Bohrus being a very rapid Stream full of Fish but more especially excellent Trouts The Caravan was two days passing that River by reason there were no Boats For the people are forc'd to tye long Perches four or five together one upon another which the Natives call a Kilet They make it four-square and put underneath it about a hundred Goat-Skins full of wind to the end the Kilet may not touch the water Besides the Merchant must be careful to spread good store of thick Felts over the Kilet of which he must be provided to keep off the Water least the Bales that sink the Kilet should take wet At the four corners are four Perches that serve for Oars though they avail but little against the force of the Tide so that you must be forc'd to hale the Kilet four or five hundred Paces a' this side up the River and then row down the Stream to the place where you intend to Land the Goods When the Goods are Landed the men are forc'd again to draw the Kilet by main strength out of the water to take away the Goat-Skins which are then to be lad'n upon the Mules appointed to carry them As for the Horses Mules and Asses as well those that carri'd the Goods as those upon which the Men ride so soon as the Herds-men thereabout see a Caravan coming they stock to the River-side Those people that wear nothing but a course piece of Linnen or a Goat-skin to cover their nakedness take off their Cloaths and wind them about their Heads like a Turbant Then every one tyes a Goat-skin blow'd up under his Stomach and then two or three of the most expert mounting the same number of the best Horses which are bridl'd put themselves first into the Water while others follow them swimming and drive the Horses before them holding the Beast by the Tayl with one Hand and switching him with the other If they find any Horse or Ass that is too weak they tye a Goat-skin under his Belly to help him Considering which difficulties it cannot take up less time than I have mention'd to get over a Caravan of five or six hundred Horses The Caravan being thus got over for two or three days has but a very bad Road. The first days journey the Horses were continually in the Water up to the mid-leg and the second and part of the third we travel'd through a very desert Country where we met with very little food for our Horses and only a few Brakes to boyl our Rice Having got over this bad way we came to a River call'd the great Zarbe over which we pass'd upon a Stone-Bridge of nine Arches They report that this Bridge was built by Alexander the Great in his March against Darius A quarter of a League to the South-East two Rivers meet which empty themselves into Tigris Leaving the Bridge we came to a Town call'd Sherazoul built upon a rising Ground upon three Redoubts There resides a Basha who must be brib'd with a small Present to let the Caravan pass we lay by the Banks of a River and staid there two days From thence we travel'd one days journey over dry Mountains not finding any Water But the next day we came into a pleasant Plain stor'd with Fruit-trees This was the Plain of Arbele where Alexander defeated Darius containing about fifteen Leagues in all It is water'd with several Rivulets and in the middle of the Mountain rises a little Hill about half a League in circuit It is all over cover'd with the fairest Oaks that ever were seen and on the top are the Ruines of a Castle that seems to have been a sumptuous Structure The Country-people say that Darius staid there while his Captains gave Battel to Alexander Three Leagues from thence near a great Mountain toward the North are to be seen the Ruines of another Castle and several Houses where they add that Darius secur'd some of his Wives when he lost the Battel This Castle is seated in a most lovely Prospect At the foot of the Mountain rises a Spring which a quarter of a League off swells into a River that bears good big Boats It runs winding about the Mountains to the Southward so that two days journey from the Hill you cross it near a Town call'd Sherazoul over a fair Stone-Bridge of nine Arches whereof the Great Sha-Abas caus'd three to be brok'n down after he had tak'n Bagdat This City of Sherazoul is built after another manner than any other of the Cities in those parts being all cut out of a steep Rock for a quarter of a League together so that you must go up to the Houses by Stairs of fifteen or twenty steps sometimes more sometimes less according to the situation of the place The people have no other Doors to their Houses than only a thin round Stone like a Mill-stone which they will roll away when they go in or out the sides of the Wall being so cut as to receive the Stone like a Case being level with the Rock The tops of their Houses are like Niches in the Mountain where the Inhabitants have contriv'd Caves to keep their Cattel in So that we judg'd it to be built for a place of safety to secure the Inhabitants from the Incursions of the Arabians and Bedouins of Mesopotamia We came to Sherazoul upon Easter-Eve and staid there three days to refresh our selves after a Lent which we had kept very sparingly Here I found certain Springs that rose up in large Bubbles which after I had mix'd with two Glasses of Wine and drank up I found to have a Purgative quality having a kind of Mineral tast These Springs boyl up near the side of
the Venetians to make it stronger reduc'd it to the circuit of three The Work of the Fortification was so neat and such a proportion observ'd in all things that the most famous Engineers esteem'd it one of the most stately Fortresses in the World when Sclim the Second sent an Army against it under the Command of Mustapha his Grand Vizier Famagosta is a Sea-Town upon the East-side of the Iland and the chief Bulwark of it It is kept in good repair the Castle within being in form of a Cittadel The Turks have converted into Mosquees the Churches of the Christians who are not suffer'd to dwell in the City They have only the liberty to come thither in the day and to open Shops which they shut up again at night and then go home to their Houses in the neighbouring Villages The City is govern'd by a Bey who has no dependance upon the Governour of the Iland who is oblig'd to maintain a Galley for the guard of the Coast. Cerines is another little City but without any defence the Walls thereof being all tumbl'd to ruine Only there is a Fortress toward the Sea well built with a Garrison in it There is also a handsom Monastery of Religious Greeks built somewhat after the French manner wherein there are some of the Cells which stand so upon the Sea that they can fish out of the Windows The Fields about it bear Cotton which is the chief Revenue of the Monastery There is only the Fort of Cerines upon the North where the Iland does not lye so open as toward the South and East which besides by that of Famagosta are guarded by the Forts of Salines Limisso and Paphos The Inhabitants of the Iland are for the most part Greeks especially in the Villages They are clad after the Italian manner both Men and Women the Men wearing Hats like the Franks and retaining their ancient Customs as much as is possible for them to do The Trade of the Iland lyes in Cotton-wool which is the best in all the East and some Silk which is neither good nor very plentiful However the Iland is fertil enough did it not want Inhabitants enow to till it As for Bread Wine Cheese and Milk they are all very cheap and there is Oyl enough to serve the Iland But for the Wine it is transported out of the Iland to all the places of Trade not far distant The best grows at the foot of Olympus and is a delicious sort of Drink The Country between Nicosia and Famagosta produces Cotton of which there grows also some between Paphos and Limisso The chief place where the Silk is made is call'd Cytherea a large Town water'd with a fair River that runs from the Mountain of Venus This River turns several Mills which are the chief Revenue of the Iland There is Silk also made between Paphos and Limisso upon the Road between which two places you meet with a Town call'd Piscopi where are to be seen several Aquaeducts that carry'd the Water into the Rooms and Magazines where the people formerly made Sugar But since the Iland was tak'n from the Venetians one of the Basha's that was sent as Governour burnt up all the Sugar Canes in the Country Toward the Sea-shoar near Limisso is to be seen one of the fairest Gardens of Cyprus which they call Shiti to which there belongs a magnificent House and a Grove of Orange-Trees It was built by a rich Venetian who had a good Estate in Lands thereabouts In Cyprus the people take a vast number of Birds as big as a Lark especially near the Mountain of the Holy Cross. In the Months of September and October the Country-people of the adjacent Villages make themselves little Hutts in the Fields where usually those Birds are wont to light and feed upon the Seed of an Herb that grows there which when it is dry the people daub over with Lime-twigs But this they never do but when the North-West Wind blows and that the weather be very cold for with a Southerly Wind they never take any These Birds are accounted great Dainties by the Venetians who make no great Feasts in Carnival-time wherein they do not set these Birds upon the Table pil'd up in Dishes like a Pyramid They buy them up every year being first prepar'd fit for exportation by the people who having pull'd off their Feathers parboyl them and pickle them up in Barrels with Vinegar and Salt When they are to be eat'n they are set upon a Chafing-dish between two Dishes Sometimes there are above a thousand Barrels exported out of the Iland and indeed were it not for this Trade the poor people would see but very little Money Upon the Mountain of the Holy Cross stands a Church of the same name upon which the report of the Country goes that St. Helena returning from Jerusalem left a piece of our Saviour's Cross with the Christians of Cyprus who built a Church there by means of the Liberality of the same Princess Afterwards those of the Town of Leucara took it from hence and carry'd it to their Church where I saw it The piece is as big as the Palm of a Man's Hand set in a great Cross of Latten emboss'd with several Figures In the Kingdom of Cyprus there is an Archbishop and three Suffragans The Arch-bishop takes upon him the Title of Nicosia to which Famagosta belongs with all the Country between Nicosia and Famagosta with the Territories of Nicosia and all the Villages round He has a House about a League from Nicosia where the chiefest of his Revenue lies Some years since he caus'd the high Altar of the Church to be painted and guilded being a neat piece of Workmanship Thus the Arch-bishop has under his Jurisdiction all the middle part of the Island and some part toward the East The Bishops are the Bishops of Paphos Larneca and Cerines The Greeks are very much addicted to the observation of their ancient Customs and Ceremonies and generally their Masses are very long Upon Sundays and Holy-days they rise between one and two of the Clock in the Morning to Sing Mattins To which purpose there is a Clerk that goes from door to door and knocks with a Hammer to wake the people and then cries out with a loud voice Christians go the Church The men and old women fail not to go as being more zealous but the maids and young women never go out of doors in the night for fear of the Turks There are seven or eight Villages the Inhabitants whereof are Maronites who came from Mount Libanus and speak Arabic at home but Greek among the Islanders They follow the Romish Religion and have their Churches peculiar to themselves The Island of Cyprus is no wholesom Air being subject to the spoyl of a sort of Locusts that some Summers destroy all their Fruit aud Corn. During the heats they hover in the Air which they will dark'n with their number like a thick Cloud but
when the North Wind blows it carry's them into the Sea where they perish There are in Cyprus three sorts of colour'd Earth a Grey-black a Red and a Yellow of which the Venetians fetch away great quantities for their courser sort of Painting There 's also a Mine of White Alome which is the stone call'd Damiantlius 'T is thought that the Ancients had a way to spin this Alome into a kind of Cotton and so to make out of it a certain sort of Cloth that would not consume in the Fire but only be the more perfectly whiten'd thereby The Indians formerly bury'd the dead bodies of their Kings deceas'd in Shrouds of this kind of Linnen and then putting them into the Fire found the bodies all reduc'd to ashes but the Cloth whole out of which they took the ashes and carefully put them into an Vrne which was prepar'd for their preservation When the Basha of Cyprus has a mind to view the Fortress of Famagosta he sends to give the Bey who is Governour thereof notice of it For it is at the Governours choice whether he will give him admission or no. The Basha Hali-Giorgi being a comely old man of above a hundred and two years of age setting out of Nicosia in his Litter with about two hundred Horse when he was come within half a League of Famagosta the Governour of the place sent his Lieutenant with a hundred Horse to Compliment him and to conduct him to the Town Immediately they took upon them the Guard of the Basha's Litter who was not permitted to take along with him above eight or ten of his principal Officers The Cannons roar'd at his entry and he was treated magnificently but he lay not in the Town being conducted back by the same party to the place where they met him in the Morning Upon the third day of October we set Sail about three a Clock in the Morning with a West-North-West Wind and about Noon we were within sight of Famagosta into which place we could by no means be admitted by reason of the Wars between the Turks and Venetians But as far as I could discern a far off there is no easie access to the Port and for the City I could descry no part of it The fourth by break of day we got sight of the Coast of Syria Cape Canger and the Golf of Antioch and about Evening we arriv'd in the Road of Alexandretta From thence we went to Aleppo and stay'd there from the seventh of October to the thirtieth of December On the thirtieth we set forward for Nineveh and with little variation of the Road which I have already describ'd in my third Voyage from Paris We arriv'd the second day of February at Moussul or Nineveh where we stay'd 'till the fifteenth 'till the Kilets or Boats of the Country could be got ready Our Kilet carry'd thirty Passengers and sixty hundred of Aleppo Weight or thirty three thousand pound of Paris Weight upon which the Tigris bore us from Moussul to Babylon CHAP. VII A Continuation of the Road which the Author kept in the fourth Voyage into Asia and particularly of his passage upon the Tigris from Nineveh to Babylon THE fifteenth of February we put off from Moussul and after we had swam six hours we came to lye near a hot Bath about a Musket-shot from the Tigris It was throng'd with Sick people that came thither for their Recovery We kept our selves upon the Watch all night but for all we could do the Arabs stole two Coverlets from a Merchant and a Turk's Cloaths that was gone into the Bath The sixteenth after we had row'd about five hours we came to a huge Dam it is 200 Foot wide and makes a fall in the River of about 20 Fathoms steep The Arabians said that Alexander the Great made it to turn the course of the River others will have it that Darius caus'd it to be made to hinder the passage of the Macedonians by Water However we were forc'd to land our selves and our Goods and to lade them upon Horses which the Arabs brought us The passing this Dam is worthy observation For it is a thing of wonder to see the Kilet all of a sudden fall above sixscore Foot and yet to be kept by the Leather-Bottles still above Water The Water-men that guide the Boat tye themselves and their Oars fast to a Pearch bent like a Semicircle to defend themselves from the force of the Water And indeed this is the Dam that renders Tigris unnavigable The Kilet being come to the place where we expected it we put our Goods aboard and lay in the same place upon the Bank of the River For the Arabs if they perceive the Merchants asleep cut the Cords of the Kilet and setting it a-drift swim after it and rifle away what they please The seventeenth after three hours rowing we met with the River Zab that empties into the Tigris upon Chaldea-side Half a League above the River stands a fair Castle of Brick upon a little Hill but no body dwelling in it it runs to ruine We were twelve hours that day upon the Water and came to lye at a place which was full of Wood where we made great Fires and shot off our Muskets often in the night to scare the Lions The eighteenth we were upon the Water eighteen hours and lay upon the Bank of the River upon Assyria-side That Evening the Arabs brought us Milk-Meats and fresh Butter They swim from the other side of the River with a Boracho under their Stomachs and another upon their Heads wherein they bring their Commodities for which they will have no Money but only Tobacco or Bisket or Pepper The nineteenth in four hours time we met with a River call'd Altum-sou or The River of Gold It flows from the Mountains of the Medes and I travel'd by the side of it for three days together returning from Tauris to Aleppo and passing the Tigris to Mesia The Water of the River is of an excellent tast and it falls into Tigris upon Assyria-side All along the Tigris on the same side are great store of Bituminous Springs and other Streams of hot Water that smell of Sulphur All that day we saw none but Arabs and Curds marching along the Banks of the River the Curds upon Mesopotamia side and the Arabs upon Assyria side They were at War and both sides march'd in very good order The Young men went formost with Bows and Arrows and some Muskets but several Half-Pikes Next to them their Wives Virgins and Children with their Cattel Herds and Camels after which march'd the Old men in the rear As well the Curds as the Arabians sent out Horse-men to scout upon the high Grounds for as soon as they find any advantage they presently swim their Horses over the River and fall on Now because we would not trust those sort of People we row'd nineteen hours to avoid ' em The twentieth we were eleven hours upon the Tigris
and came to lye at a Town call'd Tegrit upon Mesopotamia side There belongs to the Town a Castle half ruin'd and yet there are still some handsom Chambers to be seen Upon the North and East the River serves for a Moat but upon the West and South it has a deep Artificial one pav'd with Free-stone The Arabians say that formerly it was the strongest place in all Mesopotamia though it be commanded by two Hills not far from it The Christians dwelt half a League from the City where the Ruines of a Church and part of a Steeple are still to be seen whereby it appears to have been a considerable Pile of Building The twenty-first after we had row'd three hours we met with a Town upon Assyria side which was call'd Amet-el-tour from the name of a person that lyes inter'd in a Monastery whom the people account to be a Saint Therefore is it a place of great Devotion among them so that great numbers of Votaries go thither in private That day we were twelve hours upon the Water and lay upon the Banks of the River The twenty-second having been upon the Water two hours we met with a great Channel cut out of Tigris to water the Lands which runs up as far as just over-against Bagdat and there falls into the Tigris again Coming thither we landed upon Chaldea side by reason that there were certain Turks with us who would of necessity perform their Devotions at a place call'd Samà tra In the same there is a Mosquee not above half a League from the River to which many Mahometans pay their Devoirs especially Indians and Tartars who believe forty of their Prophets to be buried there When they knew us to be Christians they would not permit us no not for Money to set our Feet in it About five hundred Paces from the Mosquee stands a Tower very ingeniously built There are two Stair-cases without that belong to it made twirling like a Periwinkle-shell one of which Stair-cases was built deeper into the Tower than the other I would have taken better notice of it could I have been permitted to have come nearer it Only I observ'd that it was made of Brick and that it seems to be very ancient Half a League from thence appear three great Portals that look as if they had been the Gates of some great Palace And indeed it is not improbable but that there was some great City thereabouts for for three Leagues all along the River there is nothing to be seen but Ruines We were twelve hours that day upon the Water and lay upon the Banks of Tigris according to custom The twenty-third we were twenty hours upon the Water and all the day long we saw nothing upon either side of the River but pitiful Hutts made of the Branches of Palm-trees where live certain poor people that turn the Wheels by means whereof they water the neighbouring Grounds We also met that day with a River call'd Odoine that falls into Tigris upon the side of the ancient Chaldea The twenty-fourth we were twenty-two hours upon the Water together never stirring off from the Kilet The reason is because the Merchants having tak'n out of the Kilet all their Money and the best part of their Merchandizes give them to the Country-people who carry them very faithfully to Bagdat whither they go to sell their own Commodities which the Merchants do to avoid the payment of Five in the Hundred in the City I trusted them also with several things of which they gave me a very good account as they did to others being contented with a small matter for their pains The twenty-fifth about four of the Clock in the Morning we arriv'd at Bagdat which is as usually call'd Babylon They open the Gates by six and then the Customers come to take an account of the Merchandize and to search the Merchants themselves If they find nothing about 'em they let the Merchants go but if they have any thing about 'em which ought to pay they carry the persons to the Custom-House where they write down the quantity of the Goods and let them go All the Merchandize upon the Kilet is carry'd thither also which the Merchant fetches away again in two or three days paying the Custom All which is done in very great order without any noise or disturbance in the least Though Bagdat usually bear the name of Babylon yet it is at a great distance from the ancient Babylon whereof in due place But now for Bagdat as it stands at this day Bagdat is a City seated upon the River of Tigris on the Coast of Persia and separated from Mesopotamia by the same River It lyes in 33 Deg. 15 Min. of Elevation The Chronicles of the Arabians report that it was built by one of their Califfs nam'd Almansour in the year of the Hegyra of Mahomet 145 and of Christianity 762 or thereabouts They call it Dar-al-sani that is the House of Peace Some say it deriv'd its name from a Hermitage that stood in a Meadow where the City now stands whence it was call'd Bagdat or a Garden bequeath'd About forty years ago digging up the Foundations of an Inn the Work-men found a Body entire habited like a Bishop with a Censor and Incense by him And in the same place several Cells of Religious Houses shew'd themselves which makes it very probable that where Bagdat is built there was anciently a great Monastery with several Houses where the Christians inhabited The City is about fifteen hundred Paces long and sev'n or eight hundred broad and cannot possibly be above three Miles in circuit The Walls are of Brick and terrass'd in some places with large Towers like Bastions Upon all these Towers there are mounted about sixty pieces of Cannon the biggest whereof carries not above a five or six Pound Ball. The Moats are wide and about five or six Fathom deep There are not above four Gates three upon the Land-side and one upon the River which you must cross over a Bridge of thirty-three Boats distant one from the other about the bredth of one Boat The Castle is in the City near to one of the Gates call'd El-Maazan upon the North side It is partly built upon the River encompass'd only with a single Wall terrass'd in some places and adorn'd with little Towers upon which are planted about a hundred and fifty Cannon but without Carriages The Moat is narrow and not above two or three Fathom deep neither is there any Draw-Bridge before the Gate The Garrison consists of three hundred Janizaries commanded by an Aga. The City is govern'd by a Basha who is generally a Vizier His House is upon the side of the River making a fair shew and he has alway ready at command six or sev'n hundred Horse There is also an Aga that commands three or four hundred Spahi's They have besides another sort of Cavalry which is call'd Ginguliler that is to say Men of Courage commanded by two Aga's
great Town Magar Gazer and Gorno At this last place Euphrates and Tigris meet together where are also three Castles to be seen one upon the Point where the two Rivers meet which is the strongest and where the Son of the Prince of Balsara then commanded the second upon Chaldea side and the third upon Arabia side Though the Customs be there exactly demanded and paid yet they never search any person The Tides come up to that place so that having but fifteen Leagues to Balsara we got thither in sev'n hours having both Wind and Tide All the Country between Bagdat and Balsara is inter-cut and parted by Dikes like the Low Countries the two Cities lying a hundred and sixty Leagues one from the other It is one of the best countries in the possession of the Grand Signor being stor'd with large Meadows and excellent Pasturage where are bred infinite numbers of Beasts especially Mares and Bufalo's The Female Bufalo's go twelve Months and yield so much milk that there are some which will give two and twenty Pints And there is so large a quantity of Butter made that in some Villages upon the Tigris we saw sometimes five and twenty sometimes twenty Barks lad'n with Butter which the people sell all along the Gulf of Persia as well upon Arabia as Persia side Half the way between Bagdat and Balsara we perceiv'd several Pavilions set up in the Meadows along by the side of the River Upon enquiry we heard that the Tefterdar was come from Constantinople to gather the Grand Signor's duty 's For from Bagdat to Gorno for all the Bufalo's as well Male as Female there is to be paid a Piaster and a quarter for every head once a year which is worth yearly to the Grand Signor a hundred and fourscore thousand Piasters Every Mare also pays two Piasters every Sheep ten Sous which if the Country people were not very cunning would be worth fifty thousand Piasters more than it is After this we came to Gorno a Fortress upon the point where the two Rivers meet besides two other small Castles upon each side so that there is no passing without leave Upon the Fort of Gorno which was well furnish'd with Cannon we saw the Prince of Balsara's Son who was Governour of the Fort. And here it is that the Account of the Customs is taken But though they are very exact in searching the Barks they are very civil for they search no body However lest any Goods should be hid between the Planks of the Ships over which they generally throw Fagots and Canes the Customers bring a great Piercer with which they bore the sides of the Bark quite through for the discovery of conceal'd Goods The Goods are Register'd at Gorno but the Customs are always paid at Balsara according to the accompt giv'n from the Fort. The same day entring into the Channel that is cut out of Euphrates to Balsara we met the chief of the Holland Factory taking his pleasure in a Boat cover'd with Scarlet who took me with him to Balsara Balsara stands upon the side of Arabia deserta two Leagues from the Ruines of a City which was formerly call'd Teredon and anciently stood in the Desert to which the Water was formerly conveigh'd out of Euphrates in a Brick Channel still to be seen By the Ruines it appears to have been a great City from whence the Arabians fetch away the Bricks and sell them at Balsara The City of Balsara is half a League from Euphrates which the Arabians in their Language call Shetel-areb or the River of Araebia The Inhabitants of the City have made a Channel to it about half a League long which bears Vessels of 150 Tun at the end whereof stands a Fort so that no Vessel can get into the Fort without leave The Sea is above fifteen Leagues off but the Tide comes up to the Channel and fills the River other fifteen Leagues upward beyond Gorno The Country is so low that were it not for a Dam that runs along the Sea-shoar it would often be in danger of being drown'd The Dam is above a League in length and built all of Free-stone so strong that the fury of the waves can do them no injury though it lie open to a Boystrous Sea It is not above a hundred years since Balsara belong'd to the Arabians of the Desert and had no commerce with the Nations of Europe For those people were contented to eat their own Dates having so great a quantity that they only live upon them 'T is the same thing all along the Gulf on each side for from Balsara to the River Indus for above six hundred Leagues together and all along the Coast of Arabia to Mascaté the poor sort of people know not what it is to eat Rice but live upon Dates and Salt-fish dry'd in the wind The Cows eat no Grass and though they go abroad in the fields they find little or nothing among the bushes which is proper for them to eat But every Morning before they drive them to the Field and when they return home they give them heads of fish and Date-nuts boil'd together The Turks having had War with the Arabians took Balsara and yet because the Arabians always hover'd about the Town and made booty of all they could lay their hands on they were forc'd to come to an agreement with them that the Arabs should quietly enjoy all the Desert 'till within a League of the City and that the Turks should remain peaceable Masters of the City where they have a Basha for Governour But this Treaty endur'd not long for in the middle of the City there is a Cittadel call'd Aushel Basha or the Basha's Court which the Turks built so that the Garrison being Turks and the Inhabitants Arabians who could not endure to be curb'd they oft-times quarrell'd with the Turks and came to blows Thereupon the Arabians of the Desert came to the relief of the Citizens and besieg'd the Basha in the Fortress At length because there could be no such agreement made but that one party or other took an occasion presently to break it there was one Basha whose name was Aiud who after many contests and revolts which had almost tyr'd him resolv'd to rid himself of the trouble and sold his Government for forty thousand Piasters to a rich Lord in the Country who presently rais'd a sufficient number of Souldiers to keep the people in awe This great man took upon him the name of Efrasias Basha being the Grandfather of Hussen Basha who was Governour at the time when I pass'd through before This Efrasias threw off the Turkish voak and took upon him the title of Prince of Balsara As for the Basha that sold his Government he no sooner arriv'd at Constantinople but he was strangl'd But after Amurath had taken Bagdat the Prince of Balsara was glad to feed him continually with Presents that chiefly consisted in Horses which are very beautiful in that Country The
Great Sha-Abas having taken Ormus sent a powerful Army under the Command of Iman-Kouli-Kan Governour of Shiras to take in Balsara Whereupon the Prince finding himself too weak to resist so great a Pow'r made an agreement with the Desert Arabians to break down the Dam that stops the Sea Which being perform'd in came the Sea tumbling fifteen Leagues to Balsara and four Leagues beyond it which constrain'd the Persians surrounded with water and hearing at the same time of the death of Sha-Abas to raise their Siege Since that inundation several Lands and Gardens have been utterly barren or have born very little by reason of the Salt which the Sea has left behind The Prince of Balsara has enter'd into Leagues with several strange Nations so that whencesoever you come you may be welcom There is so much liberty and so good order in the City that you may walk all night long in the Streets without molestation The Hollanders bring Spices thither every year The English carry Pepper and some few Cloves but the Portugals have no Trade at all thither The Indians bring Calicuts Indigo and all sorts of Merchandize In short there are Merchants of all Country's from Constantinople Smyrna Aleppo Damascus Cairo and other parts of Turkie to buy such Merchandizes as come from the Indies with which they lade the young Camels which they buy in that place for thither the Arabians bring them to put them to sale They that come from Diarbequir Moussul Bagdat Mesopotamia and Assyria send their Merchandizes up the Tigris by Water but with great trouble and expence In regard the Boats are to be tow'd by men that cannot go above two Leagues and a half in a day and against the Wind they cannot stir which makes them oft-times between Balsara and Bagdat to be above sixty days nay there have been some that have been three months upon the Water The Customs of Balsara amount to five in the hundred but generally you have some favour shew'd you either by the Customer or the Prince himself that the Merchant does not really pay above four in the hundred The Prince of Balsara is so good a Husband that he lays up three millions of Liuers in a year His chiefest Revenue is in four things Money Horses Camels and Date-trees but in the last consists his chiefest wealth For all the Country from the meeting of the two Rivers to the Sea for the space of thirty Leagues together is all cover'd with these Trees nor does any one dare to touch a Date 'till he has paid for every Tree three fourths of a Larin or nine Sous French The profit which the Prince makes upon money proceeds from this that the Merchants that come from abroad are oblig'd to carry their Reals to his Mint where they are Coyn'd and converted into Larins which is worth to him eight in the hundred As for his Horses there is no place in the world where there are more fit for travel or handsomer shap'd for there are some that will travel thirty hours together and never draw bit especially the Mares But to return to the Palm-trees it is worth observation that there is more Art to bring up those Trees than any other The Natives dig a hole in the ground wherein they heap a great quantity of Date-nuts in a Pyramidical form the top whereof ends in one single Nut which being cover'd with Earth produces the Palm-tree Most of the people of the Country do say that in regard there is among the Palm-trees the distinction of Male and Female that therefore they must be planted one by another for that otherwise the Female Tree will bear no Fruit. But others affirm that nicety to be unnecessary and that it susfices when the Male is in Blossom to take a Flower from the Male and put it into the Heart of the Female a little above the Stem for unless they should do so all the Fruit would fall off before it came to maturity There is at Balsara a Cady that administers Justice and who is establish'd by the authority of the Prince that commands there In the City are also three sorts of Christians Jacobites Nestorians and Christians of St. John There is also a House of Italian Carmelites and there was a House of Portugal Austin-Friars but they have forsak'n the Town ever since their Country-men quitted the Trade The Christians of St. John are very numerous at Balsara and the Villages thereabouts who anciently liv'd by the River of Jordan where St. John Baptiz'd and from whom they took their Name But since the time that Mahomet conquer'd Palestine though Mahomet formerly gave them his Hand and his Letters of Priviledge that they should not be molested nevertheless they that succeeded the false Prophet resolv'd to extirpate them all to which purpose they ruin'd their Churches burnt their Books and exercis'd all manner of cruelties upon their Persons which oblig'd them to retire into Mesopotamia and Chaldea and for some time they were under the Patriarch of Babylon from whom they separated about a hundred and sixty years ago Then they remov'd into Persia and Arabia and the Towns round about Balsara as Souter Despoul Rumez Bitoum Mono Endecan Calufabat Aveza Dega Dorech Masquel Gumar Carianous Balsara Onezer Zech Loza Nor do they inhabit City or Village by which there does not run a River And many of their Bishops have assur'd me that the Christians in all the foregoing places make above five and twenty thousand Families There are some among them who are Merchants but the most part of them are Trades-men especially Goldsmiths Joyners and Lock-smiths Their Creed is full of fables and foul errours The Persians and Arabians call them Sabbi a People that have forsak'n their own Religion to take up a new one In their own Language they call themselves Mendai Jahia or Disciples of St. John from whom as they ascertain us they have receiv'd their Faith their Books and their Traditions Every year they celebrate a Feast for about five days during which time they go in Troops to their Bishops who Baptize them according to the Baptism of St. John They never Baptize but in Rivers and only upon Sundays But before they go to the River they carry the Infant to Church where there is a Bishop who reads certain Prayers over the Head of the Child from thence they carry the Child to the River with a Train of Men and Women who together with the Bishop go up to the knees in Water Then the Bishop reads again certain Prayers out of a Book which he holds in his Hand which done he sprinkles the Infant three times saying Beesmebrad er-Rabi Kaddemin Akreri Menhal el gennet Alli Koulli Kralek or In the Name of the Lord first and last of the World and of Paradise the high Creator of all things After that the Bishop reads something again in his Book while the God-father plunges the Child all over in the Water after which they go all
to the Parents House to feast If any tax their Baptism for insufficient in regard the Three Persons of the Divinity are not nam'd therein they can make no rational defence for themselves Nor have they any knowledge of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity only they say that Christ is the Spirit and Word of the Eternal Father They are so blind as to believe the Angel Gabriel to be the Son of God begotten upon Light yet will not believe the Eternal Generation of Christ as God Yet they confess he became Man to free us from the Punishment of Sin and that he was conceiv'd in the womb of a Virgin without the knowledge of Man by means of the Water of a certain Fountain which she drank of They believe he was crucifi'd by the Jews that he rose the third day and that his Soul ascending up to Heaven his Body remain'd on Earth But like the Mahometans they corrupt their Faith by saying that Christ vanish'd when the Jews came to take him and that he deluded their cruelty with his Shadow In the Eucharist they make use of Meal or Flow'r kneaded up with Wine and Oyl For say they the Body of Christ being compos'd of the two principal parts Flesh and Blood the Flowr and the Wine do most perfectly represent them besides that Christ at his Supper made use of Wine only and not of Water They add Oyl to signifie the benefit we receive by his favour of the Sacrament and to put us in mind of our Love and Charity towards God and our Neighbour To make this Wine they take Grapes dry'd in the Sun which they call in their Language Zebibes and casting Water upon them let them steep for so long a time The same Wine they use for the Consecration of the Cup. They make use of Raisins in regard they are more easie to be had than Wine the Persians especially the Arabians under whose Government they live not permitting nor indeed allowing them the use of it Of all people that follow the Law of Mahomet there are none so opposite to other Religions as these Persians and Arabians about Balsara The words of their Consecration are no other than certain long Prayers which they make to praise and thank God at the same time blessing the Bread and Wine never making mention of his Body and Blood which they say is not at all necessary because God knows their intentions After all the Ceremonies are ended the Priest takes the Bread and having eaten some of it distributes the rest to the People As to their Bishops and Priests when any one dyes who has a Son they choose him in his place and if he have no Son they take the next a-kin that is most capable and best instructed in their Religion They that make the Election say several Prayers over him that is elected If he be a Bishop after he is receiv'd and that he go about to Ordain others he ought to fast six days during which time he continually repeats certain Prayers over him that is to be ordain'd Priest who also for his part fasts and prays all the said time And whereas I say the Father succeeds the Son it is to be observ'd that among the Christians in those Parts both Bishops and Priests marry as do the rest of the people only if their first Wife dye they cannot marry another unless she be a Virgin Moreover they that are admitted to Ecclesiastical Functions must be of the race of Bishops or Priests and their Mothers must have been always Virgins when they were marry'd All their Bishops and Priests wear their Hair long and a little Cross wrought with a Needle When there is any Wedding to be the kindred and persons invited go together with the Bridegroom to the House where the Bride lives Thither comes the Bishop also and approaching the Bride who is sitting under a Canopy he asks her if she be a Virgin If she answer that she is so he makes her confirm it by an Oath After which he returns to the Guests and sends his Wife with some other skilful Women to make an inspection If they find her to be a Virgin the Bishop's Wife returns and makes Oath of it and then they all go to the River where the Bishop re-baptizes the Couple to be marry'd Then they return toward the House and making a stop before they come quite near it the Bridegroom takes the Bride by the Hand and leads her seven times from the Company to the House the Bishop following them every time and reading certain Prayers After that they go into the House and the Bride and Bridegroom place themselves under the Canopy where they set their Shoulders one against another and the Bishop reads again causing them to lay their Heads together three times Then op'ning a Book of Divination and looking for the most fortunate day to consummate the Marriage he tells them of it But if the Bishop's Wife do not find the Bride to be a Virgin the Bishop can proceed no farther so that if the young Man have still a mind he must go to some meaner Priest to perform the Ceremony Which is the reason that the people take it for a great dishonour to be marry'd by any other than the Bishops for when a Priest marries 't is an infallible sign that the Bride was no Virgin The Priests also in regard they take it to be a great Sin for a Woman to marry not being a Virgin they never marry any such but by constraint and to avoid ensuing inconveniencies for sometimes in despite they will turn Mahometans The reason of the Inspection is that the Husbands may not be deceiv'd and to keep the young Girls in awe As to what they believe touching the Creation of the World they say that the Angel Gabriel undertrking to create the World according to the command which God gave him took along with him three hundred thirty-six thousand Demons and made the earth so fertile that it was but to Sow in the Morning and Reap at Night That the same Angel taught Adam to Plant and Sow and all other necessary Sciences Moreover that the same Angel made the seven lower Spheres the least whereof reaches to the Center of the World in the same manner as the Heavens do all contriv'd one within another That all these Spheres are of different Metals the first next the Center is of Iron the second of Lead the third of Brass the fourth of Laten the fifth of Silver the sixth of Gold and the seventh of Earth The seventh is that which contains all the rest and is the chiefest of all as being the most fruitful and profitable to Man and the most proper to preserve Mankind whereas the rest seem rather to be fram'd for its destruction They believe that over every Heaven there is Water whence they conclude that the Sun swims in a Ship upon that Water and that the Mast of his Ship is a Cross and that there
men cannot think upon any thing needful for them which is not to be found therein But instead of that satisfaction which I ought to have for having accomplish'd so great a work I find no reason but to be altogether griev'd When God demanding the cause the Angel Gabriel answer'd My God and Father I will tell you what afflicts me because that after the making of the World as I have done I foresee that there will come into it a prodigious number of Jews Turks Idolaters and other Infidels Enemies of your Name who will be unworthy to eat and enjoy the Fruits of our Labours To whom God thus reply'd Never grieve my Son there shall live in this World which thou hast built certain Christians of St. John who shall be my friends and shall be all sav'd Upon which the Angel admiring how that should be What said he will there not be several Sinners among those Christians and by consequence will not they be your Enemies To whom God thus concluded That at the day of Judgment the Good should Pray for the Wicked and by that means they should be all forgiv'n and obtain Salvation These Christians have a strange Antipathy against the Blew Colour call'd Indigo which they will not so much as touch For certain Jews dreaming that their Law should be abolish'd by St. John told it their Country-men Which they understanding and seeing that St. John prepar'd to Baptize Christ in a great rage fetch'd a vast quantity of Indigo which they call Nill in their Language and flung it into Jordan They add also that those waters continu'd unclean for some time and had hinder'd the Baptism of Christ had not God sent his Angels with a large Vessel of water which he caus'd them to fill out of Jordan before the Jews had defil'd it with Indigo for which reason God particularly Curs'd that Colour CHAP. IX A Continuation of the Road from Balsara to Ormus THe tenth of April we set out from Balsara for Bander-Congo for which passage we hir'd a Terrade or a Barque for the purpose for they which are laden with Dates are generally so overcharg'd that if a Storm rises they are in danger of being overset The River of Balsara is very dangerous by reason of the Sands which also lie up and down the Persian Gulf and are very prejudicial to Navigation in that place On both sides the Gulf that separates Persia from Arabia the Happy live a sort of poor people that follow no other Trade than fishing so poor that when they bring fish to your Vessel they require nothing for it but Rice and not the best neither but such course stuff as we feed our Hens and Pigs withall I gave them a Sack of thirty or forty pounds and bid them make merry with it but they told me they must be careful how they spent such Rice as that unless it were for their Sick or at their Weddings so that if the rest of Arabia the Happy be like that assuredly 't is rather a most unfortunate Country There are several Isles in the Persian Gulf but the chiefest of all is the Isle of Baharen where they fish for Pearls of which I have spoken in its proper place Near to the place where Euphrates falls from Balsarae into the Sea there is a little Island where the Barques generally come to an Anchor in expectation of the wind There we stay'd four days whence to Bandar-Congo it is fourteen days Sail and we got thither the twenty-third of April This place would be a far better habitation for the Merchants than Ormus where it is very unwholesom and dangerous to live But that which hinders the Trade from Bandar-Congo is because the Road to Lar is so bad by reason of the want of Water and craggy narrow ways which only Camels can endure but from Ormus to Lar the way is tollerable We stay'd at Bandar-Congo two days where there is a Portugais Factor who receives one half of the Customs by agreement with the King of Persia. By the way take notice that they who will go by Water from Ormus to Balsara must take the Natives for their Pilots and be continually sounding besides The thirtieth we hir'd a Vessel for Bander-Abassi and after three or four hours Sailing we put into a Village upon the Sea-side in the Island of Keckmishe Keckmishe is an Island three Leagues about and about five or six from Ormus It exceeds in Fertility all the Islands of the East that produce neither Wheat nor Barley but at Keckmishe is a Magazine of both without which Ormus would hardly subsist in regard it furnishes that City with most of their Provision for their Horses There is in the Island a Spring of good Water for the preservation of which the Persians have built a Fort least the Portugals when they held Ormus should get it into their Possession In 1641. aud 1642. the Hollanders falling out with the King of Persia about their Silk Trade besieg'd this Island For the Ambassadors of the Duke of Holstein coming into Persia the Dutch were jealous that they came to fetch away all the Silk and thereupon enhanc'd the Market from forty-two to fifty Tomans When the Ambassadors were gone the Dutch would pay no more than forty-four which was two Tomans more than they were us'd to do The King netl'd that they would not stand to their words forbid that they should make sale of their Goods 'till they had paid their Customs from which 'till that time they were exempted Thereupon the Hollanders besieg'd the Fortress of Keckmishe but the Heats were so intollerable that they were forc'd to quit their design with great loss of their Men and at length by great Presents to the chief Courtiers they obtain'd to pay no more than forty-six Tomans Larec is an Island nearer to Ormus than Keckmishe well inhabited and so stor'd with Stags and Hinds that in one day we kill'd five and forty From Keckmishe we Sail'd for Ormus where we arriv'd the first of May. I had put my choicest Goods in a Chest directed for the Hollaad Commander at Ormus by which means I got the Custom free The Persian Gulf is the most dangerous Gulf I know by reason of the shallowness and sharp Promontories that point out into the Sea and therefore the best way is to take a Pilot at Ormus or Bander-Congo and the most proper Pilots are the Fishermen who are only skill'd in that Sea and no farther The Soyl about the Persian Gulf is dry Sand and without Water so that it is impossible to Travel by Land from Ormus to Balsara The Merchants would be glad to find a way through the Coast of Arabia to get to Mascaté whence there might a cut be made to Sindi Diu or Surat which are the three chief Ports of India During the difference between the King of Persia and the Hollanders the Emir of Vodana an Arabian Prince offer'd to shew them an easie Road from Mascaté to
the heat of the Sun-beams and if you set a Candle by it in the night you might read two hundred Paces off in your Bed by the reflection From Lyons I rode to Marseilles and set Sail for Ligorn the tenth of January 1664. in a small Bark but being scar'd by a great Vessell that we saw off at Sea we came to an Anchor in the Port of Agaïe two Leagues from Frejus where there stood a pittiful Fort with two or three Houses There we also went ashore and saw a Garden the Alleys of which were distinguish'd with rows of Citron and Orange Trees which look'd as Green in the depth of Winter as in the midst of Summer with several other curiosities after the mode of Italy We were no sooner got aboard again but we perceiv'd another Vessel making into the same Port with sull Sail. It was a Vessel which the Masters of the Forein Office at Toulon had set out to force all Ships that were bound into Italy to pay certain Customs which those of Marseilles would not pay when they came into the Port of Toulon Thereupon foreseeing that there would be mischief done I call'd for my little Chests that contain'd my Goods of greatest value carrying some part my self and giving the rest to one of my most trusty Servants thinking to have skipt into a Genoa Bark that lay hard by us but instead of leaping a-board I fell into the Sea where by reason of the Tumult I had perish'd without relief had I not by good fortune laid hold of a Cable and redeem'd my self At what time one of my Servants luckily coming to my ayd with much ado drew me up safe again Having escap'd this danger I got a-shoar with such of my Servants as I had about me and meeting with a Bark of Frontignan that carry'd Languedock-Wine to the Coast of Italy I hir'd him for Ligorn and setting Sail we first touch'd Villa-franca and afterwards at Monaco At Monaco I went a-shoar and went to wait upon Madam the Princess who shew'd me the Rarities in the Castle among the rest several pieces of extraordinary Painting several pieces of Clock-work and Goldsmiths-work But among all her Curiosities she shew'd me two pieces of Crystal about the bigness of two Fists each in one of which there was above a Glass full of Water in the other a good quantity of Moss which were clos'd in by Nature when the Crystal first congeal'd Monaco is a Castle situated upon a steep Rock advancing out into the Sea which advantage together with others which it receives from Art and Nature renders it one of the most considerable Forts in Italy The next day finding the Frontignan-Vessel to be deep-laden and that it made little way I took a Faluke and kept along by the Shoar which was most pleasantly adorn'd with beautiful Villages and Houses as far as Savona where I chang'd my Faluke to compleat the rest of the way which I had to Genoa Half the way we did very well but the Wind rising we were forc'd to put in to a great Town where we landed and from thence having but nine Miles I got in good time by Horse to Genoa There can be no Prospect certainly more pleasing than that nine Miles riding For on the one side you see nothing but a continu'd Row of magnificent Buildings and lovely Gardens on the other a calm Shoar upon which the Waves seem not to beat but lovingly to kiss Arriving at Genoa I met with the rest of my Servants and at the end of two days I embarqu'd for Ligorn where we arriv'd in four and twenty hours From Ligorn I went to the Court of Florence to wait upon the Grand Duke By whom I had the honour to be admitted into his Chamber where I found no body attending but one Mute who had a long time serv'd his Highness and I observ'd that they understood one another by Signs as perfectly as if the Mute had had his Speech and Hearing So that when-ever the Duke sent him into his Closet for any Papers or other thing whatsoever he never fail'd to bring the right After I had tak'n my leave of the Duke he sent me a noble Present of Wine and Fruits but that which I valu'd more than all the rest was a Case of Medicaments and Counter-poysons in the composition whereof the Italians are very exquisite And yet they did me no service for when I came into the hot Countries their fermentation was so strong that all the Oyls and Treacles broke their several Boxes that I could save nothing of that precious Present The next day being the twenty-sixth of March 1664 I embarqu'd with all my Servants in a Dutch Vessel call'd The Justice The twenty-seventh we staid in the Road expecting the rest of the Fleet consisting of eleven Ships two Men of War and nine Merchant-mon four of which were bound for Smyrna three for Ancona and two for Venice About seven that evening we set Sail and all that night the Wind was favourable but blew hard and veer'd often which was the reason that two of our Fleet separated from us steering between the Isle of Elbe and Corsica while we kept on between the Isle of Elba and Italy The twenty-eighth by eight in the Morning we found our selves between Porto Ferraro and Piombino and it being fair Weather we had a pleasant prospect of those two places From thence we steer'd between two Ilands the one call'd Palmajela the other being nameless About six hours after we saw Portolongone afterwards at a distance we descry'd Monte-Christo An hour after Noon we discover'd Castiglon-sore all the rest of the day we coasted by the Ilands of Gigio and Sanuti The twenty-ninth with the same Wind at North-West by Morning we discover'd the Ilands of Pontia and Palmerola and about Evening those of Ventitione and Ischia Night approaching and there being no news of the Ships we had lost instead of making the Pharo of Messina it was resolv'd that we should steer a Course round about Messina where we expected to overtake them At eleven a Clock in the Evening we had but little Wind at North-North-West so that we made not above fourteen Leagues of way The thirty-first the same Wind continu'd with a high Sea but about nine at Night the Wind chopping about to the West we kept our former Course The first of April by eight of the Clock in the Morning we discover'd the three Ilands that lye before Trepano Levanzo Maretima and Favagna The second and third the Weather was ill and the Wind unconstant so that we made but little way The fourth by break of day we discover'd the Iland of Pantalarea The fifth by Morning we found our selves within a League and a half of the Coast of Sicily just against Cape Passaro at what time the Weather being fair we had a view of Mount Gibello all cover'd with Snow Doubling the Cape in the Afternoon we discover'd the Coast of Saragossa The sixth
under the Jurisdiction of a Bey Having past the Tigris all the Country between that and Tauris is almost equally divided between Hills and Plains the Hills are cover'd with Oaks that bear Galls and some Acoms withal The Plains are planted with Tobacco which is transported into Turkie for which they have a very great Trade One would think the Country were poor seeing nothing but Galls and Tobacco but there is no Country in the World where there is more Gold or Silver laid out and where they are more nice in taking Money that is in the least defective either in weight or goodness of Metal For Galls being a general Commodity for Dying and no where to be found so good as there bring a vast Trade to the Country wherein there are no Villages yet it is over-spread with Houses a Musquet-shot one from another and every Inhabitant has his quarter of his Vineyard by himself where they dry their Grapes for they make no Wine From Geziré to Amadié days 2 Amadié is a good City to which the Natives of a great part of Assyria bring their Tobacco and Gall-nuts It is seated upon a high Mountain to the top whereof you cannot get in less than an hour Toward the middle of the Rock three or four large Springs fall down from the Cliffs where the Inhabitants are forc'd to water their Cattel and fill their Borachio's every morning there being no Water in the City It is of an indifferent bigness and in the middle is a large Piazza where all sorts of Merchants keep their Shops It is under the Command of a Bey that is able to raise eight or ten thousand Horse and more Foot than any other of the Beys by reason his Country is so populous From Amadié to Giousmark days 4 From Giousmark to Alback days 3 From Alback to Salmastre days 3 Salmastre is a pleasant City upon the Frontiers of the Assyrians and Medes and the first on that side in the Territories of the Persian King The Caravan never lyes there because it would be above a League out of the way but when the Caravan is lodg'd two or three of the principal Merchants with the Caravan-Bashi according to custom go to wait upon the Kan The Kan is so glad that the Caravan takes that Road that he presents the Caravan-Bashi and those that go with him with the Garment of Honour or the Calaat the Bonnet and Girdle which is the greatest Honour that the King or his Governour can do to Strangers From Salamastre to Tauris days 4 In all thirty-two days journey this way from Aleppo to Tauris But though this be the shortest cut and where they pay least Customs yet the Merchants dare hardly venture for fear of being ill us'd by the Beys Teren whose Capital City the Persians call Cherijar is a Province between Mazandran and the ancient Region of the Persians known at this day by the name of Hierac to the South-East of Ispahan 'T is one of the most temperate Countries that has nothing in it of the contagious Air of Guilan where the King goes for the purity of the Air and for his sport of Hunting besides that it produceth excellent Fruits in many places The Capital City whereof which some call by the name of the Province is of a moderate compass but there is nothing worthy observation in it only a League from it are to be seen the Ruines of a great City which had been two Leagues in Circuit There were abundance of Towers all of burnt Brick and Pieces of the Wall standing There were also several Letters in the Stones which were cemented into the Walls but neither Turks Persians nor Arabians could understand them The City is round seated upon a high Hill at the top whereof stood the Ruines of a Castle which the Natives say was the Residence of the Kings of Persia. CHAP. V. The Road from Aleppo to Ispahan through the small Desert and through Kengavar I Will describe this Road as if I were to return from Ispahan to Aleppo This Road lies through Kengavar Bagdat and Anna where you enter into the Desert which I call The little Desert because you get over it in far less time than the great Desert that extends Southwards to Arabia the Happy and where you may often find Water all the whole Journey being not far distant from the River Euphrates A man that is well mounted may ride this way from Ispahan to Aleppo in three and thirty days as I have done and perhaps in less if the Arabian whom you take for your guide at Bagdat knows the shortest cut through the Wilderness The Horse Caravans travelling from Ispahan to Kengavar are fourteen or fifteen days upon the Road but being well mounted ten or twelve in a Company you may Ride it in five or six days The Country through which you travel is very fertile in Corn and Rice it produces also excellent Fruits and good Wine especially about Kengavar which is a large Town and well peopl'd From Kengavar to Bagdat I was ten days upon the Road. The Country is not so fertile but very stony in some parts And it consists in Plains and small Hills there being not a Mountain in all the Road. Now for a man that travels quick the Road lies thus From Ispahan to Consar From Consar to Comba From Comba to Oranguié From Oranguié to Nahoüand From Nahoüand to Kengavar Fron Kengavar to Sahana From Sahana to Polisha or the Bridge-Royal being a great Stone Bridge From Polisha to Maidacht From Maidacht to Erounabad From Erounabad to Conaguy From Conaguy to Caslisciren From Caslisciren to Iengui-Conaguy From Iengui-Conaguy to Casered From Casered to Charaban From Charaban to Bourous From Bourous to Bagdat There are some who instead of passing through Kengavar take Amadan one of the most considerable Cities of Persia in their way and so from thence to Toucheré but the way is longer and according to the Road which I have set down you are to leave Amadan to the North upon the right hand Between Sahana and Polisha you leave the only high Mountain in all the Road to the North. It is as steep and as straight as a Wall and as high as you can see you may observe the Figures of men clad like Priests with Surplices and Censors in their hands and yet neither can the Natives tell you nor any person imagin the meaning of those Sculptures At the foot of the Rock runs a River over which there is a Bridge of Stone About a days journey beyond the Mountain you meet with a little City whose situation the Streams that water it the good Fruits that grow there and particularly the excellent Wine which it affords render a most pleasant Mansion The Persians believe that Alexander when he return'd from Babylon dy'd in this place what-ever others have writt'n that he dy'd at Babylon All the rest of the Country from this City to Bagdat is a Country of Dates
arriv'd upon Easter-eve and as we enter'd into the City the great Guns went off round the City in honour of the Resurrection At Rome we all separated according as our Business led us CHAP. VI. Another Road from Constantinople to Ispahan by the Euxin or Black Sea with some Remarks upon the principal Cities thereabouts THere are three Roads yet remaining leading out of Europe into Persia or the Indies That of Constantinople all along the Coasts of the Black Sea that of Warsovia crossing the same Sea at Trebisond and that of Mosco down the Volga which has been amply describ'd by Olearius Secretary to the Embassy of the Duke of Holstein In this and the next Chapter I shall describe the Way from Constantinople all along the Black Sea and that from Warsovia not knowing any person that has hitherto mention'd any thing upon this subject And first of all I will give a short Description of the principal Places that lye upon that Sea as well upon the side of Europe as of Asia with the just distances of one Place from another The principal Cities upon the Black Sea on the Coast of Europe From Constantinople to Varna they count it two hundred Miles four of which make an Alman League miles 200 From Varna to Balshinké miles 36 From Belshinké to Bengali miles 70 From Bengali to Constance miles 60 From Constance to Queli miles 25 Near to this City of Queli the great Arm of Danow throws it self into the Black Sea Here is the grand Fishery for Sturgeon From Queli to Aquerman miles 50 The City of Aquerman belongs to a Kan of the lesser Tartary but it is not the place of his residence for he keeps his Court at Basha-Serrail twenty-five miles up in the Land From Aquerman to Kefet or Kaffa miles 350 This is a great City and a place of great Trade wherein there are above a thousand Families of the Armenians and about five hundred Greeks They have every one their Bishop and several Churches St. Peter's is the biggest very large and very beautiful but it falls to decay because the Christians have not Wealth enough to repair it Every Christian aboue fifteen years of age pays a Piaster and a half tribute to the Grand Signor who is Lord of the City and he sends a Bashae that lives in the ancient City call'd Frink-Hessar However the Kan of the Lesser Tartary extends his Jurisdiction as far as the Gates of Kaffa From Kaffa to Assaque miles 70 Assaque is the last City in Europe belonging also to the Grand Signor By it runs a great River of the same name the other side being in the Territories of the Duke of Muscovy Down this River come the Cossacks that do so much mischief to the Turks For sometimes they come with threescore or fourscore Gelia's which are a kind of Brigantines the bigger sort of which carry a hundred and fifty men the less a hundred Sometimes they divide themselves into two parts one of which makes Havock toward Constantinople the other Ravages the Coast of Asia as far as Trebizond The Coast of Europe bord'ring upon the Black Sea is 861 miles in length The chief Cities upon the Black Sea on the Coast of Asia which is 1170 miles in length From Constantinople to Neapoli miles 250 In this City are made the greatest part of the Galleys and Vessels that belong to the Grand Signor From Neapoli to Sinabe miles 250 From Sinabe to Ouma miles 240 From Ouma to Kerason miles 150 From Kerason to Trebisond miles 80 From Trebisond to Rise miles 100 From Rise to Guni miles 100 The City of Guni belongs half to the Grand Signor and half to the King of Mengrelia with whom he keeps a good Correspondence because the greatest part of the Steel and Iron that is spent in Turkie comes out of Mengrelia through the Black Sea The only good Ports upon the Black Sea from Constantinople to Mengrelia are Quitros Sinabe or Sinope Onnye Samsom Trebisond Gommé The Haven of Quitros is very deep and the Vessels lie shelter'd from the winds but the entrance into it is very bad which only the Pilots of the place or they who have often accustom'd themselves to that Trade can only find out It seems that anciently there had been most stately Buildings round about the Port and several noble Pillars are to be seen all along the shore not to speak of those which have been Transported to Constantinople Near the City toward the South stands a high Mountain whence there flows good store of excellent Water which at the bottom gathers into one Fountain To go from Constantinople for Persia by Sea you must embark at Constantinople for Trebisond and many times for Rise or Guni which are more to the North. They that Land at Trebisond go directly to Erzerom which is not above five days Journey off and from Erzerom to Erivan or Tunis But there are few that will venture upon this Sea where there is no good Anchorage besides that it is subject to prodigious Tempests from which there are very few good Ports to defend them which is the reason it is call'd Cara-denguis or the Black Sea The Eastern people giving to all things mischievous and dangerous the Epithet of Black They that are Bound for Rise or Guni go to Testis the Capital City of Giorgia and thence to Erivan for though the way be bad yet it is far better and smoother than the Road to Tauris The principal places from Teflis to Erivan are these together with their respective distances From Teflis to Soganlouk leagues 3 From Soganlouk to Senouk-kupri leagues 7 From Senouk-kupri to Guilkac leagues 7 From Guilkac to Daksou leagues 6 From Dakson to Achikent leagues 6 From Achikent to Dillou leagues 6 From Dillou to Yazegi leagues 6 From Yazegi to Bicheni leagues 4 From Bicheni to Erivan leagues 2 From Erivan you keep the ordinary Road to Tauris CHAP. VII The Road from Warsow to Ispahan over the Black Sea and from Ispahan to Mosco with the Names of the principal Cities and Islands of Turky according to the vulgar pronunciation and as they are call'd in the Language of the Turks FRom Warsow upon the left hand of the Vistula the ordinary residence of the Kings of Poland to Lublin days 6 From Lublin to Iluove days 5 There all the Bales are open'd and the Customers take Five in the Hundred for their Merchandize From Iluove to Jaslovieer days 12 This is the last City of Poland toward Moldavia where if you sell any quantity of Goods you must pay Five per Cent. From Jaslovieer to Yashé days 8 This is the Capital City of Moldavia and is the Residence of the Vaywood which the Grand Signor sends to govern in the Country There they open all the Bales and there is a Roll of what every Merchant ought to pay which may amounts to Five per Cent. From Yashé to Ourshaye days 3 This is the last City of Moldavia
Edzerbaijan is very cold but very healthy The Air of Mazandran is very unwholsom for being a low fenny Country and full of Insects when the Waters dry up in the Summer the Insects also dye and infect the Air. Sometimes those bad Waters over-flow the Country in so much that the Inhabitants receive a tincture in their Complexions from the colour of the Earth The Province of Guilan is included in the Province of Mazandran and the Air is so unwholsom that the People cry of him that is sent to command there Has he robb'd stol'n or murther'd that the King sends him to Guilan At Ispahan which is almost in the middle of Persia there are six months of hot and six months of cold weather The Snow falls three or four times in a season and sometimes so very thick that there is hardly any travelling upon the Road. About a League from the City toward the Mountain there stands a Stone about two or three Foot high which when the Snow hap'ns to cover prognosticates a plentiful Year and the first Country-man that carries the news thereof to the King receives a hundred Tomans As for Rain there is very little falls there unless it be in April and then it sometimes rains very hard In the Southern Provinces the heats are very excessive and kill abundance of our Europeans especially those that are giv'n to drink All Persia is water'd with little Rivers but there is not one navigable River through the whole extent of it unless it be Aras or the Araxes of the Indians which carries some few flat-bottom'd Boats The other Rivers instead of growing bigger the farther they keep their course from the Springs grow shallower for want of Water by reason of the infinite number of Kreises or Channels which they cut out of the Rivers to water the Lands which would not bring forth so much as only Grass without the help of those Cuts unless it be in the Province of Mazandran which from September to March seems a kind of Terrestrial Paradise through the pleasing variety of Herbs and Fruits However Persia in general being thus water'd is a most fruitful Country though it be true that many of their Springs and Channels are lost and brok'n And Mirza-Ibrahim Governour of the Province of Edzerbaijan told me one day that in the very Territory of Tauris there were above two hundred Springs utterly lost either by accident or negligence As for their Gardens they water them with Well-water by the help of a Wheel and an Ox but the running Water is much better as not being so cold and more fatning to the Earth And therefore the Fruits that grow in the Mountains which are only water'd by the Rain or by the Dews are much better tasted and keep longer Persia is a mountainous Country but for the most part the Mountains are very dry and barren As for Woods there are none in all the Country Travellers are also forc'd to go a great way out of their Road to find a Spring and sometimes they shall ride ten or twelve Leagues before they meet with any Water but what they carry in their Bottels There are some Mountains out of which they dig Salt as Stones out of a Quarrey There are also Plains where the Sand is nothing but Salt though it be not so savoury as our Northern Salt Of late several Copper-Mines have been found out of which the Natives make all sorts of Kitchen-Housholdstuff Their Lead comes from Kerman their Iron and Steel from Corasan and Kasbin though not so good as that of Spain Their Steel is very fine with a smooth grain and grows very hard in the Water but it is as brittle as Glass Neither will this sort of Steel agree with the Fire so that if the Fire have not more than a double heat when the Steel is forg'd it will look just like a piece of burnt Charcoal The Steel which we call Damas-Steel comes from the Indies and the Persians call it Gauherdar There are also some Mines of Gold and Silver in Persia wherein it appears that they have anciently wrought Sha-Abas also try'd again but found his expence to be more than his profit whence it is become a Proverb in Persia Nokre Kerven dehkrarge nohhassel The Silver-Mine of Kerven where they spend ten to get nine which is the reason that all the Gold and Silver of Persia comes out of Forein Countries CHAP. II. Of the Flowers and Fruits of Persia of Turquoises and Pearls THE Flowers of Persia are nothing comparable to our European Flowers neither for variety nor beauty For having pass'd the Tigris in the Road to Persia you meet with nothing but Roses and Lillies and some other Fruits peculiar to the Country As for Roses they have great store which they distil as they do Orange-flowers and transport the Waters into all the Eastern parts of Asia I never left the Court of Persia but some of the Lords especially four of the white Eunuchs beg'd of me to bring them some Flowers out of France for they have every one a Garden before their Chamber door and happy is he that can present the King with a Posie of Flowers in a Crystal Flower-Pot There are in Persia Apples Pears Oranges Granates Prunes Cherries Apricots Quinces Chesnuts Medlers and other sorts of Fruit which is not generally so well-tasted as ours Their Apricots indeed especially the lesser sort are better than ours When you op'n this Apricot the Stone cleaves in two and then the Kernel which is only a small Skin as white as Snow is more pleasing to the tast than if it had been preserv'd As for their Melons they are most excellent and very plentiful neither is it so dangerous to eat them to excess as ours There have been some that have eat'n six and thirty pound in a day and have never been the worse There is a prodigious quantity of them sold in Ispahan where they are brought to Market from midnight 'till four a Clock in the afternoon Those Melons which are first in season and are call'd Guermez are insipid and tast of nothing but Water However the Physicians advise you to eat them saying that they plump up the Flesh and renew the habit of the Body The next to the Guermez are better than they and they increase in goodness 'till they come to be quite out of season the last of which they keep all the Winter long Though they have such vast plenty yet they never leave but one Melon upon a stalk and when it is as big as a Nut the Gard'ner or his Wife or his Children lye down upon the ground and lick off the Down which they say keeps the Melon from being sweet and rip'ning kindly The Persians have also a particular sort of Quince-Pepin but not so good as ours which they fry unpar'd casting great store of Salt in the Pan to excite thirst and then present them to their Friends at their Collations They have also Almonds and Figs
and compound it with a Water which they cause them to drink who have committed any Sin after they have been at Confession for it They call that Water the Cazi's Water which Urin ought to be preserv'd forty days with an infusion of Willow-Bark and certain Herbs When any person is confess'd of his Sin if it be a crying Sin the party is bound to stay ten days in the Cazi's House and not to eat or drink but what the Priest gives them And in order to Absolution the Priest strips him naked and tyes a little Dog to his right great Toe which he leads with him about the Cazi's House wherever he goes sometimes a whole day sometimes longer according to the hainousness of the crime In that posture he desires the Cazi to purifie him telling him that for his part he believes himself to be purify'd The Priest makes answer that it is the Dog that must purifie him and not he After that he powrs the compounded water seven times upon his head then gives him a draught to drink and so he is absolv'd This penitence costs the criminal Sawce who is afterwards bound to feast all his friends at the Cazi's House Being surpriz'd at this superstition I ask'd whether the women were shrifted thus by the Cazi but I found that the Cazi's Wives confess and absolve the women and maids One more strange custom they have that when a man is upon the point of death they take a little Dog and set it upon the expiring parties brest When he is just breathing his last they put the mouth of the Dog to the mouth of the person dying and cause him to bark twice in that posture that the Soul of the deceas'd may enter into the Dog who they say will deliver it into the hands of the Angel appointed to receive it Moreover when any Dog happ'ns to dye they carry him out of the City and pray to God for the Carrion as if the Beast receiv'd any kindness after death by their Prayers Of the Beasts which they love or hate THere are some Beasts which the Gaurs do mightily respect and to which they give a great deal of Honour There are others which they as much abhor and which they endeavour'd to destroy as much as in them lies believing that they were not created by God but that they came out of the body of the Devil whose ill nature they retain The Beasts which they principally admire are the Cow the Oxe and the Dog They are expresly forbid to eat of the flesh of a Cow or an Oxe or to kill them The reason why they so esteem these Creatures is because the Oxe labours for man and Ploughs the Ground that produces his food As for the Cow they more dearly affect her for the Milk she gives but especially for the purifying quality of her Urine The Creatures which they abhor are Adders Serpents Lizards Toads Frogs Creyfish Rats Mice but above all the rest Cats which they say are the resemblance of the Devil who gave them so much strength that a man can hardly kill them so that they rather suffer the inconveniency of Rats and Mice than ever to keep a Cat in their Houses As for the other Animals before-mention'd if any of the Gaurs fall sick they hire poor people to go and find those Creatures out and kill them which they reck'n in the number of those good works that comfort the Souls of the deceas'd The reason why they hate them so is because they believe the Devils make use of them to torment the Damn'd and therefore they do a work of charity that destroy them whereby they mitigate the pains and torments of Souls in Hell The last King of these Gaurs was Sha-Iesherd who was driv'n out of his Country by Omar the second successor to Mahomet Of the RELIGION of the ARMENIANS and of their Principal CEREMONIES CHAP. IX How the Armenians Consecrate and Administer the Sacrament SInce the Armenians Traded into Europe and began to be Travellers their Churches are better set out then they were heretofore They spare no cost to adorn the Choir and the Altar you tread upon rich Carpets and for the structure and embellishments of it they employ the best Workmen and the choicest Materials they can meet with From the body of the Church to the Choir there is usually an ascent of five or six Steps Nor is there above one Altar in any Church upon which they set the Consecrated Bread before they set the Chalice where the Wine is When the Mass for the Ceremony is said by an Arch-bishop at the reading of the Gospel they light an abundance of Wax Tapers which Tapers are like Torches After the Gospel is read several of the Noviciates take sticks in their Hands about five foot long at the end whereof are Latten Plates with little Bells hanging about them which when they are shak'd imitate the sound of Cymbals Other Noviciates there are which hold a Copper Plate in their Hands hung about with Bells which they strike one against another and at the same time the Ecclesiasticks and Laity sing together indifferent Harmoniously All this while the Archbishop has two Bishops of each side of him who are in the room of a Dean and a Sub-dean and when it is time he goes and unlocks a Window in the Wall on the Gospel side and takes out the Chalice where the Wine is Then with all his Musick he takes a turn about the Altar upon which he at length sets down the Chalice saying certain Prayers After that with the Chalice in his hand and the Bread upon the Chalice he turns toward the people who presently prostrate themselves upon the Ground beat their Brests and kiss the Earth while the Arch-bishop pronounces these words This is the Lord who gave his Body and Blood for you Then he turns toward the Altar and eats the Bread dip'd in the Wine for they never drink the Wine but only dip the Bread in it That done the Arch-bishop turns once more toward the people with the Bread and Chalice in his hand and they that will receive come one after another to the bottom of the Choir whither it is not lawful for any Lay-person whatsoever to ascend to whom the Arch-bishop gives the Bread dip'd in Wine that is in the Chalice which Bread is without leven flat and round about as thick as a Crown and as big as the Host of the Mass being Consecrated the day before by the Priest whose Office it is They never put Water in their Communion-Wine affirming that Water is for Baptism and that Christ when he instituted the Holy Supper drank it pure without any mixture of Water When the Armenians come to the Communion the Arch-bishop or the Priest says these words I confess and believe that this is the Rody and Blood of the Son of God who takes away the sins of the World who is not only ours but the Salvation of all Mankind The
their Inferiors after that they get a Horseback and return their Visits The Curtisans continue their Visits all the year long and going to the Noble-mens Houses stay in the great Hall till they come out of their Harams Whither when the Noblemen come they lay their hands upon their stomachs and bow which is their manner of saluting the Company that tarries for them After some few Compliments they get a Horseback attended by all their Visitants who accompany them to the King's House in expectation of some kindness by vertue of their favour The favours which the King usually does to such people is to send them to the Governours of Provinces with a Hawk or a Calaat with order that the said Governours remember the Serjeant Porter The Kan being advertiz'd that the Calaat is coming he rides forth of the City to meet it attended by all his principal Officers the chief of the City and the greatest part of the Inhabitants The Juglers also must give their attendance together with the Drums and Trumpets and all the Musick-makers They rendezvouz usually in a Garden one or two leagues from the City where the King's Messenger stays with the Calaat So soon as the Governour perceives him he makes a low obeysance and a Prayer for the King giving God thanks for that the King is pleas'd to preserve him in his memory then he puts on the Calaat which is according to the quality of the Governour sometimes the Robe alone sometimes Robe and Cloak sometimes Robe Cloak Girdle and Bonnet to which if he be a Grandee are added the Scimitar and Dagger which method is also observ'd toward Embassadors When the Kan has put on the Calaat he returns to the City with all his Retinue goes to the King's House for the King has a House in every City kisses the Columns of the Gate and makes certain other Prayers for the prosperity of the King At length he rides home where he makes a great Feast shewing the Calaat to all persons that come to him who by way of complement cry Moubarek-bashet that is may it be blest and prove a good omen The Persians are not much addicted to play for besides that the Law forbids it the Meshaldar-Bashi has a power to fine and punish Gamesters as I have said already For which reason he has spies to which the meaner sort of people dare not refuse entrance into their Houses but the richer sort laugh at 'em and will give 'em nothing Among the Persian Games there is one game at Cards which the Persians call Gengesé We have but four distinct marks upon ours but they have eight They also play at a kind of Chess and at Trictrac which two Games are most in use The Shopkeepers play in the Streets with little Marble-bowls not much unlike our Childrens Bowling-stones But as for Bowling-greens or Tennis-Courts they know not what they mean Neither the Persians nor any of the Eastern People accustom themselves to walk as we do And therefore when they see us walking to and fro together in a Garden-Ally for two or three hours together they are amaz'd They only spread a Carpet in the fairest place of the Garden and set themselves down to contemplate the verdure of the place and if they rise 't is only to pull the fruit from the trees For they love to eat what they gather themselves never caring for what others have handl'd The Men never dance only the Women of Pleasure which are always sent for to their Feasts where they dance open-fac'd and shew a thousand postures to divertise the Company Their juglers are every jot as good as ours but whereas ours make use of Balls they shew their tricks with large Hen-eggs Their Dancers upon the Ropes far exceed ours I have seen some of them that have ty'd a Rope to the top of a high Tower and fasten'd the other to the ground and then walking up to the top with their counterpoises in their hands have laid themselves upon the Rope upon their backs and have slid to the bottom with a swiftness like lightning The Persians are altogether as superstitious as the Turks Before they say their Prayers they are oblig'd to wash every one having a Reservatory for water in his own House which is always full of water They plunge their heads in the water wash their mouths rub their forheads and if a man shews them any nastiness in the Vessel there 's water enough they cry for purification though if it be Pond-water it must be four or five foot deep But if it be Running-water the least quantity in the World serves to purify 'em and render 'em fit to pray while they ground their beliefupon this maxim of the Law of Mahomet that if it should run through Pishkill or Camels-dung it would be sufficient for purification There is one sort of washing appointed by their Law which is to go to their Baths after they have been with their Wives and there are some so superstitious as to go there every day These Baths are round Chambers so close that there is no light but what comes from little round windows made in the top of the roof In the first place there is the Krasiné which is a Chamber seven or eight foot square where in the middle of the Room is a great Copper-plate in the form of a flat Bason and underneath they make a fire of Brushes or Horse-dung so that the Plate heats all the water which is in the Chamber When it is hot enough a servant belonging to the Bath goes up to the Terras and winds a horn to give notice to them that have a mind to come Should a Persian or a Mahumetan miss once in eight days he would feel an itching all over his body not to be endur'd For the pores which the heat of the Bath had open'd coming to be shut the vapours of the body not able to get out prick and tickle the skin The Men go early in the morning and stay till two hours after Sun-rising At the entry of the Bath is the place where they undress and when they are stript all but the secret parts which they cover with a napkin they pour hot water upon their shoulders and then comes a man and rubs off all the sweat and filth of the Body with a coarse Cloath after which they plunge themselves into a Reservatory of hot water which they call Kolletain But these common Baths are very dangerous and many people of both Sexes have got the fowl Disease who were never addicted to impurity There are also in Persia hir'd people which they call Saka's whose business it is to give water to the people as they go along the Streets Their Barbers are very neat and surpass ours for lightness of hand for a man can hardly feel their Rasors They have also a Knife to pare the nails of the hands and feet which they do very dextrously As for their Beards those that belong
persists in her demand is many times so severely us'd by him that she is constrain'd to cry I' th Devils name let me go I demand nothing of thee Then they both repair to the Casi or Cheit-Lesloon who is a Doctor of the Law and in his presence they discharge one another This they may do by their Law three times After that the same woman can never return to her Husband again The Children derive their Nobility from the Father whither he be born of a Slave or an Amoutha or a Legitimate wife The Nobility of the Persians which is call'd Negabet is founded upon their being descended from Mahomet They who claim that extraction have the title of Mir or Prince and their Daughters carry the appellation of Mirza or Princess They are very numerous and very poor But the title of Mir without a good Estate or high Employment signifies little or nothing CHAP. XIX Of the Death and Burials of the Persians 'T Is the Custome among the Persians that when the Patient lyes very dangerously ill they light several fires upon the Terrass of the House to give the People notice to pray for him So soon as the breath is out of his body the whole house rings with cries and lamentations especially of the women who tear their hair and shew such antick postures that a man would think them possess'd In the midst of their tears they make long repetitions of the worthy actions of the deceas'd and every foot they set up a yelling Then they go and advertize the Casi that such a one is dead to whom the Casi answers Sarchoama Salamet-Bashet May your head be in safety In the mean while he seals a Licence to the Mourderchour to take the body and wash it in a house which is built on purpose near a running water After that come a great number of Moullah's with the Ensigns of the Mosquee which are long staffs like Pikes at the end whereof are thin plates of Iron and Latten so weak that they bend downward with the least motion the bodies of the staves being wrapt about with certain pieces of Taffata These Moullahs tear their throats crying out Alla Alla Alla repeating nothing else and dancing sometimes upon one foot and sometimes upon another and because they that baul loudest get the most money they put their thumbs in their ears with their fingers upon their cheeks and tear their throats with all the force they have The body being wash'd the cloaths of the deceas'd belong to the Mourderchour When they carry the Beire it is the custome that every one that meets it proffers their shoulders to help carry while the others ease themselves for which the Kindred of the deceas'd make some acknowledgment If he be a person of Quality all his Horses are bridl'd and saddl'd and others perhaps borrow'd One carries his Turban another his Scimitar another his Bow another his Arrows another his Buckler and whatever else is of any use to set forth his Quality and his Courage The biggest Church-yard that belongs to Ispahan is Calreston but there is not one handsome Tomb in it The Armenians lay a great stone over the grave and the rich set up an Arch with four Pillars under which they eat and drink in the shade when they visit the Tombs of their Ancestors Their graves are six foot long six foot deep and two foot wide wherein they lay the bodies with their faces turn'd toward Mecca and then they set up two tiles of each side his face to keep the earth from falling upon it If he be a rich man or have been a stout Souldier they bury with him his Turbant Scimitar Bow and Arrows and set Victuals by him which part of the hole being made up with brick the rest is fill'd up with earth The Moulla's alone return to the house of the deceas'd where they have meat set before 'em and are also farther pay'd for their singing and bawling A while after the Kindred coming to visit the Heir discourse him upon the contempt of the world tell him that it is but as a Caravan some of which arrive sooner at their journeys end then others Eight days after the Heir returns their visits As for the Grandees they order in their Wills that their bodies shall be either carry'd to Mecca or Meshed As well the Persians as the Turks believe that as soon as the grave is fill'd that the two Angels Neguir and Manguer revive the dead as far as his wast ask him the reason of Faith and which way he said his Prayers and that according to his merits they use him well or ill As for the torment of Souls before the Resurrection that only consists in a grief for not having arriv'd to those perfections and Sciences to which they might have attain'd and consequently for not having attain'd to that perfection which God requir'd of them Others hold that the Souls of the unfortunate are tormented with Dreams and Visions but that the Souls of the happy always enjoy the sight of pleasing objects till the Saheb-el-zaman or Master of time shall come to confirm the Law of Mahomet who shall kill Dedgar who is like our Antichrist with his own hand at which time all then alive shall dye in an instant and then shall happen the general Resurrection which they call Moavedet-hechre That the same Bodies and Souls shall unite to appear at the day of Judgment before the Throne of the great Judge of the world and that to go thither they must pass over a bridge call'd Polserat sharper then the edge of a razor which nevertheless the Mussulmen shall pass over without any danger with the swiftness of a bird But that misbelievers shall fall as soon as ever they set their feet upon it and shall fall into a torrent of fire among a thousand Devils arm'd with Cramp Irons Pincers and tenter-hooks So that it is a kind of a Proverb among the Persians if a man cannot obtain of another the Justice of his bargain or to yield to right Well says he before thou passest Polserat thou shalt restore it me double for I will take hold of thy Coat and hinder thee from getting over till thou hast given me satisfaction But the craftier sort laugh at this and make answer with a smile Well well we will venture stumbling as we pass over Polserat The Porter of Paradise whom they call Rusuen shall open them the gate There they shall sit upon the banks of the great Kausser which is a fountain where their Prophet shall give them of the water to drink out of a Ladle and that afterwards they shall have a great number of women created on purpose for them with all sorts of most delicious food And for fear of fouling this place of recreation and holiness with the excrements of eating and drinking they say that those things shall always evacuate in a persum'd sweat and that they themselves shall always remain in that
condition Others more refin'd and not believing material enjoyments affirm that Beatitude consists in the perfect knowledge of the Sciences and for the sences they shall have their satisfaction according to their quality CHAP. XX. The Author departs from Ispahan to Ormus and describes the Road to Schiras I Set forth out of Ispahan the 24. of Feb. 1665. in the afternoon and stai'd a League from the City in a field whither some of my friends would needs accompany me About ten a clock at night I set forward again and travell'd till break of day and then I came to a place where the Radars kept guard half a league from a great Town call'd Ispshaneck which you are to cross About ten a clock in the forenoon I came to Mahiar where there is a very good Inn. But the Land between this and Ispahan is all very barren and without wood The 26 th three hours after midnight I set forward through a dry Plain which begins to grow more fruitful about a League from Comshe a great City where I arriv'd by eleven a Clock in the morning In it are several Inns and indifferent handsome ones considering that they are built only of Earth This City is compos'd of a row of Villages that extend about half a League in length About three quarters of a League on this side the City stands a neat Mosquee with a pond full of fish But the Moullahs will not permit you to catch any saying that they belong to the Prophet to whom the Mosquee is dedicated However because it is a shady place in the Summer Travellers rather choose to lye by this pond then to shut themselves up in the City The 27 th I travell'd from four in the morning till ten in the forenoon through a plain sow'd with store of grain and lodg'd in an Inn call'd Maksoubegui The 28 th I departed two hours after midnight and after eight hours travel through a barren plain I arriv'd at Yesdecas a little City built upon a rock in the midst of a great Valley and lodg'd in an Inn at the foot of the Rock The same day in the morning I pass'd on to a neat house with sine Gardens call'd Amnebad built by Iman-Kouli-Kan Governor of Schiras The first of March I departed an hour after midnight and a little after I cross'd a short mountain but so rugged and so craggie that they have given it the name of Kotel-Innel-tebekeni that is the Mountain that breaks the Horses shoes The next day we pass'd by a scurvy Castle call'd Gombessala then travelling through a flat Country I came by ten in the morning to Dehigherdou or the Village of Wall-nuts I endur'd very sharp weather all the morning for all that Country and that which I travell'd the next day is very cold at some times of the year The second day I travell'd from midnight till ten a clock in the morning through the Snow over a barren Plain to come to Cuzkuzar where there is a new Inn well built The third I was a horseback from five in the morning till noon first over the same Plain by a Lake side in a very bad way cover'd with snow that hid the holes then passing a tedious long and rugged mountain I descended to a Village call'd Asepas where there is to be seen an old ruin'd Castle upon the point of a Hill The Inhabitants were all Georgians by descent but now turn'd all Mahumetans I met with wine and fish in regard of the many Rivolets but the Caravahsira is old and ill provided The fourth setting out by day-break I rode over a Plain which Sha Abbas the first gave the Georgians to till and in eleven hours I came to Ondgiom a large Village upon a River over which there is a fair stone bridge The fifth I got a horseback by two a clock in the morning and had two leagues in the first place of deep miery way afterwards I pass'd a steep Mountain craggy and durty I pass'd through a Village call'd Iman Shade from the name of one of their Prophets that lyes buried there and gave the Mountain its name being all cover'd with bitter Almond-trees I travell'd sometime between rude and craggy rocks after which I met with a small River which runs to Mayn a little City where I lodg'd in a fair Inn. The sixth I departed three hours after midnight and travell'd through a large Plain encompass'd with high and rugged Mountains upon one of which that is divided from the other stood a Castle which they say was ruin'd by Alexander the Great of which at present there does not remain the least sign or footstep I cross'd the river of Mayne over two stone Bridges and then came to Abgherme a place that stands in a Plain where there is an Inn half built so call'd by reason of a Spring of hot waters that rises not far from it In the morning I pass'd over a fair and long Causey call'd Pouligor being above 500 paces long and 15 broad divided also by certain Bridges to give the water free passage by reason the Country is very full of mershes At the end of this Causey stands an Inn very well built but the gants that haunt it will not suffer it to be frequented I pass'd along by the foot of a Mountain and after three hours travel I stopp'd a while at an Inn that stands at the foot of another steep and craggie mountain I arriv'd at Schiras about six a clock at night But here give me leave before I enter the City to make two observations the one touching the Road from Ispahan to Schiras the other concerning the ruins of Tche-elminar As to the Road from Ispahan to Schiras observe that in winter time when the Snow is fallen when you come to Yesdecas you must of necessity leave the direct road because it is impossible to pass the streights of those Mountains which I have mention'd Therefore you must keep the left hand road eastward through the Plains taking a guide along with you This way which is the longer by two days journey was formerly unknown because of a River that in one place beats upon a steep rock and closes up the passage But Iman-Kouli-Kan with a vast expence of time and money caus'd a way to be levell'd out of the Rock about 15 or 20 foot above the River which he secur'd to the water-side with a Wall three or four foot high This way continues for half a league and then you come to lye at a great Village in a Plain where you take Guides to shew you the Fords of the River Having past the River you cross over several fertil Plains water'd with great store of Rivers Then you ascend a Mountain from whence you have but a league and a half to Tche-clminar At the point of the Mountain upon the right-hand of the great Road are to be seen twelve Pillars still standing that form a kind of a square In the spaces of the Mountain
are a great number of Niches that are opposit to the Pillars and were certainly the places where the ancient Persians put their Idols Thence you come to Tche-elminar where are to be seen a great many old Columns some standing and some lying upon the ground and some ill-shap'd Statues with little four-square dark rooms All which together easily perswades me who have well consider'd the principal Pagods of Iudia that Tche-elminar was only a Temple formerly dedicated to Idolatrous worship And that which confirms my opinion is that there is no place more proper for an Idolatrous Temple then this by reason of the abundance of water Besides that the dark Rooms could be no other then the Chambers for the Priests and where the Rice and Fruits that were the feigned nourishment of the Idols were the better secur'd from goats and flies Leaving Tche-elminar you come to lye at a Village half a league farther where is very good Wine From thence to Schiras is a hard days journey especially when the Snow begins to melt for then the Road looks like a little Sea CHAP. XXI Of the City of Schiras THE City of Schiras lies in 78 degr 15 min. of Longitude and 29 deg 36 min. of Latitude It is seated in a Plain that extends it self about four leagues from the North to the South and from the West to the East about five leagues Upon the South-east there is a Lake of salt water four leagues in compass leaving the Plain as you travel to the South you pass between two Mountains which are not so close but that they leave room for certain pleasant Valleys a league and a half wide The Soil about Schiras is good and fruitful and it is particularly famous for the most excellent Wines of all Persia. As for the City it self there is nothng handsome in it for it looks rather like a Town half ruin'd then a City Formerly it was begirt with walls of Earth which are now utterly decaid The Houses are of the same Earth dri'd in the Sun and whiten'd over with lime so that when it happens to rain when the Earth comes to be well moisten'd the Houses fall of themselves Only the Colledg which Iman-Kouli-Kan built and some of the Mosquees are are of Brick and the best of those Mosquees is call'd Sha-Shiraque which out of a particular devotion is kept somewhat better in repair However there is nothing in it worth taking notice of Upon the Northeast side the City runs within a quarter of a league of the Mountain and from a Stone-bridg as you go out of the City to the foot of the Mountain is a long Street in a streight line where there stands a Mosquee built by Iman-Kouli-Kan Without it appears fair enough but within it falls to ruine There is an Octogonal Piazza before the Gate and in the middle of the Piazza an Octogonal Vase which is fill'd by a little stream that runs through the Street from the Mountain Both sides of the Street from the Mosquee to the Mountain are wall'd in and at certain spaces are great Gates one against another with rooms over them the Windows whereof open into the Gardens behind the walls all along by which runs a row of Cypress-trees in a direct line and in the middle of the Street about two hunder'd paces on this side the Mosquee is another Vase which receives the same water as it runs from the Mountain This Street was made by Iman-Kouli-Kan after he had cut the Mountain at the end of it to shorten the way from Schiras to Ispahan There are in Schiras three or four Glass-houses where they make great and small Bottles to transport the Sweet-waters that are made in the City There are also made the several sorts of Vessels wherein they pickle their fruits of all sorts which they send in great quantities into India to Sumatra Batavia and other places There is no Silk made nor any other manufacture in Schiras only there are some few Chites or Painted-cloaths made there which nevertheless are very coarse and in use only among the meaner sort As you go out of the City upon the North-west side you meet with a long Alley or Walk in three parts whereof are plac'd three Stones which they call Mills At the end of this walk is a Garden call'd Bay-Sha or the King's Garden Over the Gate whereof is a great Room half ruin'd and at the end of a large Walk planted with Cypress-trees stands a neat piece of building but altogether neglected Upon the left-hand whereof is a great Pond pav'd with Free-stone being all the beauties of the Garden which it is true was full of Fruit-trees Roses and Jasmins yet for want of order it look'd like a Wilderness From the Garden to the Hill is a Plain of two leagues long and one broad which is all but one large Vinyard belonging to several persons Beyond the Vinyard rise very high Mountains from whence fall several little Springs that form a River which is call'd Bend-Emir from the name of a Town where the biggest Spring rises This River of Bend-Emir waters the whole Vineyard of Schiras where it never rains from Spring till Autumn which is the reason that in the Summer there is no water in the very Channel next the City Their Wines are the best in Persia but there is not so great a quantity made as people imagin For of all this great Vineyard and in all the places round about the City for four or five leagues together good part of the Grapes are dri'd and a greater quantity pickl'd and of the Wine there are many Vessels full which are burnt for the benefit of the poor Travellers and Carriers who find it a great refreshment to drink it with water Their Wine as all other things is sold by weight and not by measure In the year 1666 a most plentiful year for Wine the Provision of the King's House amounted to 50000 Mens of Keukné or the ancient Men containing nine pound of ours at sixteen ounces to the pound being the only weight for Wine and the King allows as much to the Franks as for his own Houshold The Jews of Schiras who boast themselves of the Tribe of Levi make above a hunder'd and ten thousand Mens it being their chiefest livelihood but the Governour of Schiras knows how to share with them in their profit The whole account of Wine made at Schiras amounts to 200025 Mens or 4125 Tuns at three hunder'd pints to the Tun. In Schiras is an ancient Mosquee wherein is the Sepulcher of a Sadi whom the Persians esteem the best of their Poets It has been a very fair one accompani'd with a large Building which was once a Colledg but it runs to ruine as do also many other Edifices within the City Just against this Mosquee you descend by a pair of Stairs into a large Well at the bottom whereof is a Vase full of Fish which no-body dares to touch it being Sacriledg
the year 1381 and he purchas'd that great esteem among the Persians for having compos'd a great Book of Morality and for that he was also one of the best Poets of his time He has left one great Poem behind him in the praise of good Wine which has caus'd many to aver that Hougia-Hafiz was no good Mussul-man in regard he has so highly prais'd a thing which is so strictly forbidd'n by the Law of Mahomet Neer to the Church-yard is a fair Garden which men go to see for the beauty of the Cypress-trees which are its chief ornament They are to be admir'd for their height and bigness among which there is one that was planted by the hand of Sha-Abbas the Great himself in the year 1607 and it may well deserve to have been planted by the hand of a Monarch for it was bigger then the rest that had been planted above a hunder'd years before Without the City upon the North-side at the foot of the Mountain is a Garden belonging to the ancient Kings of Persia call'd Bag-Firdous It is full of Fruit-trees and Rose-trees in abundance At the end of the Garden upon the descent of a Hill stands a great piece of Building and below a large Pond affords it water The rich Inhabitants of Schiras have been formerly very curious to have fair Gardens and have been at great expences to that purpose But neither at Schiras nor at Ispahan is there any thing that may compare with those lovely Paradises of France and Italy There are many Inns in Schiras but the Franks generally lodg at the Convent of the Carmelite Friars and they that would be more private lodg at another House that belongs also to the same Friars which they would fain sell as being a charge to 'em at this time CHAP. XXII A continuation of the Road from Ispahan to Ormus from Schiras to Bander-Abassi THE sixth of March by eight of the Clock in the morning I departed from Schiras and after six hours travel through the plain that continues fertil for a league together beyond the City I came to an Inn call'd Badaadgi The water is bad being as it were luke-warm Here cold weather begins to cease The next day I set out by break of day and came to a large and well-built Inn only it stood remote from any Town It is call'd Mouzaffert and is the only place in Persia where I met with black Saligots or Water-nuts as big and as good as ours in Dauphine The Countrey breeds nothing but Goats and Sheep and about two leagues off runs a River along by the Mountain to the West The 18 th I departed by day-break and travell'd eleven hours through a stone-Countrey cover'd with bitter Almond and Turpentine-Trees I lodg'd in a fair Inn call'd Paira neer to a River that comes from the West and makes the Countrey fertil There is some Wood in the Valleys and some Villages appear on the other side of the River toward the South The 19 th I set out by four of the Clock in the morning and travell'd along a Valley wherein were many Villages receiving the benefit of the River last mention'd About eight in the morning I stopt at an Inn built in an Octogonal form a good league from the River with several Villages between The name of the Inn is Kaffer The 20 th I set out two hours after midnight and travell'd till ten in the morning through a dry Valley By the way I met several Shepherds and Herdsmen who were forsaking the hot Countreys and driving toward Schiras for coolness They that travel upon their own Horses and would see one of the richest parts of Persia and some Antiquities setting out from Kaffer instead of following the Caravan-road take the right-hand way by the side of the River that runs a league and a half from the same Inn. When you have past the River the way is very streight and lies for two leagues together through a steep Rock the Mountain upon the right and the River upon the left where there is not room in some places for two Horses to ride a-brest All along this way toward the top of the Mountain are little paths that lead to Caverns some of which are so large that they will contain two or three thousand men Having past this way you come into a Plain call'd Dadivan four or five leagues in circuit the greatest part of which is planted with Orange-trees Citrons and Granats Some of these Orange-trees two men can hardly fathom being as high as our Walnut-trees and this is one of the most delicious situations in all Persia. I have travell'd through it several times and sometimes only to divertise my self The rest of the Plain is sow'd with Rice and Wheat You set up your Tents under these Trees and then the Countrey people bring Provision of several sorts especially Partridges Hares and wild Goats The River that crosses the Plain is full of Carps Barbels Pikes and Crey-Fish I remember one time a Countrey-man carri'd me down to the water and before my face took up a Fish with his hand He was so nimble at it that having caught one which he did not think big enough he threw it back again and took up another Now in regard that Travellers generally stay about ten or twelve days in that place the Tumblers that live there-abouts fail not to come and give you a Visit to shew ye some of their tricks and to tast your Schiras Wine The English and Hollanders usually spend the end of the Summer in this Plain for the benefit of the River and the Trees which become so large and fair by means of the River which the Countrey-men bring in by Canals and shut it up in Ponds among the Trees to water their Grounds which is all the good this River does in Persia for all the rest of its course is through cragged Rocks and salt Marshes The 20 th of March by ten in the morning I came to an Inn which was call'd Moushek which is a-lone-House at the foot of a Rock There is a Spring about five hunder'd paces from it but the water is hot and has a sulphury tast so that the Cattel will hardly drink it Therefore you must go to a Cistern about two Musquet-shot from the Inn where there is one newly set up instead of another that was there before into which a Jew once chanc'd to fall in and was therefore broken by the superstitious Mahometans Three quarters of a league from Moushetz are two roads that lead to Lar the one for the Camels the other for the Horses and Mules The first is the longest by three days journey and is call'd the Road of the Desert for after you have past a great Town inhabited only by Camel-Masters where you lye the first night between that and Lar you shall meet with nothing of Houses but only Herdsmens Tents that feed sometimes in one place sometimes in another Upon the Camels Road there are
another sort of Fowl like the great Partridges in their bodies but their legs and feet resemble those of wild Ducks The Camels take this Road because it is impossible for them to pass the Mountain Jarron over which the Horses and Mules are hardly able to travel I set out from Moushek the 21 th of March at two in the morning and having travell'd till eight through a plain but stony Countrey I came to the little City of Jarron which is rather to be call d a Forrest of Palm-trees that bear excellent Dates I lodg'd in an Inn five hunder'd paces from the City and staid there two days The 24 th setting out presently after midnight I travell'd a good hour and then I began to mount the steep Mountain of Jarron which is very high and very long but the descent is the most dangerous that ever I saw in all my Travels and besides that the Moon did not shine Being at the top after you have descended three or four hunder'd paces you meet with a Bridg of one Arch that reaches from one Mountain to another a bold piece of Architecture not enough to be admir'd being rais'd at the charges of Iman-Kouli-Kan for the benefit of Travellers Being come to the bottom of this you must pass two others as steep in their ascent as in the descent upon the top of one of which stands a Cistern which though it be very large is generally emptied by the end of the Summer Upon these Mountains there is such an infinite quantity of Partridg that a man cannot miss that will but shoot By eight in the Morning I came to an Inn which is call'd Shakal which is a-lone House in a Desert Countrey but stor'd with bitter Almond-trees and Turpentine-trees Approaching neer to the Inn you meet with two or three Cisterns which are a great comfort to Travellers water being very scarce upon this Road. There are at Shakal nine or ten Radar's for the Guard of the Road who are also Masters of the Inn So soon as you are alighted they ask you if you will eat any Kid being sure of their blow and having no more to do but to go to the Mountain and fetch one where they swarm There are store of Partridges which are almost as big as Pullets of which you may easily kill as many as you please The 25 th I travell'd five hours from morning till noon An hour after I took Horse I met with a Mountain the descent whereof was very steep They call it the Mountain of Hâ—shen at the foot whereof is a Fountain of excellent water A good league farther you meet with a fair Inn call'd Mouezeré in the midst of a pleasant Grove where there is an excellent Spring of water but because there is no food to be had you must go as far as Detadombé a Village seated in a plain A quarter of a league on this side upon the top of a Mountain appears the ruins of an old Castle the Village it self being surrounded with Palm-trees The Inn is a good one provided with a very good Cistern The 25 th I travell'd through a plain for three hours and stopt at Banarou a little City well built at the foot of a high Mountain upon which appears the remains of a large Castle Bonarou is the Frontier Town of the Province of Fars bordering upon the Province of Lar. The 26 th I departed an hour after midnight and travell'd till nine in the morning partly through the Plain and partly through the Mountains where I saw an old Tower for the guard of the Road. I staid at Bihry a little City seated upon a plain that borders upon a high Mountain The Inn is new and very magnificently built by the Mother of Aimas Kan of Lar when the great Sha-Abbas took this Countrey from the Gaures whom he constrain'd to turn Mahumetans The 27 th I set out at four of the Clock in the morning and about seven I past through a Village seated in a small plain A league from thence I lodg'd in an Inn call'd Pai-Cotali that is to say the foot of the Mountain as being built at the foot of the Mountain From thence to Lar is not above four or five hours travelling but the way is very bad and several swift Torrents are to be past over You may take another Road from Bihry upon the right-hand toward the West it is the shorter way by two or three leagues but so bad and so narrow that in many places two Horsemen cannot ride a-brest being for the most part all Rocks and Precipices Lar is the Capital City of the Province of the same name which formerly bore the title of a Kingdom It is but of an ordinary bigness enclos'd on both sides with high Mountains being built round about a Rock upon which there stands a Castle of Free-stone wherein the King keeps a Garrison The whole Country is very hot nor have they any water but Rain water which they preserve in Cisterns and which sometimes causes a wide Torrent that runs by one side of the City and falls from a Cascade two stories high made of Free-stone In the City and parts adjacent grow a great number of trees especially Date trees and Tamarisk The Gardens also and Mountains are full of Orange trees There are but two Inns in Lar the one within the City which is not a very good one the other at the end of the City toward Ormus which would be convenient but that it is always afloat when the Rains fall for which reason the Franks generally lye at the Hollanders House at the end of the City And there is a necessity for staying at Lar to change the Camels for the Camels that come from Ispahan can go no further every City having their particular priviledges Which sometimes proves prejudicial to the Merchant in regard the Governour will delay the change of the Camels till he is presented The Fortress of Lar takes up the whole surface of the top of the Rock and there is but one way to climb it up with great difficolty It is more long than broad and the four corners are fortifi'd with four Bastions or Bulwarks between which are rais'd several Towers for the Souldiers Lodgings That Fortress is the Royal Prison whither the King sends such Prisoners as he takes in war or surprizes by stratagem I met with two there one a Prince of Georgia the other of Mengrelia The two Princes had each of them a Toman a day allow'd them and ten or twelve Servants to wait upon them Upon one of the corners of the Castle toward the West was built a Banquetting House with three or four Chambers In the middle of the Court stands the Magazine full of Bows and Arrows Bucklers and Muskets enough to arm fifteen hundred men For the Inhabitants of the Province but more especially of the City of Lar are accounted the best Musqueteers in Persia and the best at making the Barrels of Muskets
all but the Breach which they know not how to order so well as we The Governours House answers to the great Road but there is nothing at all of nearness without only before the door there is a good handsome Court about sixty paces square and clos'd in with Walls which leads you into two large Bazars of good Stone very well arch'd The most part of the Inhabitants of Lar are Jews who are famous for several Silk Manufactures especially for making neat Girdles The Countrimen were upon their heads a kind of a felt of fine wool and very well wrought It resembles a Cap not yet shap'd with four Corners behind and cut on the sides and these sorts of Caps are made at Kerman There are an infinite number of Cisterns as well within the City as in the parts adjacent and all but little enough in regard that sometimes it does not Rain for three years together When the Rains fall they do nor fill their Cisterns the first day but rather cover them quite up till the earth be well soak'd Now for the distribution of this water they take an excellent course for they never keep open above three Cisterns at a time and when they do op'n them the Governour or some other person appointed for that purpose is present so precious is water in that place though never so bad The water thus standing in the Cisterns sometimes for many years together breads worms so that whither you strain it or boil it there will appear a kind of foulness in it which is the seed of these worms And this corruption it is that breeds worms in the legs and feet of men which puts me in mind that after my return to Paris the fifth time of my travelling I had one came out of my left foot an Ell an a half long and another from under the ankle of my right foot half an Ell long The first of April I set out from Lar by five in the morning and travell'd till three in the afternoon through a barren stony Country except it were only one Village call'd Tcherkah near to which I met with some Corn-land and several Palm-trees I lodg'd at a little Inn call'd Shamzenghi It is low built like a Cross with four doors to receive the cool winds every way All the Inns are built in this fashion between this and Bander and near to one another for the ease of Travellers As for the Beasts they lye without for they have no Stables All the Houses from Lar to Ormus are built after one manner For there is a kind of a Pipe like a Chimney that runs from the bottom to the top to gather wind The second I left Shamzenghi about four in the afternoon because the heat is cool'd by a gentle breeze toward the evening Three hours I travell'd through a barren Plain afterwards over most fearful Rocks and about ten at night I came to Cormout a great Village well stor'd with Palm-trees From Lar to Cormout is the worst way in all Persia. For many times there is no water to be found The third I parted from Cormout a little after midnight and having travell'd seven hours in very bad way full of great stones and filthy puddles I came to a new Inn call'd Tenquidalen In the middle of it is a little vase of running water fed by a little stream that falls from the Mountain But the water being something brackish they have since that built a very fair Cistern They also broach'd the Mountain to bring the water into a Plain which was barren before but is now fruitful and beautifi'd with two good Villages This was done by a rich Merchant whose Children enjoy the Revenues of both The fourth I set forward an hour after midnight and travell'd through an uninhabited Countrey full of wide Torrents when the rain falls There are but two small Inns upon the Road and about eight in the morning I arriv'd at that which they call Gourba-Sarghant It was built with the Money which a Merchant of Ormus left for that purpose whose strength fail'd him in that very place for want of a resting place This Inn is not far from a Village that stands upon the Mountain to the North. The fifth setting out a little after midnight I travell'd till seven in the morning through a dry and desert Countrey yet stor'd with Lentisk-trees and lay at a good Village call'd Cauvrestan where the people were mowing large Fields of Barly Here if the Inn be full you may lye at the Countrey-mens Houses who are accustom'd to entertain Travellers and get well by it This place is famous for water-Melons as big as our Pumpkins and are the best in all Persia. The meat is very red and as sweet as Sugar which is a great refreshment to Travellers The Ketonter of the place gave me two Raddishes one weighing 30 the other 45 pounds and were very good meat The 6 th I set out after midnight and travell'd till it was day through plains of Sand over which it is impossible to find the way without a guide About three a Clock in the morning I cross'd over two Bridges joyn'd together by a long Causey Before I came to the first I rode over another for a good quarter of a league which Causey runs on a great way to the second Bridg under which flows a salt River the shoar of which is full of moving sands so that before those Bridges were made it was dangerous to foard it without a guide This Causey and the two Bridges were made and built by a Persian whose name was Aly who wanting employment at home apply'd himself to the King of Golconda who lik'd him so well that he made him General of his Army Being thus advanc'd he also turn'd Merchant and trading first with one Vessel then with two got a great Estate At length all that he had thus got in forty years to get himself a name in Persia he employ'd in making this Causey and the two Bridges These Bridges are both built over a River that comes from toward Kerman and is swell'd by other streams that fall from the Mountains with a great noise and discharges it self into the Persian Gulph neer to Bander-Congo but becomes brackish by passing through Mountains that are nothing but Salt From the great Bridg to Guitchi is one of the most pleasant Countries in all Persia being a continu'd Grove Guitchi is a place accommodated with two Inns one a very fair one and convenient the other very ill seated by reason of the dust that continually annoys it standing upon a sandy ground It stands neer ten or twelve Arabian Tents so that as soon as you come to the Inn the Arabian Women presently bring Milk and Butter and other refreshments A league and a half from Guitchi you meet with two Roads one upon the left-hand that seems more beaten the other upon the right There a man may easily be deceiv'd that has no guides For the
left-hand way is a dangerous passage and a kind of a continu'd Labyrinth among Rocks and Precipices The right-hand way which is the best is all upon the sand to Bander-Abassi and is usually a days journey You meet with two Inns by the way the last of which is call'd Bend-Ali built by the Sea-side From Ben-Ali to Bander-Abassi is but a little more then two leagues through a Countrey abounding in Palm-trees CHAP. XXIII Of the Island of Ormus and of Bander-Abassi ORmus is an Island in 92. d. 42. m. of Longitude and in 25. d. 30. m. of Latitude It lies at the mouth of the Persian Gulph two good Leagues from the firm Land There is neither tree nor herb that grows in it for it is all over cover'd with Salt which is very good and as white as snow And as for the black shining Sand-dust of Ormus it is very much us'd for standishes Before the Portugueses came to Ormus there was a City where the Kings of Ormus who were also Kings of Larr resided When the Portugals took it there were in it two young Princes Sons of the deceased King whom they carri'd into Spain Where in regard they were handsomely proportion'd though somewhat swarthy the King entertain'd them very kindly and gave them an honourable allowance One day that he had shew'd them the Escurial and all the chief pieces of Architecture in Madrid the King ask'd them what they thought of living in Spain To whom they answer'd that they had seen nothing but what was worthy admiration but then fetching a deep sigh and perceiving the King desirous to know the meaning of it they gave him to understand that it was for grief that they must never more sit under their own Tree For near to the City of Ormus was a Bannians tree being the only tree that grew in the Island The Portugals being masters of the Island from an ill-built City rear'd it to that hight of Magnificence which that Nation admires so that the very barrs of their doors and windows were all guilt The Fortress was a noble thing and in good repair and they had also a stately Church dedicated to the Virgin where they were also wont to walk For other place of promenading they had none Since the Persians took it the Castle indeed stands in good repair with a Garrison in it but the City is gone to ruine for the Dutch carried most of the stones away to build Battavia Between the Island of Ormus and the Continent the Sea is not very deep for the great ships that sail in and out of the Gulf pass by the other side of the Island As for the Fortress which stands upon a poynt of the Island it is almost encompass'd with the Sea and lyes right over against Persia. Bander Abassi so call'd because the great Sha-Abbas the first brought it into reputation is at present a City reasonably well built and stor'd with large warehouses over which are the lodgings of the Merchants While the Portugueses kept Ormus though they liv'd in the City all the trade was at Bandar-Abassi as being the most secure Landing-place upon all the Coast. About 15 years ago it was an op'n town but because it was an easie thing then to get into the Town and rob the Custome-house in the night it has bin since enclos'd with walls To this place come all the ships that bring Commodities from India for Persia Turkie or any part of Asia or Europe And indeed it would be much more frequented by the Merchants from all Regions and Countries But the Air of Bander is so unwholesome and so hot that no strangers can live there in probability of health unless it be in the months of December January February and March though the Natives of the Country may perhaps stay without prejudice to the end of April After that they retire to the cooler Mountains two or three days journey off for five or six months where they eat what they gain'd before They that venture to stay at Gomron during the hot weather get a malignant Fever which if they scape death is hardly ever cur'd However it bequeaths the yellow Jaundies during life to the party March being pass'd the wind changes and blowing at west south west in a short time it grows so hot and so stifling that it almost takes away a mans breath This wind is by the Arabians call'd El-Samiel or the poysonous wind by the Persians Bade-Sambour because it suffocates and kills presently The flesh of them that are thus stifl'd feels like a glewie fat and as if they had been dead a month before In the year 1632. riding from Ispahan to Bagdat I and four more Persian Merchants had bin stifl'd but for some Arabians that were in our Company For when they perceiv'd the wind they caus'd us to light lye down upon our bellies and cover our selves with our Cloaks We lay so for half an hour and then rising we saw our horses were in such a sweat that they were hardly able to carry us This happen'd to us two days journey from Bagdat But this is observable that if a man be in a Boat upon the water when the same wind blows it does no harm though he were naked at the same time Sometimes the wind is so hot that it burns like Lightning And as the Air of Gomron is so bad and dangerous the soil is worth nothing For it is nothing but Sand nor is the water in the Cisterns very good They that will be at the charge fetch their water from a fountain three leagues from Bander call'd the water of Issin Formerly there was not an herb to be seen but by often watering the ground Lettice Radish and Onions have begun to grow The People are swarthy and wear nothing about them but only a single shirt Their usual dyet is dates and fish Which is almost the dyet of their Cattel for when they come home from browsing the barren bushes they give them the heads and guts of their fish boyl'd with the kernels of the Dates which they eat The Sea of Bander produces good Soles good Smelts and Pilchards They that will have oysters must have 'em caught on purpose for the people eat none Upon Land they want neither for wine of Schiras nor Yesd nor for Mutton Pigeons and Partridge which are their ordinary dyet There are two Fortresses one upon the East the other toward the West The Town increases in trade and building and fills with inhabitants who build their houses with the remaining ruins of Ormus The reason why the Trade is settl'd rather at Bander Abassi then at Bander Congo where the Air is good and the Water excellent is because that between Ormus and Congo lie several Islands which make the passage for ships dangerous besides that the often change and veering of the wind is requir'd neither indeed is there water enough for a Vessel of 20 or 25 guns Then the way from Congo to Lar is very
General and his Wife could keep so private a Daughter that was so incomparably fair that it should not come to the Kings knowledg At length he lov'd her so tenderly that not being able to deny her the liberty of Reigning one whole day in his place he gave her leave to share with him afterwards in the Government And she it was that gave motion to all the most important Affairs of State the King excusing himself to the Grandee's of his Court who wonder'd why he let the Queen bear so great a sway by telling them that she was fit for the Government and that it was time for him to take his ease Fig. 1 and 2. is as all the rest are the backside of the Twelve Signs Fig. 1. is the backside of the Ram. and Fig. 2. of Cancer Both of them signifie the same thing it being the Name of the King Queen and City where they were stamp'd These two were coln'd at Amadabat The Gold Silver and Copper Money which the Portugals coin in the East Indies THe Gold which the Portugals Coin in Goa is better than our Louisse's of Gold and weighs one grain more than our half Pistol At the time when I was in Goa this piece was worth four Roupies or six Franks They hold it up at so Portugall Money Muscovie Money high a rate to the end the Merchants who come from all the Coasts of India thither with their Wares may not transport it out of the Countrey This piece is called St. Thomas Formerly when the Portuguez had the Trade of Japon Macassar Sumatra China and Mosambique which they still preserve and is the place whither the Indians bring the Gold of the Abassins and Saba it was a wonderful thing to see the quantity of Gold which the Portuguez Coin'd and the several pieces of workmanship which they fram'd in Gold and sent into Forreign Countreys even to the West-Indies by the way of the Philippine Islands But now they have no other places but only Mosambique to furnish them with Gold they keep up those Pieces called St. Thomass's at a very high rate lest they should be carried out of the Countrey as I said before They have also Silver Pieces which they call Pardos which go for the value of 27 Sous of our Money As also a great quantity of small Copper and Tin-Money not much unlike that of the Kings already mentioned which they thread upon strings in particular numbers The Gold and Silver Money of Muscovy I Have observed in my Relations that in all parts of our Europe where they Coin Money there are great Sums transported all over Asia where they go currantly But for the Money of Muscovy there is great loss in transporting it any where else because the Prince enhances it to so high a value The pieces as well of Gold as Silver are very good Metal for the Gold in worth is somewhat higher than our Lewis Fig. 1 and 2. This piece of Gold weighs 14 Grains and to take the Gold at 48 Grains the Ounce would amount to 20 Sous one Deneer and one half-peny of our Money But going in Muscovy for 24 Sous there would be nineteen and an half loss to transport it any where else Fig. 3 and 4. Is a piece of Silver that weighs eight Grains and to take an Ounce of Silver at three Livres ten Sous it comes to a Sous of our Money But in the Countrey you have but fifty of these pieces or at most sometimes fifty two for one of our Crowns or a Real of Spain or an High-German Rixdollar Fig. 5 and 6. Is a piece of Silver also which only goes in Muscovy But I cannot tell in what Province it is Coin'd in regard there are no Arms upon it and that the most knowing persons to whom I shewed them could not tell me what the Characters meant which makes me think it is very ancient The piece weighs 25 Grains which comes to three of our Sous one Deneer and one half-peny This is all that I could collect of most certainty concerning the Money and Coins of the East during the long course of my Travels Nor do I believe that any person has undertaken before me to write upon the same Subject If any one of my Readers desires to see the real Pieces themselves as well in Gold and Silver as in Tin Copper Shells and Almonds he may without question obtain the Favour from Monsieur the first President to whose Study I devoted them all together with certain Medals of which that Supreme Senator most skilful in Antiquity has great store being still curious in searching after what is rare The end of the Coins TRAVELS IN INDIA The First Book What Roads to take in Travelling from Ispahan to Agra from Agra to Dehly and Gehanabatt where the Great Mogul Resides at present And how to Travel also to the Court of the King of Golconda to the King of Visapour and to many other Places in the Indies CHAP. I. The Road from Ispahan to Agra through Gomron Where is particularly describ'd the manner of Sailing from Ormus to Suratt IN this Relation of my Indian I will observe the same Method as in the Recital of my Persian Travels and begin with the description of the Roads which lead you from Ispahan to Dehly and Gehanadatt where the Great Mogul Resides at present Though the Indies stretch themselves front Persia for the space of above 400 Leagues together from the Ocean to that long Chain of Mountains that runs through the middle of Asia from the East to the West and which was known to Antiquity by the Name of Mount Caucasus or Mount Taurus yet there are not so many ways to travel out of Persia into the Indies as there are to travel out of Turky into Persia by reason that between Persia and the Indies there are nothing but vast Sands and Desarts where there is no water to be found So that you have but two Roads to choose in going from Ispahan to Agra The one is partly by Land and partly by Sea taking Ship at Ormus The other altogether by Land through Candahar The first of these two Roads is amply describ'd as far as Ormus at the end of my first Book of my Persian Travels So that I am now only to speak of the manner of Sailing from Ormus to Suratt There is no Sailing at all times upon the Indian as upon the European Seas You must observe the proper seasons which being elaps'd there is no more venturing The Months of November December January February and March are the only Months in the year to Embark from Ormus to Suratt and from Suratt to Ormus But with this difference that there is no stirring from Suratt after the end of February but you may Sail from Ormus till the end of March or the fifteenth of April For then the Western-winds that bring rain along with them into India begin to blow During the first four Months there blows
Bank of Ganges toward the West not being less than two Leagues in length But the Houses are no fairer than in the greatest part of the other Cities of India being cover'd with Bambouck or Straw The Holland Company have a House there by reason of their Trade in Saltpeter which they refine at a great Town call'd Choupar which is also scituated upon Ganges ten Leagues above Patna Coming to Patna we met the Hollanders in the Street returning from Choupar who stop'd our Coaches to salute us We did not part till we had emptied two Bottles of Sohiras Wine in the open Street which is not taken notice of in that Country where people meet with an entire freedom without any Ceremony I stay'd eight days at Patna during which time there fell out an accident which will let the Reader understand that Sodomy does not go altogether unpunish'd among the Mahumetans A Mimbachi who commanded a thousand Foot went about to abuse a young Boy in his service and who had several times resisted his attempts complaining also to the Governour and telling him withall that if his Master persisted to urge him any more he would certainly kill him At length the Captain took his opportunity at a House which he had in the Country and forc'd the Boy The Boy o'rewhelm'd with grief and rage took his opportunity also to revenge himself and being one day hunting with his Master about a quarter of a League from any of his other Servants he got behind him and cleft his head with his Hanger After he had done he rode full speed to the City crying out all the way that he had kill'd his Master for such a reason and went immediately to the Governours Lodging who sent him to prison but he let him out at the end of six months and notwithstanding all the endeavours which the Captains Kindred us'd to have had him put to death the Governour durst not condemn him for fear of the people who affirm'd that the Boy had done well I parted from Patna in a Boat for Daca the nine and twentieth of January between eleven and twelve at noon and had the River been deep as it uses to be after the Rains I had taken Boat at Hallabas or at least at Banarou The same day I came to lye at sera-Beconcour costes 15 Five Leagues on this side Beconcour you meet with a River call'd Pomponsou which comes from the South and falls into Ganges The thirtieth to Sera-d ' Erija costes 17 The one and thirtieth after we had travel'd four Leagues or thereabout we met with the River Kaoa which comes from the South Three Leagues lower you meet with another River call'd Chanon which comes from the North. Four Leagues farther you discover the River Erguga which runs from the South and at length six Leagues beyond the River Aquera falling from the same part of the World all which four Rivers lose their Names in the Ganges All that day I saw great Mountains toward the South distant from Ganges sometimes ten and sometimes fifteen Leagues till at length I came to lodg in Monger-City costes 18 The first day of January 1666 after I had gone by Water two hours I saw the Gandet fall into the Ganges flowing from the North. This is a great River that carries Boats That eveining I lay at Zangira costes 8 But in regard of the winding of Ganges all that days journey I might well reckon them by Water two and twenty Leagues The second day from between six in the morning till eleven I saw three Rivers that threw themselves into Ganges all three descending from the North. The first is call'd Ronova the second Then the third Ghanan I came to lye at Baquelpour costes 18 The third after four hours upon the Ganges I met the River Katare which comes from the North and lay at a Village call'd Pongangel at the foot of certain Mountains that descend to Ganges it self costes 13 The fourth an hours rowing beyond Pongangel I met a great River call'd Mart-Nadi coming from the South and I lay at Rage-Mehale costes 6 Rage-Mehale is a City upon the right hand of Ganges and if you go by Land you shall find the high-way for a League or two pav'd with Brick to the Town Formerly the Governours of Bengala resided here it being an excellent Country for hunting besides that it was a place of great Trade But now the River having taken another course above a good half League from the City as well for that reason as to keep in awe the King of Aracan and several Portuguese Banditi who are retir'd to the mouths of Ganges and made excursions even as far as Daca it self both the Governour and the Merchants have remov'd themselves to Daca which is at present a large City and a Town of great Trade The sixth being arriv'd at a considerable Town call'd Donapour six Leagues from Rage-Mehale I parted with Monsieur Bernier who was going to Casenbasar and thence to Ogouli by Land for when the River is low there is no going by Water by reason of a great Bank of Sand that lies before a City call'd Santiqui I lay that night at Toutipour distant from Rage-mehale costes 12 I saw there at Sun-rising a great number of Crocodiles lying upon the Sand. The seventh I came to Acerat costes 25 From Acerat to Daca it is counted by Land forty-five Leagues All that day I saw such a vast number of Crocodiles that I had a great desire to shoot at one to try whether the vulgar report were true that a Musket-shot would not pierce their skin The bullet hit him in the jaw and made the blood gush out however he would not stay in the place but plung'd into the River The eighth I saw again a great number lying upon the bank of the River and made two shot at two with three bullets at a time As soon as they were wounded they turn'd themselves upon their backs opening their throats and di'd upon the spot That day I came to lie at Douloudia costes 17 The Crows were here the cause that we found a very fair Fish which the Fisher-men had hid among the Osiers by the side of the River for when our Water-men saw the Crows in great numbers hovering and making an hideous noise about the Osiers they presently conjectur'd that there was something more than ordinary and they made so diligent a search that at length they found an excellent dish of meat The ninth two hours after noon we met with a River call'd Chativor that runs from the North and we lay at Dampour costes 16 The tenth we lay by the River-side in a place remote from Houses and we travell'd that day costes 15 The eleventh toward evening being come to that part where Ganges divides it self into three Arms whereof one runs to Daca we lay at a large Town upon the entry of the great Channel which Town is call'd Jatrapour costes 20 They that have no
luggage may make a short-cut from Jatrapour to Daca and save much ground by reason of the many windings of the River The twelf about noon we past by a large Village call'd Bagamara and came to lie at Kasiata another great Town costes 11 The thirteenth about noon we met with a River two leagues from Daca call'd Laquia which runs from the North-East Iust against the Point where the two Rivers join there stands a Fortress of each side with several pieces of Cannon Half a league lower appears another River call'd Pagalu upon which there is a fair Bridg of Brick which Mirza-Mola caus'd to be built This River comes from the North-East and half a league upward appears another River call'd Cadamtali that runs from the North over which there is another Bridg of Brick On both sides of the River are several Towers as it were enchas'd with several heads of men executed for robbing upon the high-way About evening we came to Daca having travell'd by water that day costes 9 Daca is a great Town that extends it self only in length every one coveting to have an House by the Ganges-side The length of this Town is above two leagues And indeed from the last Brick-Bridg which I mention'd to Daca there is but one continued row of Houses separated one from the other inhabited for the most part by Carpenters that build Galleys and other small Vessels These Houses are properly no more than paltry Huts built up with Bambout's and daub'd over with fat Earth Those of Daca are not much better built The Governor's Palace is a place enclos'd with high Walls in the midst whereof is a pittiful House built only of Wood. He generally lodges in Tents which he causes to be set up in a great Court of that Enclosure The Hollanders finding that their Goods were not safe in the ordinary Houses of Daca have built them a very fair House and the English have another which is reasonably handsom The Church of the Austin-Friers is all of Brick and is a very comely Pile When I travell'd last to Daca the Nahab Cha-Est-Kan who was then Governor of Bengala was at War with the King of Arakan whose-Naval-Force consists generally of 200 Galeasses attended by several other smaller Vessels These Galeasses run through the Gulf of Bengala and enter into the mouth of Ganges the Sea flowing up higher then Daca Cha-Est-Kan Uncle to King Aureng-zeb the present Mogul and the best Head-piece that ever was in all his Territories found out a way to corrupt several of the King of Aracan's Captains so that of a sudden forty Galeasses commanded by Portugals came and join'd themselves with him To engage more firmly all this new multitude to his service he gave a larger pay to all the Portugal-Officers and to the Souldiers proportionably But those of the Countrey had no more than their ordinary pay doubl'd 'T is an incredible thing to see how swiftly these Galeasses cut their way in the water Some are so long that they carry fifty Oars of a side but they have but two men to an Oare There are some very curiously painted and upon which there is no cost of Gold and Azure spar'd The Hollanders have some of their own to transport their Goods and sometimes they are forc'd to hire others whereby many people get a good livelihood The next day after my arrival at Daca which was the 14 th of January I went to wait upon the Nahab and presented him with a Garment of Cloath of Gold lac'd with a Gold-needle-work Lace of Point of Spain with a Scarf of Gold and Silver of the same Point and a very fair Emrald-Jewel Toward evening being return'd to the Hollander's House where I lodg'd the Nahab sent me Granates China-Oranges two Persian-Melons and three sorts of Pears The fifteenth I shewed him my Goods and presented the Prince with a Watch in a Gold-Enamell'd-Case with a pair of little Pistols inlaid with Silver and a very fair Prospective-Glass What I gave to the Father and the Son a young Lord about ten years old stood me in above five thousand Livres The sixteenth I treated with him about the Prizes of my Goods And at length I went to his Steward to take my Letter of Exchange to be paid at Casen-Bazar Not but that he would have paid me my Money at Daca but the Hollanders who understood things better than I did told me it was very dangerous to carry Mony to Casen-Bazar whither there was no going but over the Ganges by water the way by land being full of Bogs and Fens And to go by water is no less dangerous by reason that the Boats which they use are very apt to tip over upon the least storm And when the Mariners perceive that you carry Money along with you 't is an easy thing for them to overset the Boat and afterwards to come and take up the Money that lies but at the bottom of the River The twentieth I took leave of the Nahab who desir'd me to come and see him again and caus'd a Pass to be deliver'd me wherein he gave me the title of one of the Gentlemen of his House which he had done before when he was Governor of Amadabad when I went to him to the Army in the Province of Decan into which the Raja-seva-gi was enter'd as I shall relate in another place By vertue of these Passes I could travel over all the Countreys of the Great Mogul as being one of his Houshold The one and twentieth the Hollanders made a great Feast for my sake to which they invited the English and some Portuguese's together with the Austin-Friers of the same Nation The two and twentieth I made a Visit to the English whose President then was Mr. Prat. From the twenty-third to the twenty-ninth I bought up Goods to the value of 11000 Roupies and after I had embark'd them I took my leave The twenty-ninth in the evening I departed from Daca the Hollanders bearing me company for two leagues with their little Barques Arm'd Nor did we spare the Spanish-Wine all that time Having been upon the River from the twenty-ninth of January to the eleventh of February I left my Goods and Servants in the Barque at Acerat where I took a Boat that carri'd me to a great Village call'd Mirdapour The next day I hir'd an Horse for my self but not finding another for my Luggage I was forc'd to hire two Women who carri'd it for me That evening I arriv'd at Casen-Basar where I was welcom'd by Menheir Arnold Van Wachttendonk Director of all the Holland-Factories in Bengala who invited me to lie at his House The fourteenth Menhoir Wachttendonk return'd to Ouguely where is the General Factory The same day one of my Servants brought me word that my People and Goods which I had left behind in the Barque had been in very great danger by reason of the high Winds that had blown for two days together The fifteenth the Hollanders lent me a
opinion that Elephants do great matters in War which may be sometimes true but not alwaws for very often instead of doing mischief to the Enemy they turn upon those that lead them and rout their own party as Aureng-Zeb found by experience at the Siege of this City He was twenty days before Daman and resolv'd at length to Storm it upon a Sunday believing that the Christians were like the Jews and would not defend it upon that day He that commanded the Place was an old Souldier who had serv'd in France and had three Sons with him In the Town were eight hundred Gentlemen and other stout Souldiers who came from all parts to signalize their valour at that Siege For though the Mogul had in his Army above forty thousand men he could not hinder relief from being put into Daman by Sea in regard that he wanted Ships The Sunday that the Prince intended to Storm the Governour of Daman as had been order'd at the Councel of War caus'd Mass to be said presently after Midnight and then made a Sally with all his Cavalry and some part of his Infantry who were to fall on upon that quarter which was guarded by two hundred Elephants Among those Elephants they flung a great number of Fire-works which so affrighted them in the dark of the Night that knowing not whither they went nor being to be rul'd by their Governours they turn'd upon the Besiegers with so much fury that in less than two or three hours half the Army of Aureng-Zeb was cut in pieces and in three days the Siege was rais'd nor would the Prince after that have any more to do with the Christians I made two Voiages to Goa the one at the beginning of the year 1641. the second at the beginning of the year 1648. The first time I stay'd but five days and return'd by Land to Surat From Goa I went to Bicholly which is upon the main Land thence to Visapour thence to Golconda thence to Aureng-abat and so to Surat I could have gone to Surat without passing through Golconda but my business led me that way From Goa to Visapour costes 85 Which takes up generally eight days journey From Visapour to Golconda costes 100 Which I travel'd in nine days From Golconda to Aureng-abat the Stages are not so well order'd being sometimes sixteen sometime twenty five sometimes twenty Leagues asunder From Aureng-abat to Surat takes up sometimes twelve sometimes fifteen sometimes sixteen days journey Visapour is a great scambling City wherein there is nothing remarkable neither as to the publick Edifices nor as to Trade The Kings Palace is a vast one but ill built and the access to it is very dangerous in regard there are abundance of Crocodiles that lie in the Water which encompass it The King of Visapour has three good ports in his Dominions Rejapour Daboult and Crapaten The last is the best of all where the Sea beats upon the foot of the Mountain and you have fourteen or fifteen Fathom Water near the Land Upon the top of the Mountain there is a Fort with a Spring of Water in it Crapaten is not above five days journey from Goa to the North. And Rabaque where the King of Visapour sels his Pepper is as far distant from it to the East The King of Visapour and the King of Golconda have been formerly tributary to the Great Mogul but now they are absolute of themselves This Kingdom was for some time disquieted by the revolt of Nair-seva-gi Captain of the King of Visapour's Guards After which the young Seva-gi his Son conceiv'd so deadly a hatred against the King that he made himself the head of certain Banditi and as he was both wise and liberal he got together so many Horse and Foot as made a compleat Army the Souldiers flocking to to him from all parts for the reputation of his Liberality And he was just about to have led them to action when the King of Visapour happen'd to dye without Children so that with little or no trouble he got possession of one part of the Coast of Malavar taking Rejapour Rasigar Crapaten Daboul and other places They report that upon his demolishing the fortifications of Rasigar he found vast Treasures which help'd him to pay his Souldiers who were alwayes well paid Some years before the death of the King the Queen perceiving no probability of having any Children adopted a little Boy upon whom she bestow'd all her affections and caused him to be brought up in the Doctrine of Haly's Sect The King upon his Death-bed caus'd this Adopted Son to be Proclaim'd King but Seva-gi having a numerous Army continu'd the War and much disturb'd the Regency of the Queen At length he made the first propositions for Peace which was concluded upon conditions that he should quietly enjoy the Territories which he had subdu'd that he should become Tributary to the King and pay him the half of all his Revenue The young King being thus fix'd in his Throne the Queen Regent went in Pilgrimage to Mecca and I was at Ispahan when she pass'd through the Town in her return home When I made my second Voiage to Goa I embark'd in a Dutch Vessel call'd the Maestricht which carry'd me to Mingrela where I landed the eleventh day of January 1648. Mingrela is a large Town extended half a League in length upon the Sea in the Territories of Visapour It is one of the best Roads in all India where the Hollanders take in fresh Provisions every time they sail to block up Goa as also when they are bound upon Trade for many other parts of India For at Mingrela there is both excellent Water and excellent Rice This Town is also very famous for Cardamoms which the Eastern people esteem the best of Spices not being to be had in any other Countrey which makes that sort of Commodity very scarce and very dear There is also made great store of course Calecuts that are spent in the Countrey besides great quantities of course Matting that serves to pack up goods So that both in respect of Trade as also for the furnishing their Ships with fresh Provisions the Hollauders have a Factory in the Town For as I said before not only all Vessels that come from Batavia from Japon from Bengala Ceylan and other places and those that are bound for Surat the Red Sea Ormus Balsara c. both going and coming come to an Anchor in the Road of Mingrela but also while the Hollanders are at Wars with the Portugals and lye before the Bar of Goa where they have usually eight or ten Sail they send their small Barks to Mingrela for Provisions For the Hollanders lye eight Months in a year before the mouth of the Port of Goa so that there can nothing pass into Goa by Sea all that time You must also take notice that the Bar of Goa is also stopt up some part of the year by the Sands which the South and West-winds that precede
you put them to which is the reason that the Portugals keep them so low The natural Inhabitants of the Country about Goa are Idolaters and worship several sorts of Idols which they say are the Resemblance of several that have done good works to whom they ought to give praise by adoring their Portraitures There are many of these Idolaters who worship Apes And therefore in the Island of Salsete there was a Pagod where the Idolaters kept in a Chest like a Tomb the Bones and Nails of an Ape which they said had been mighty serviceable to their Ancestors by bringing news and intelligence to them when any hostile Princes prosecuted them for which purpose they would sometimes swim through the very Sea it self The Indians come from several parts in procession and make Offerings to this Pagod But the Clergy of Goa especially the Inquisitors caus'd the Tomb one day to be taken away and brought it to Goa where it remain'd a good while by reason of the difference which it made between the Ecclesiasticks and the people For the Idolaters offering a great sum of Money to have their Reliques again the people were willing to have restor'd them saying that the Money would do well upon any occasion of War or else to relieve the poor But the Clergy were of a contrary opinion and maintain'd that such a piece of Idolatry was not to be endur'd upon any account whatsoever At length the Arch-Bishop and the Inquisitors by their own Authority took away the Tomb and sending it in a Vessel twenty Leagues out to Sea caus'd it to be thrown to the bottom of the Ocean They thought to have burn'd it but the Idolaters would have rak'd up the Ashes again which would have been but a new food to their Superstition There are in Goa abundance of Clergy-men for besides the Arch-Bishop and his Clergy there are Dominicans Austin-Fryars Franciscans Barefoot Carmelites Jesuits and Capuchins with two Religious Houses whereof the Austin-Fryars are Directors or Governours The Religious Carmelites that came last are the best seated for though they are somewhat at a distance from the heart of the City yet they have the advantage of a fine Air and the most healthy scituation in all Goa It stands upon a rising ground free to the refreshment of the Wind and it is very well built with two Galleries one over the other The Austin-Fryars who were the first that came to Goa were indifferently well seated at the foot of a little rising ground their Church also standing upon a rising ground with a fair Piazza before it but when they had built their Habitation the Jesuits desir'd them to sell that rising ground which was then a void place under pretence of making a Garden in it for the recreation of their Scholars But after they had purchas'd it they built a most stately College upon the same ground which quite stops and choaks up the Austin-Fryars Covent so that they have no Air at all There happen'd several Contests about this business but at length the Jesuits got the better The Jesuites at Goa are known by the name of Paulists by reason that their great Church is dedicated to St. Paul Nor do they wear Hats or Corner-Caps as in Europe but only a certain Bonnet resembling the Skull of a Hat without the Brims somewhat like the Bonnets which the Grand Segnors Slaves wear of which I have given you a description in my relation of the Seraglio They have five Houses in Goa the College of St. Paul the Seminary the Professors House the Noviciate and the Good Jesus The paintings in this House are admirable pieces of Workmanship In the year 1663 the College was burnt by an accident which happen'd in the night so that it cost them near sixty thousand Crowns to rebuild it The Hospital of Goa was formerly the most famous in all India For in regard the Revenues thereof were very great the sick persons were very carefully look'd after But since the change of the Governours there is but very bad accommodation and several of the Europeans that have been put in have never come forth again but in their Coffins However they have lately found out a way to save some by frequent Bloodletting They let Blood sometimes as occasion requires thirty or forty times even as often as any ill-blood comes forth as they did by me one time that I was at Surat Butter and flesh is very dangerous to them that are sick and many times costs them their lives Formerly they made several sorts of well-tasted diet for those that recoverd Now they serve the Patient only with young Beef-broth and a dish of Rice Usually the poorer sort that recover their health complain of drowth and call for water But they that look after them being only Blacks or Mongrels a sort of covetous and pittiless people will not give them a drop unless they put Money in their hands and to colour their wickedness they give it them by stealth pretending what they do to be against the Physitian 's order As for Sweet-meats and Preserves there is no want of them but they are not a diet which contributes overmuch to the restoring of decaid strength especially in those hot Countreys where the body requires rather cooling and refreshing nourishment I have forgot one thing in reference to their more frequent blood-lettings than among us Europeans Which is that to bring their colour again and to restore them to perfect health they order the Patient to drink for twelve days together three glasses of Cow's Urine one in the morning another at noon and another at night But in regard it is a very nauseous sort of drink the Patient swallows as little as he can how desirous soever he may be of his health They learnt this remedy from the Idolaters of the Countrey and whether the Patient will take it or no they never let him stir out of the Hospital till the twelve days are expir'd wherein he ought to drink it CHAP. XIV What the Author did during his stay at Goa the last time he went thither in the year 1648. TWO days before I departed from Mingrela for Goa I wrote to Monsieur St. Amant who was Engineer to send me a Man of War for fear of the Malvares which are upon the Coast which he immediately did I parted from Mingrela the 20 th of January 1648 and arriv'd at Goa the 25 th And in regard it was late I staid till the next morning before I went to visit the Vice-Roy Don Philip de Mascaregnas who had formerly been Governor of Ceylan He made me very welcome and during the two months that I tarri'd at Goa he sent to me a Gentleman five or six times who brought me still to the Powder-House which was without the City where he often us'd to be For he took great delight in levelling Guns wherein he ask'd my advice esteeming very much a Pistol very curiously and richly inlaid which I
lye waste the Natives being forc'd to fly by reason of the cruelty of their Governours Under the pretence of being Mahumetans they persecute the poor Idolaters beyond all measure and if any of them embrace Mahumetism 't is only because they would not work any longer For then they turn Souldiers or Faquirs who are a sort of people that profess a renunciation of the World and live upon Alms but are indeed very Rascals They reckon that there are in India 800000 of these Mahumetan Faquirs and twelve hunder'd thousand Idolaters Once in fifteen days the King goes a Hunting mounted upon his Elephant and so continues during the chase All the Game he takes is brought within Musket-shot of his Elephants Which consists generally of Lions Tigers Harts and wild-Goats For they will not meddle with Boars as being Mahumetans When he returns home he puts himself into his Palleki and goes in the same order and with the same Guard as when he returns from the Mosquee saving that when he goes a Hunting he is attended with three or four-hunder'd Horsemen that ride without any discipline in the World As for the Princesses as well the Wives Daughters and Sisters of the King they never stir out of the Palace unless it be to spend a few days in the Countrey for their pleasure Some of them go abroad but very rarely to visit some great Noble-mens Wives as the Wife of Giafer-Kan who is the King's Aunt But that is only by particular leave of the King And then it is not the custom as in Persia where the Ladies make their visits only by night and with a great number of Eunuchs who clear the Streets of all people they meet For in the Mogul's Court they usually go out about nine in the morning with only three or four Eunuchs and ten or twelve Slaves which are instead of Maids of Honour The Princesses are carri'd in Palleki's cover'd over with Embroider'd Tapestry and a little Coach to hold one single person that follows the Palleki drawn by two men the wheels not being above a foot in diameter The reason why they carry that Coach along with them is because that when the Princesses arrive at the House where they intend to alight the men that carry the Palleki not being permitted to go any farther than the first Gate they then take their Coaches and are drawn by their female-Slaves to the Womens Apartment I have also observ'd that in all the Houses of great Noble-men the Womens Apartment is at the farther-end of all So that you must cross two or three great Courts and a Garden or two before you can come as it When the Princesses are married to any of the Court-Grandees they become absolute Mistresses of their Husbands so that if they study not to please them and do not as they would have them in regard of their free access to the King they over-rule the King many times to their prejudice even to the turning them out of their employments As it is a custom that the first-born always is Heir to the Throne though he be the Son of a Slave so soon as the Princesses of the King 's Haram perceive that there is any one among them big with Child they use all the artifices imaginable to make them miscarry Insomuch that being at Patna in the year 1666 Cha-Est-Kan's Chirurgeon assur'd me that the Wife of Cha-Est-Kan had procur'd the miscarrying of eight Women because she would suffer no other Womens Children but her own CHAP. X. Of the Commodities which are brought as well out of the Dominions of the Great Mogul as out of the Kingdoms of Golconda and Visapour and other neighbouring Territories IT will be necessary for the Reader to take notice what I have already said concerning the Weights and Measures in use among the Indians where I spoke concerning the Mines and the Serre Now for the Cobit The Cobit is a measure for all Commodities that are measur'd by the Ell of which there are several sorts as in Europe there are several sorts of Ells. The Cobit is divided into 24 Tasots and in regard the greatest part of the Commodities of India are utter'd at Surat I have given you a description in the margin of the fourth part of a Surat-Cobit divided into six Tasots Of their Silk KAsembasar a Village in the Kingdom of Bengala sends abroad every year two and twenty-thousand Bales of Silk every Bale weighing a hunder'd pound The two and twenty Bales make two millions and two-hunder'd-thousand pound at sixteen ounces to the pound The Hollanders usually carry away six or seven-thousand Bales and would carry away more did not the Merchants of Tartary and the Mogul's Empire oppose them for they buy up as much as the Hollander the rest the Natives keep to make their Stuffs This Silk is all brought into the Kingdom of Guzerat the greatest part whereof comes to Amadabat and to Surat where it is wrought up In the first place they make Carpets of Silk and Gold others of Silk and Silver others all of Silk For the Worsted Carpets are made at Vettapour some twelve leagues from Agra In the second place they make Satins with streaks of Gold and Silver others plain with Taffata's after the same fashion In the third place they make Patoles which are a fort of Silk-stuff very thin but painted with all sorts of Flowers the manufacture whereof is at Amadabat They cost from eight Roupies to forty the piece This is a Commodity wherein the Dutch will not suffer any one of the Hollanders to trade in particular for they transport it to the Philippine-Islands to the Islands of Borneo Java Sumatra and other neighbouring Islands The raw-Silk of Kasembasar is yellowish as are all the raw-Silks that come from Persia and Sicily but the Natives of Kasembasar have a way to whiten it with a Lye made of the ashes of a Tree which they call Adam's Fig-tree which makes it as white as the Palestine-Silk The Hollanders send away all their Merchandize which they fetch out of Bengala by water through a great Canal that runs from Kasembasar into Ganges for fifteen leagues together from whence it is as far by water down the Ganges to Ouguely where they lade their Ships Of the Calicuts and first of the painted Calicuts call'd Chites CHites or Painted Calicuts which they call Calmendar that is to say done with a Pencil are made in the Kingdom of Golconda and particularly about Maslipatan But there is made so little that though a man should employ all the Workmen that understand the art of weaving Calicuts he would hardly find enough to make three Bales The Chites which are made in the Empire of the Great Mogul are all Printed and nothing so beautiful neither for the figures nor the fineness of the Linnen Those which are made at Lahor are the coarsest and consequently the cheapest of all They are sold by Corges every Corge consisting of twenty pieces which cost from
It is not above a hundred years since this Mine was found out by a Country-man who digging in a piece of ground to sow Millet found therein a pointed Stone that weigh'd above twenty-five Carats he not knowing what the Stone was but seeing it glister carry'd it to Golconda where as it happen'd well for him he met with one that traded in Diamonds The Merchant informing himself of the place where the Stone was found admir'd to see a Jewel of that bigness not having seen any one before that weigh'd above ten or twelve Carats However his report made a great noise in the Country insomuch that the Mony'd men in the Town set themselves to work and causing the ground to be search'd they found and still do find bigger Stones and in greater quantity than in any other Mine For they found a great number of Stones from ten to forty Carats and sometimes bigger among the rest that large Stone that weigh'd nine hundred Carats which Mirgimola presented to Aureng-zeb But though this Mine of Coulour be so considerable for the quantity of great Stones which are there found yet the mischief is the Stones are not clean the Waters having something of the quality of the Earth where they are found If the Ground be mershy the Water enclines to black if it be red there is a redness in the Water in other places the Stones appear somewhat greenish in others yellowish such a diversity of Soils there is between the Town and the Mountain Upon the most part of these Stones after they are cut there appears a kind of greasie moisture which must be as often wip'd off As for the Water of the Stones it is remarkable that whereas in Europe we make use of day-light to examine the rough Stones and to judg of their Water and the specks that are found therein the Indians do all that in the night-time setting up a Lamp with a large Wiek in a hole which they make in the Wall about a soot square by the light whereof they judg of the Water and clearness of the Stone which they hold between their Fingers The Water which they call celestial is the worst of all and it is impossible to discern it so long as the Stone is rough The most infallible way to find out that Water is to carry the Stone under a Tree thick of Boughs for by the verdure of that shade you may easily discern whether the Water be blewish or no. The first time I was at the Mine there were above sixty thousand persons at work men women and children the men being employ'd to dig the women and children to carry the Earth After the Miners have pitch'd upon the place where they intend to work they level another place close by of the same extent or else a little bigger which they enclose with a Wall about two foot high In the bottom of that little Wall at the distance of every two foot they make small holes to let in the water which they stop up afterwards till they come to drain out the water again The place being thus prepar'd the people that are to work meet all together men women and children with the Workmaster in the Company of his Friends and Relations Then he brings along with him some little Image of the God that they adore which being plac'd upright upon the ground they all prostrate themselves three times before it while their Priest says a certain prayer The prayer being ended he marks the forehead of every one with a kind of Glue made of Saffron and Gum to such a compass as will hold seven or eight Grains of Rice which he sticks upon it then having wash'd their bodies with water which every one brings in his pot they rank themselves in order to eat what the Workmaster presents them before they go to work to encourage them both to labour and be faithful This Feast consists of nothing else but every one his Plate of Rice distributed by the Bramin for an Idolater may eat any thing from the hands of one of their Priests The Plates are made of the Leaves of a certain Tree not much unlike our Walnut-tree Leaves Besides this every one has a quarter of a pound of Butter melted in a small Copper pot with some Sugar When their Feast is over the men fall to digging the women and children to carry Earth to the place prepar'd in that manner as I have already describ'd They dig ten twelve and sometimes fourteen foot deep but when they come to any water they leave off All the Earth being carry'd into the place before-mention'd the men women and children with Pitchers throw the water which is in the drains upon the Earth letting it soak for two or three days according to the hardness of it till it come to be a kind of Batter then they open the holes in the Wall to let out the water and throw on more water still till all the mud be wash'd away and nothing left but the Sand. After that they dry it in the Sun and then they winnow the Sand in little Winnows as we winnow our Corn. The small dust flies away the great remains which they pour out again upon the ground The Earth being thus winnow'd they spread it with a kind of Rake as thin as they possibly can then with a wooden Instrument like a Paviers Rammer about half a foot wide at the bottom they pound the Earth from one end to the other two or three times over After that they winnow it again then and spreading it at one end of the Van for fear of losing any of they Earth the look for the Diamond Formerly they were wont to pound the Earth with great Flint-stones instead of wooden Rammers which made great flaws in the Diamonds and is therefore now left off Heretofore they made no scruple to buy those Diamonds that had a green outside for being cut they prov'd very white and of an excellent water Since they have been more nice for there was a Mine discover'd between Coulour and Raolconda which the King caus'd to be shut up again by reason of some cheats that were us'd there for they found therein that sort of Stones which had this green outside fair and transparent and which appear'd more fair than the others but when they came to the Mill they crumbl'd to pieces CHAP. XIII A Continuation of the Authors Travels to the Diamond Mines I come to the third Mine which is the most ancient of all in the Kingdom of Bengala You may give it the name of Soumelpour which is the name of the Town next to the place where the Diamonds are found or rather Gonel which is the name of the River in the Sand whereof they seek for the Stones The Territories through which this River runs belong to a Raja who was anciently tributary to the Great Mogul but revolted in the time of the Wars between Sha-jehan and Gehan-guir his Father So soon
as Sha-jehan came to the Empire he sent to demand his Tribute of this Raja as well for the time past as to come who finding that his Revenues were not sufficient to pay him quitted his Country and retir'd into the Mountains with his Subjects Upon his refusal Sha-jehan believing he would stand it out sent a great Army against him perswading himself that he should find great store of Diamonds in his Country But he found neither Diamonds nor People nor Victuals the Raja having burnt all the Corn which his Subjects could not carry away so that the greatest part of Sha-jehans Army perish'd for hunger At length the Raja return'd into his Country upon condition to pay the Mogul some slight Tribute The Way from Agra to this Mine From Agra to Halabas costes 130 From Halabas to Banarous costes 33 From Banarous to Sasaron costes 4 From Agra to Saferon you travel Eastward but from Saferon to the Mine you must wind to the South coming first to a great Town costes 21 This Town belongs to the Raja I have spoke of From thence you go to a Fortress call'd Rodas costes 4 This is one of the strongest places in all Asia seated upon a Mountain fortifi'd with six Bastions and twenty-seven pieces of Cannon with three Moats full of Water wherein there are good Fish There is but one way to come to the top of the Mountain where there is a Plain half a League in compass wherein they sow Corn and Rice There is above twenty Springs that water that Plain but all the rest of that Mountain from top to bottom is nothing but a steep Precipice cover'd with over-grown Woods The Raja's formerly us'd to live in this Fort with a Garrison of seven or eight hundred men But the Great Mogul has it now having taken that Fort by the policy of the famous Mirgimola which all the Kings of India could never take before The Raja left three Sons who betray'd one another the eldest was poison'd the second went and serv'd the Great Mogul who gave him the command of four thousand Horse the third possesses his Fathers Territories paying the Mogul a small Tribute From the Fortress of Rodas to Soumelpour costes 30 Soumelpour is a great Town the Houses whereof are built of Earth and cover'd only with Branches of Coco-trees All these thirty Leagues you travel through Woods which is a very dangerous passage as being very much pester'd with Robbers The Raja lives half a League from the Town in Tents set upon a fair rising ground at the foot whereof runs the Gouel descending from the Southern Mountains and falling into Ganges In this River they find the Diamonds For after the great Rains are over which is usually in December they stay all January till the River be clear by reason that by that time in some places it is not above two foot deep and in several places the Sand lies above the water About the end of January or the beginning of February there flock together out of the great Town and some others adjoining above eight thousand persons men women and children that are able to work They that are skilful know by the sand whether there be any Diamonds or no when they find among the sand little Stones like to those which we call Thunder-Stones They begin to make search in the River from the Town of Soumelpour to the very Mountains from whence the River falls for fifty Leagues together Where they believe there are Diamonds they encompass the place with Stakes Faggots and Earth as when they go about to make the Arch of a Bridg to drain all the water out of that place Then they dig out all the Sand for two foot deep which is all carried and spread upon a great place for that purpose prepar'd upon the side of the River encompass'd with a little Wall about a foot and half high When they have fill'd this place with as much Sand as they think convenient they throw water upon it wash it and sift it doing in other things as they do at the Mines which I have already describ'd From this River come all those fair Points which are call'd natural Points but a great Stone is seldom found here The reason why none of these Stones have been seen in Europe is because of the Wars that have hinder'd the people from working Besides the Diamond Mine which I have spoken of in the Province of Carnatica which Mirgimola caus'd to be shut up by reason of the yellowness of the Diamonds and the foulness of the Stones there is in the Island of Borneo the largest Island in the World another River call'd Succadan in the Sand whereof they find Diamonds as hard as any in the other Mines The principal reason that disswaded me from going to the Island of Borneo was because I understood that the Queen of the Island would not permit any Strangers to carry away any of those Diamonds out of the Island Those few that are exported being carry'd out by stealth and privately sold at Batavia I say the Queen and not the King because in that Island the Women have the Soveraign Command and not the Men. For the people are so curious to have a lawful Heir upon the Throne that the Husband not being certain that the Children which he has by his Wife are his own but the Wife being always certain that the Children which she bears are hers they rather choose to be govern'd by a Woman to whom they give the Title of Queen her Husband being only her Subject and having no power but what she permits him CHAP. XIV Of the diversity of Weights us'd at the Diamond Mines Of the Pieces of Gold and Silver there Currant and the Rule which they observe to know the Price of Diamonds AT the Mine of Raolconda they weigh by Mangelins a Mangelin being one Carat and three quarters that is seven Grains At the Mine of Gani or Coulour they use the same Weights At the Mine of Soumelpour in Bengala they weigh by Rati's and the Rati is seven eighths of a Carat or three Grains and a half They use the same Weights over all the Empire of the Mogul In the Kingdoms of Golconda and Visapour they make use of Mangelins but a Mangelin in those parts is not above one Carat and three eighths The Portugals in Goa make use of the same Weights in Goa but a Mangelin there is not above five Grains As for the Money in use First in Bengala in the Territories of the Raja before mention'd in regard they lye enclos'd within the Dominions of the Great Mogul they make their payments in Roupies At the two Mines about Raolconda in the Kingdom of Visapour the payments are made in new Pagods which the King coins in his own Name as being independent from the Great Mogul The new Pagod is not always at the same value for it is sometimes worth three Roupies and a half sometimes more and sometimes less
being advanc'd and brought down according to the course of Trade and the correspondence of the Bankers with the Princes and Governors At the Mine of Colour or Gani which belongs to the Kingdom of Golconda they make their payments in new Pagods which are equal in value to the King of Visapour's But sometimes you are forc'd to give four in the hunder'd more by reason they are better Gold and besides they will take no others at the Mine These Pagods are coin'd by the English and Hollanders who whether willingly or by force are priviledg'd by the King to coin them in their Forts And those of the Hollanders cost one or two per cent more than the English by reason they are better Gold and for that the Miners choose them before the other But in regard the Merchants are prepossess'd that the Miners are a rude and savage sort of people and that the ways are dangerous they stay at Golconda where the Workmasters keep correspondence with them and send them their Jewels There they pay in old Pagods coin'd many ages ago by several Princes that Reign'd in India before the Mahumetans got footing therein Those old Pagods are worth four Roupies and a half that is to say a Roupy more than the new not that there is any more Gold in them or that they weigh any more Only the Bankers to oblige the King not to bring down the price pay him annually a very great Sum by reason they get very much by it For the Merchants receive none of those Pagods without a Changer to examin them some being all defac'd others low-metal others wanting weight so that if one of these Bankers were not present at the receipt the Merchant would be a greater loser sometimes one sometimes five sometimes six i' th hunder'd for which they also pay them one quarter in the hunder'd for their pains When the Miners are paid they also receive their Money in the presence of Bankers who tells them which is good and which is bad and has for that also one quarter i' th hunder'd In the payment of a thousand or two-thousand Pagods the Banker for his fee puts them into a bag and seals it with his Seal and when the Merchant pays for his Diamonds he brings the Seller to the Banker who finding his bag entire assures the party that all is right and good within and so there is no more trouble As for the Roupies they take indifferently as well the Great Mogul's as the King of Golconda's by reason that those which that King coins are to be coin'd by Articles with the Great Mogul's stamp 'T is an idle thing to believe that vulgar error that it is enough to carry Spices Tobacco Looking-glasses and such trifles to truck for Diamonds at the Indian-Mines For I can assure ye these people will not only have Gold but Gold of the best sort too As for the roads to the Mines some fabulous modern relations have render'd them very dangerous and fill'd them full of Lions Tigers and cruel People but I found them not only free from those wild creatures but also the People very loving and courteous From Golconda to Raolconda which is the principal Mine the road is as follows the road being measur'd by Gos which is four French-leagues From Golconda to Canapour one Gos. From Canapour to Parquel two Gos and a half From Parquel to Cakenol one Gos. From Cakenol to Canol-Candanor three Gos. From Canol-Candanor to Setapour one Gos. From Setapour to the River two Gos. That River is the bound between the Kingdoms of Golconda and Visapour From the River to Alpour three quarters of a Gos. From Alpour to Canal three quarters of a Gos. From Canal to Raolconda two Gos and a half Thus from Golconda to the Mine they reckon it seventeen Gos or 68 French-Leagues From Golconda to the Mine of Coulour or Gani is reckon'd thirteen Gos and three quarters or 55 French-leagues From Golconda to Almaspinda three Gos and a half From Almaspinda to Kaper two Gos. From Kaper to Montecour two Gos and a half From Montecour to Naglepar two Gos. From Naglepar to Eligada one Gos and a half From Eligada to Sarvaron one Gos. From Sarvaron to Mellaseron one Gos. From Mellaseron to Ponocour two Gos and a quarter At Ponocour you only cross the River to Coulour CHAP. XV. The Rule to know the just price and value of a Diamond of what weight soever from three to a hunder'd and upwards a secret known to very few people in Europe I Make no mention of Diamonds of three Carats the price thereof being sufficiently known First then as to others above that weight you must know how much the Diamond weighs and see if it be perfect if it be a thick Stone well-squar'd and have all its corners if the water be white and lively without specks and flaws If it be a Stone cut in Facets which we call a Rose-Diamond you must take notice whether the form be round or oval whether it be of a fair breadth and not of Stones clapt together whether it be of a good water and without specks or flaws Such a Stone weighing one Carat is worth 150 Livres or more Now to know how much a Stone of the same perfection weighing 12 Carats is worth Multiply 12 by 12 it makes 144. Then multiply 144 by 150 which is the price of a Stone of one Carat it comes to 21600 Livres As for Example To know the price of imperfect Diamonds you must observe the same rule grounded upon the price of a Stone of one Carat You have a Diamond of fifteen Carats shewn ye neither of a good water nor good form and full of specks and flaws besides such a Diamond cannot be worth above 60 or 80 or 100 Livres at most according to the goodness of the Stone Multiply therefore the weight of the Diamond of 15 Carats by 15 then multiply the product which is 125 by the value of the Stone of one Carat which we will grant to be 80 Livres the product whereof is 10000 Livres the price of a Diamond of 15 Carats The Example By that it is easy to discover the difference between a perfect and an imperfect Stone For if that Stone of 15 Carats were perfect the second multiplication should be wrought by 150 which is the price of a perfect Stone of one Carat and then the Diamond would come not to 10000 Livres but to 33750 Livres that is 23750 Livres more than an imperfect Diamond of the same weight By this rule observe the price of two the greatest Diamonds of the World for Cut-stones the one in Asia belonging to the Great Mogul the other in Europe in the possession of the Duke of Tuscany The Great Mogul's Diamond weighs 279 and 9 16 th Carats It is of a perfect good water of a good shape with only a little flaw in the edg of the cutting below which goes round about the Stone Without that
Arabian Prince The Pearls that are fish'd in these places are sold to the Indians who are not so nice as we for they give a good price for all as well the uneven as the round ones Over all Asia they chuse the yellow Water enclining to white for they say those Pearls that encline somewhat to a Gold colour are more brisk and never change colour but that the white ones will change in thirty-years time throughthe very heat of the weather and the sweat of the person that wears them turning the scandalously yellow There is a wondrous Pearl in the possession of an Arabian Prince that took Mascate from the Portugals He then call'd himself Imenhect Prince of Mascaté being known before only by the name of Aceph Ben-Ali Prince of Norennaé It is but a small Province but it is the best of all in the Happy Arabia Therein grow all things necessary for the life of man particularly delicate fruits but more especially most excellent Grapes which would make most incomparable Wine This Prince has the most wonderful Pearl in the world not so much for its bigness for it weighs not above twelve Carats and one sixteenth nor for its perfect roundness but because it is so clear and so transparent that you may almost see through it The Great Mogul offer'd him by a Banian forty thousand Crowns for his Pearl but he would not accept it By which you see that it is more profitable to carry Jewels that are rare out of Europe into Asia than to bring them out of Asia into Europe unless it be to Japan or China where Jewels are little esteem'd There is another Fishery for Pearls in the Sea that beats against the Walls of a great Town call'd Manar in the Island of Ceylan For their roundness and their Water they are the fairest that are found in any other Fishery but they rarely weigh above three or four Carats There are excellent Pearls and of a very good water and large which are found upon the Coast of Japan but there are few fish'd for in regard Jewels are of no esteem among the Natives There are other Fisheries in the West Indies in the first place all along the Island of Cubagna three Leagues in compass lying ten Degrees and a half of Northern Latitude a hundred and sixty Leagues from Santo Domingo The Pearls are small seldom weighing above five Carats The second Fishery is in the Island of Manguerita or the Island of Pearls a League from Cubagna but much bigger This Fishery is not the most plentiful but it is the most esteem'd of all those in the West Indies by reason the Pearls are of most excellent water and very large I sold one Pear-fashion'd to Sha-Est-Kan the Great Moguls Uncle that weigh'd fifty-five Carats The third Fishery is at Camogete near the Continent The fourth at Rio de la Hacha all along the same Coast. The fifth and last at St. Martha's sixty Leagues from Rio de la Hacha All these three Fisheries produce very weighty Pearls but they are generally ill-shap'd and of a water enclining to the colour of Lead As for Scotch Pearl and those that are found in the Rivers of Bavaria tho a Neck-lace of them may be worth a thousand Crowns yet they are not to be compar'd with the Eastern and West Indian Pearls Some years since there was a Fishery discover'd in a certain place upon the the Coast of Japan and I have seen some which the Hollanders have brought thence They are of a very good water and large but very uneven Take this observation along with you touching the difference of their waters some being very white others inclining to yellow others to black others to a leaden colour As for the last there are no such but only in America which proceeds from the nature of the Earth at the bottom of the Water which is generally more ouzy than in the East I once met with six Pearls in the return of a Cargo from the West Indies that were perfectly round but black like jet which weigh'd one with another twelve Carats I carried them into the East Indies to put them off but could meet with no Chapman to buy them As for those that incline to yellow it proceeds from hence that the Fishermen selling the Oysters to the Merchants in heaps while they stay fourteen or fifteen days till the Oysters lose their water the Oysters wast and begin to smell for which reason the Pearl grows yellow by injection which appears to be a truth in regard that where the Oysters preserve their Jiquor the Pearls are white Now the reason why they stay till the Oysters open of themselves is because that if they should force them open they might perhaps injure and cut the Pearl In short the Eastern people are much of our humour in matter of whiteness for they love the whitest Pearls and the blackest Diamonds the whitest bread and the fairest women CHAP. XVIII How the Pearls are bred in the Oysters how they Fish for them and at what time SOme ancient Writers have vulgarly reported that Pearls are produc'd by the Dew of Heaven and that there is but one in an Oyster but experience teaches the contrary For the Oyster never stirs from the bottom of the Sea where the Dew can never come which is many times twelve fathoms deep besides that it is as often observ'd that there are six or seven Pearls in one Oyster and I have had in my hands an Oyster wherein there were above ten beginning to breed T is very true that they are not always of the same bigness for they grow in an Oyster after the same manner as Eggs in the Belly of a Pullet But I cannot say there are Pearls in all for you may open many Oysters and find none 'T is no advantage to them that fish for Pearls for if the poor people could find any other employment they would never stick to such a one as meerly keeps them alive But the Land is so barren that you may travel twenty Leagues before you meet with one blade of Grass and the people are so miserably poor that they feed upon nothing but Dates and Salt-fish They fish in the Eastern Seas twice a year the first time in March and April the second time in August and September and they keep their Fairs in June ' and November However they do not fish every year for they that fish will know beforehand whether it will turn to account or no. Now to the end they may not be deceiv'd they send to the places where they are wont to fish seven or eight Barks who bring back each of them about a thousand Oysteâ—â—â— which they open and if they find not in every thousand Oysters to the value of five Fano's of Pearl which amounts to half a Crown of our Money 't is a sign that the Fishing will not turn to account in regard the poor people would not be able to defray their
charge For partly for a stock to set out and partly for victuals while they are abroad they are forc'd to borrow Money at three and four in the hundred a month So that unless a thousand Oysters yeild them five Fano's of Pearls they do not fish that year As for the Merchants they must buy their Oysters at hap-hazard and be content with what they find in them If they meet with great Pearls they account themselves happy which they seldom do at the Fishery of Manar those Pearls being fit for little else but to be sold by the Ounce to powder Sometimes a thousand Oysters amounts to seven Fano's and the whole Fishery to a hundred thousand Piasters The Hollanders take of every Diver eight Piasters in regard they always attend the Fishery with two or three small Men of War to defend them from the Malavares Pyrats The more Rain falls in the year the more profitable the Fishery happens to be They fish in twelve fathom water five or six Leagues off at Sea sometimes two hundred and fifty Barks together among which there is not above one or two Divers at most There is a Cord ty'd under the Arms of them that dive one end whereof is held by them that are in the Bark There is also a great stone of eighteen or twenty pound ty'd to the great Toe of him that dives the end of the Rope that fastens it being also held by them in the Vessel The Diver has beside a Sack made like a Net the mouth whereof is kept open with a Hoop Thus provided he plunges into the Sea the weight of the stone presently sinking him when he is at the bottom he slips off the stone and the Bark puts off Then the Diver goes to filling his Sack as long as he can keep his breath which when he can do no longer he gives the Rope a twitch and is presently hall'd up again Those of Manar are better Fishers and stay longer in the water than those of Bakren and Catifa for they neither put Pincers upon their Noses nor Cotton in their Ears as they do in the Persian Gulf. After the Diver is draw'n up he stays half a quarter of an hour to take breath and then dives again for ten or twelve hours together As for the Oysters themselves they throw 'em away as being ill-tasted and unsavoury To conclude the discourse of Pearls you are to take notice that in Europe they sell them by the Carat weight which is four Grains In Persia they sell them by the Abas and one Abas is an eighteenth less than our Carat In the Dominions of the Mogul the Kings of Visapour and Golconda weigh them by the Ratis and one Ratis is also an eighteenth less than our Carat Goa was formerly the greatest place of the world for the trade of Jewels and Pearls You must know therefore that in Goa and in all other places which the Portugals had in the Indies they us'd a particular weight to sell their Pearls by which they call Chego's the proportion whereof to Carats appears in the following Table Carats Chegos Carats Chegos 1 5 21 306 2 8 22 336 3 11 and a half 23 367 a quarter 4 16 24 400 5 21 25 430 6 27 26 469 a quarter 7 34 27 506 a quarter 8 44 28 544 a quarter 9 56 29 584 10 69 30 625 11 84 31 667 a quart 12 100 32 711 13 117 33 756 and a quart 14 136 34 802 and 3 quart 15 156 35 850 and a quart 16 177 3 quart 36 900 17 200 a half 37 950 and a half 18 225 38 1002 and 3 quar 19 250 a half 39 1056 20 277 3 quar 40 1111 and a quar CHAP. XIX Observations upon the fairest and largest Diamonds and Rubies which the Author has seen in Europe and Asia represented according to the Figures in the Plates as also upon those which the Author sold to the King upon his last return from the Indies with the Figure of a large Topaz and the fairest Pearls in the World Number 1. THis Diamond belongs to the Great Mogul being cut into the same form and it weighs 319 Ratis and an half which make 279 and nine 16 ths of our Carats when it was rough it weigh'd 907 Ratis which make 793 Carats Numb 2. Is the figure of a Diamond belonging to the Great Duke of Tuscany It weighs 139 Carats and an half the fault of it is that the water enclines somewhat to a Citron-colour Numb 3. Is a Stone that weighs 176 and one 8 th Mangelins which makes 242 Carats and five 16 ths A Mangelin coming to one and three 8 ths of our Carats Being at Golconda I saw this Stone and it was the biggest that ever I saw in my life in a Merchant's-hands It was valu'd at 500000 Roupies or 750000 Livres of our Money I offer'd 400000 Roupies but could not have it Numb 4. Is the figure of a Diamond which I bought at Amadabat and it weigh'd 178 Ratis or 157 Carats and a quarter 〈…〉 and for severall services done the Kingdome His Majesty honored him with the Title of Noble Numb 5. Is the figure of the fore-mention'd Diamond after it was cut on both sides there remaining 94 Carats and a half the water being perfect The flat-side where there were two flaws below was as thin as a sheet of brown-paper When the Stone was cut I caus'd all that thin side to be taken off with one part of the end above where there remains one little speck of a flaw Numb 6. Is another Diamond which I bought at the Mine of Coulour It is fair and clean and weighs 36 Mangelins or 63 and 3 8 ths of our Carats Numb 7 and 8. Are two pieces of a Stone that was cut in two which being entire weigh'd 75 Mangelins and a half or 104 Carats Though it were of a good water it seem'd so foul in the middle that in regard it was large and held at a high price there was ne're a Banian would venture upon it At length an Hollander bought it and cutting it in two found in the middle of it eight Carats of filth like a rottenweed The small piece happen'd to be clean excepting a little flaw hardly to be perceiv'd but for the other wherein there are so many other cross flaws there was no way but to make seven or eight pieces of it The Hollander ran a great risco in cutting it a-sunder for it was very great luck that it had not broke into a hunder'd pieces Yet for all that it did not turn to account so that it is in vain for another to buy that which a Banian refuses CHAP. XX. The Forms of twenty Rubies which the Author sold to the King upon his last return from the Indies The first part of the Plate shews the weight extent and thickness of every Stone Numb 1. IS the Figure of a Ruby that belongs
be eaten But the deceit is harder to be discover'd when they make little Purses of the skin of the belly of the Beast which they sow up with strings of the same skin which are like the true bladders and then fill those Purses with what they have taken out of the right bladders and the other fraudulent mixture which they design to put among it True it is that should they tye up the bladder so soon as they cut it off without giving it air or time to lose its force the strength of the perfume would cause the blood to gush out of the nose so that it must be qualifi'd to render it acceptable or rather less hurtful to the brain The scent of the Beast which I carri'd to Paris was so strong that I could not keep it in my Chamber for it made all peoples heads ake that came neer it At length my Servants laid it in a Garret and cut off the bladder and yet the scent remain'd very strong This creature is not to be found in 65 degrees but in 60 there are vast numbers the Countrey being all over cover'd with Forrests True it is that in the months of February and March after these creatures have endur'd a sharp hunger by reason of the great Snows that fall where they breed ten or twelve foot deep they will come to 44 or 45 degrees to fill them themselves with Corn and new Rice And then it is that the Natives lay gins and snares for them to catch them as they go back shooting some with Bows and knocking others o' the heads Some have assur'd me that they are so lean and faint with hunger at that time that you may almost take them running There must be surely a prodigious number of these creatures none of them having above one bladder no bigger than a Hen's-egg which will not yield above half an ounce of Musk and sometimes three or four will not afford an ounce and yet what a world of Musk is bought up The King of Boutan fearing that the cheats and adulterations of Musk would spoil the Musk-Trade order'd that none of the Bladders should be fow'd up but that they should be all brought to Boutan and there after due inspection be seal'd up with his Seal Yet notwithstanding all the wariness and care of the King they will sometimes cunningly open them and put in little pieces of Lead to augment the weight In one Voyage to Patna I bought 7673 bladders that weigh'd 2557 ounces and an half and 452 ounces out of the bladder Bezoar comes from a Province of the Kingdom of Golconda toward the Northeast It is found among the ordure in the paunch of a wild-Goat that browzes upon a certain Tree the name whereof I have forgot This shrub bears little buds round about which and the tops of the boughs the Bezoar engenders in the maw of the Goat It is shap'd according to the form of the buds or tops of the branches which the Goats eat which is the reason there are so many shapes of Bezoar-Stones The Natives by feeling the belly of the Goat know how many Stones she has within and sell the Goat according to the quantity This they will find out by sliding their hands under their bellies and then shaking both sides of the paunch for the Stones will fall into the middle where they may easily count them all by their feeling The rarity of Bezoar is in the bigness though the small Bezoar has the same vertue as that which is larger But there is more deceit in the large Bezoar for the Natives have got a trick to add to the bigness of the Stone with a certain Paste compos'd of Gum and something else of the colour of Bezoar And they are so cunning too to shape it just like natural Bezoar The cheat is found out two ways the first is by weighing the Bezoar and then steeping it in warm water if neither the water change colour nor the Bezoar lose any thing of its weight the Stone is right The other way is to thrust a red-hot Bodkin of Iron into the Stone if the Bodkin enters and causes it to fry there is a mixture Bezoar is dearer according to the bigness of the Stones advancing in price like Diamonds For if five or six Bezoars weigh an ounce an ounce will be worth fifteen or eighteen Franks but if it be a Stone of one ounce that very ounce is well worth 100 Franks I have sold one of four ounces and a half for 2000 Livres I have been very curious to inform my self of all things that concern'd the nature of Bezoar but could never learn in what part of the body of the Goat it was to be found One time among the rest having oblig'd several Native Merchants by putting off for them a great quantity of Bezoar upon my request though it be death without mercy to transport any of these Goats out of the Countrey they brought me six Goats by stealth to my lodging When I ask'd the price of them I was surpriz'd when they told me one was worth but three Roupies that the two other were worth four Roupies and the three others four and three quarters a piece I ask'd them why some were more worth than others but I found afterwards that the first had but one Bezoar that the rest had two or three or four The six Goats had in all seventeen Bezoars in them and a half one as big as the half of a Hazel-nut The inside was like the soft ordure of the Goat the Bezoar lying among the dung which is in the belly of the Goat Some averr'd that they grew right against the liver others right against the heart but I could never find out the truth As well in the East as West there are a great quantity of Bezoars that breed in the same manner in Cows of which there have been some that have weigh'd seventeen or eighteen ounces For there was such a one that was giv'n to the Great Duke of Tuscany But those Bezoars are little esteem'd six grains of the other Bezoar working more powerfully than thirty of this As for the Bezoar which breeds in Apes as some believe it is so strong that two grains work as effectually as six of Goat's-Bezoar but it is very scarce as being only sound in those Apes that breed in the Island of Macassar This sort of Bezoar is round whereas the other is of several fashions as I said before As the Apes Bezoar is stronger and scarcer than the Goats so it is dearer and more sought after a piece as big as a nut being sometimes worth a hunder'd Crowns The Portugals make great account of this Bezoar standing always upon their guard for fear of being poison'd There is another Stone in great esteem that is call'd the Porcupine's-Stone which that creature is said to carry in its head and is more precious than Bezoar against poison If it be steep'd in water a quarter of an
Near the Pagod stands the Tomb of one of their Prophets whose name was Cabir to whom they give great honour You are to take notice also that their Idols stand upon a kind of Altar encompass'd with Iron Bars For no persons are to touch them but only certain Bramins appointed for that service by the chief Bramin Next to that of Jagrenate the most famous Pagod is that of Banarous being also seated upon the Ganges in a City that bears the same name That which is most remarkable is that from the Gate of the Pagod to the River there is a descent all of Stone near to which are certain Platforms and small blind Chambers some for the Bramins lodging others where they dress their victuals for so soon as the Idolaters have said their Prayers and made their Offerings they dress their food not suffering any person to touch it but themselves for fear lest any unclean person should come neer it But above all things they passionately desire to drink of Ganges water for as often as they drink it they are wash'd as they believe from all their sins Great numbers of these Bramins go every day to the cleanest part of the River where they fill their little round earthen-pots full of water the mouths whereof are very small and contain every one of them a Bucket-full Being thus fill'd they bring them before the great Priest who covers them with a fine piece of flame-colour'd Calicut three or four times doubl'd to which he sets his Seal The Bramins carry these pots some six of them ty'd together with six little cords fasten'd to the end of a stick as broad as a lath shifting their shoulders often travelling sometimes three or four hunder'd leagues with those precious burthens up into the Countrey Where they sell it ro present it but that is only to the rich from whence they expect great rewards There are some of these Idolaters who when they make any great Feast especially when they marry their children will drink four or five-hunder'd Crowns in this water They never drink of it till the end of their meals and then a glass or two according to the liberality of the Master of the Feast The chief reason why they esteem the water of Ganges so highly is because it never putrifies nor engenders any vermin though I know not whether they may be believ'd considering the great quantity of dead bodies which they fling into the Ganges The body of the Pagod of Banarous is made like a Cross as are all the rest of the Pagods the four parts whereof are equal In the midst there is a Cupola rais'd very high the top whereof is pyramidal at the end also of every four parts of the Cross there is a Tower to which there is an ascent on the out-side Before you come to the top there are several Balconies and Niches wherein to take the fresh air and round about are figures of all sorts of creatures but very Leud work Under the Duomo in the middle of the Pagod there is an Altar like a Table eight foot long and six foot broad with two steps before that serve for a footstool which is cover'd sometimes with a rich Tapestry sometimes with Silk sometimes with Cloath of Gold or Silver according to the solemnity of their Festival Their Altars are cover'd with Cloath of Gold or Silver or else with some painted Calicuts Approaching the entry of the Pagod you see the Altar right before ye together with the Idols which are upon it For the Women and Virgins worship without not being permitted to enter the Pagod no more than is a certain Tribe which is among them Among the Idols that stand upon the great Altar there is one plac'd upright some five or six foot high but you can see neither arms nor legs nor body nothing appears but the head and neck all the rest being cover'd down to the Altar with a Robe that spreads it self below Sometimes you shall see the neck set out with some rich Chain either of Gold Rubies Pearls or Emraulds This Idol was made in honour and likeness of Bainma-dou who was heretofore a very great and holy Personage among them whose name they oft'n have in their mouths Upon the right-side of the Altar stands the figure of a Chimera part Elephant part Horse part Mule It is of massive Gold and they call it Garou not suffering any person to approach it but the Bramins They say it is the resemblance of the Beast which carri'd that holy person when he liv'd upon earth And that he travell'd long journeys upon his back to see if the people remain'd in their duty and whether they did no wrong one to another Between the great Gate and the great Altar upon the left-hand there is a little Altar upon which there stands an Idol of black Marble sitting cross-legg'd about two foot high While I was there a little Boy who was the Son of the High-Priest stood upon the left-side of the Altar and all the people threw him certain pieces of Taffata or embroider'd Calicut like Handkerchiefs all which he return'd to the people again after he had wip'd them upon the Idol Others threw him Bracelets of Coral others of yellow Amber others threw him fruits and flowers whatever they threw him he rubb'd it upon the Idol put it to his lips and then restor'd it to the people This Idol is call'd Morli-Ram that is to say God-Morli and was the Brother of him that stands upon the great Altar Under the Portal of the Pagod sits one of the principal Bramins with a great Bason by him full of a yellow colour mix'd with water All these poor Idolaters come and present themselves before him who gives them a mark from between the eyes to the top of the nose then upon the arms and upon the stomach by which marks they know who have wash'd themselves in Ganges and who not Those that never wash'd themselves but in the waters of their own Wells or have only sent for it from the River they do not believe to be perfectly purifi'd and by consequence they are not to be mark'd with that colour By the way take notice that these Idolaters are mark'd with different colours according to the Tribe they are of But in the Empire of the Great Mogul they who are painted with yellow compose the biggest Tribe and are the least defil'd For when they are necessitated to the deeds of nature some think it not enough to wash the part defil'd but they first rub the part with a handful of sand and then scour it with water After so doing they affirm their bodies to be clean and that they can eat their food without fear Neer to this great Pagod upon the Summer-west stands a kind of a Colledg which the Raja Jesseing the most Potent of all the Idolaters in the Mogul's Empire built for the education of the youth of the better sort I saw two of the children of
whereof make a Salt so tart that it is impossible to eat it until the tartness be tak'n away which they do by putting the ashes in water where they stir them ten or twelve hours together then they strain the substance through a Linnen Cloth and boil it as the water boils away the bottom thick'ns and when the water is all boil'd away they find at the bottom very good and white Salt Of the ashes of these Fig-leaves they make a Lye wherewith they wash their Silk which makes it as white as Snow but they have not enough to whiten half the Silk that grows in the Country Kenneroof is the name of the City where the King of Asem keeps his Court twenty-five or thirty days journey from that which was formerly the Capital City and bore the same name The King requires no Subsidies of his people but all the Mines in his Kingdom are his own where for the ease of his Subjects he has none but slaves that work so that all the Natives of Asem live at their ease and every one has his house by himself and in the middle of his ground a fountain encompass'd with trees and most commonly every one an Elephant to carry their Wives for they have four Wives and when they marry they say to one I take thee to serve me in such a thing to the other I appoint thee to do such business so that every one of the Wives knows what she has to do in the House The men and women are generally well complexion'd only those that live more Southerly are more swarthy and not so subject to Wens in their throats neither are they so well featur'd besides that the women are somewhat flat Nos'd In the Southern parts the people go stark naked only covering their private parts with a Bonnet like a blew Cap upon their heads hung about with Swines teeth They pierce holes in their ears that you may thrust your thumb in whete they hang pieces of Gold and Silver Bracelets also of Tortoise-shells and Sea-shells as long as an egg which they saw into Circles are in great esteem among the meaner sort as Bracelets of Coral and yellow Amber among those that are rich When they bury a man all his Friends and Relations must come to the burial and when they lay the body in the ground they all take off their Bracelets from their Armsand Legs and bury them with the Corps CHAP. XVIII Of the Kingdom of Siam THE greatest part of the Kingdom of Siam lies between the Golf of Siam and the Golf of Bengala bordering upon Pegu toward the North and the Peninsula of Malacca toward the South The shortest and nearest way for the Europaeans to go to this Kingdom is to go to Ispahan from Ispahan to Ormus from Ormus to Surat from Surat to Golconda from Golconda to Maslipatan there to embark for Denouserin which is one of the Ports belonging to the Kingdom of Siam From Denouserin to the Capital City which is also call'd Siam is thirty-five days journey part by Water part by Land by Waggon or upon Elephants The way whether by Land or Water is very troublesome for by Land you must be always upon your guard for fear of Tigers and Lions by Water by reason of the many falls of the River they are forc'd to hoise up their Boats with Engines All the Countrey of Siam is very plentiful in Rice and Fruits the chiefest whereof are Mangos Durions and Mangustans The Forests are full of Harts Elephants Tigers Rhinocero's and Apes where there grow also large Bambou's in great abundance Under the knots of these Bambou's are Emets nests as big as a mans head where every Emet has his apartiment by himself but there is but one hole to enter into the nest They make their nests in these Canes to preserve themselves from the rains which continue four or five months together In the night time the Serpents are very busie There are some two foot long with two heads but one of them has no motion There is also another creature in Siam like our Salamander with a forked tail and very venomous The Rivers in this Kingdom are very large and that which runs by Siam is equally as large as the rest The water is very wholesome but it is very full of Crocodiles of a monstrous bigness that devour men if they be not very careful of themselves These Rivers overflow their banks while the Sun is in the Southern Tropick which makes the fields to be very fertile as far as they flow and it is observ'd that the Rice grows higher or lower as the floods do more or less increase Siam the Capital City of the Kingdom where the King keeps his Court is wall'd about being about three of our Leagues in circuit it is situated in an Island the River running quite round it and might be easily brought into every street in the Town if the King would but lay out as much Money upon that design as he spends in Temples and Idols The Siamers have thirty-three Letters in their Alphabet But they write from the left to the right as we do contrary to the custom of Japon China Cochinchina and Tunquin who write from the right to the left All the Natives of this Kingdom are slaves either to the King or the great Lords The women as well as the men cut their hair neither are they very rich in their habits Among their complements the chiefest is never to go before a person that they respect unless they first ask leave which they do by holding up both their hands Those that are rich have several Wives The Money of the Country is already describ'd The King of Siam is one of the richest Monarchs in the East and stiles himself King of Heaven and Earth though he be Tributary to the Kings of China He seldom shews himself to his Subjects and never gives Audience but to the principal Favourites of his Court He trusts to his Ministers of State for the management of his affairs who sometimes make very bad use of their authority He never shews himself in publick above twice a year but then it is with an extraordinary magnificence The first is when he goes to a certain Pagod within the City which is guilded round both within and without There are three Idols between six and seven foot high which are all of massie Gold which he believes he renders propitious to him by the great store of Alms that he distributes among the poor and the presents which he makes to the Priests Then he goes attended by all his Court and puts to open view the richest Ornaments he has One part of his magnificence consists in his train of two hundred Elephants among which there is one that is white which the King so highly esteems that he stiles himself King of the White Elephant The second time the King appears in publick is when he goes to another Pagod five or six Leagues
above the Town up the River But no person must enter into this Pagod unless it be the King and his Priests As for the people so soon as they see the Door op'n they must presently fall upon their faces to the Earth Then the King appears upon the River with two hundred Gallies of a prodigious length four hundred Rowers belonging to every one of the Gallies most of them being guilded and carv'd very richly Now in regard this second appearance of the King is in the month of November when the waters begin to abate the Priests make the people believe that none but the King can stop the course of the waters by his Prayers and by his Offerings to this Pagod And they are so vain as to think that the King cuts the waters with his Sabra or Skain thereby commanding it to retire back into the Sea The King also goes but incognito to a Pagod in an Island where the Hollanders have a Factory There is at the entry thereof an Idol sitting cross-leg'd with one hand upon his knee and the other arm akimbo It is above sixty foot high and round about this Idol are about three hundred others of several sorts and sizes All these Idols are guilt And indeed there are a prodigious number of Pagods in this Countrey for every rich Siamer causes one to be built in memory of himself Those Pagods have Steeples and Bells and the Walls within are painted and guilded but the Windows are so narrow that they give but a very dim light The two Pagods to which the King goes publickly are adorn'd with several tall Pyramids well guilded And to that in the Hollanders Island there belongs a Cloyster which is a very neat Structure In the middle of the Pagod is a fair Chappel all guilded within side where they find a Lamb and three Wax Candles continually burning before the Altar which is all over cover'd with Idols some of massie Gold others of Copper guilt In the Pagod in the midst of the Town and one in of those to which the King goes once a year there are above four thousand Idols and for that which is six Leagues from Siam it is surrounded with Pyramids whose beauty makes the industry of that Nation to be admir'd When the King appears all the Doors and Windows of the Houses must be shut and all the people prostrate themselves upon the ground not daring to lift up their eyes And because no person is to be in a higher place than the King they that are within doors are bound to keep their lowest Rooms When he cuts his hair one of his Wives performs that office for he will not suffer a Barber to come near him This Prince has a passionate kindness for his Elephants which he looks upon as his Favourites and the Ornaments of his Kingdom If there be any of them that fall sick the Lords of the Court are mighty careful to please their Soveraign and if they happ'n to dye they are buried with the same Funeral Pomp as the Nobles of the Kingdom which are thus performed They set up a kind of Mausoleum or Tomb of Reeds cover'd with Paper in the midst whereof they lay as much sweet wood as the body weighs and after the Priests have mumbl'd certain Orisons they set it a-fire and burn it to ashes which the rich preserve in Gold or Silver Urns but the poor scatter in the wind As for offenders they never burn but bury them 'T is thought that in this Kingdom there are above two hundred Priests which they call Bonzes which are highly reverenc'd as well at Court as among the people The King himself has such a value for some of them as to humble himself before them This extraordinary respect makes them so proud that some of them have aspir'd to the Throne But when the King discovers any such design he puts them to death And one of them had his head lately struck off for his Ambition These Bonzes wear yellow with a little red Cloth about their Wasts like a Girdle Outwardly they are very modest and are never seen to be angry About four in the morning upon the tolling of their Bells they rise to their prayers which they repeat again toward evening There are some days in the year when they retire from all converse with men Some of them live by Alms others have Houses with good Revenues While they wear the Habit of Bonzes they must not marry for if they do they must lay their Habit aside They are generally very ignorant not knowing what they believe Yet they hold the transmigration of Souls into several Bodies They are forbidd to kill any Creature yet they will make no scruple to eat what others kill or that which dies of it self They say that the God of the Christians and theirs were Brothers but that theirs was the eldest If you ask them where their God is they say he vanish'd away and they know not where he is The chief strength of the Kingdom is their Infantry which is indifferent good the Soldiers are us'd to hardship going all quite naked except their private parts all the rest of their body looking as if it had been cupt is carv'd into several shapes of beasts and flowers When they have cut their skins and stanch'd the blood they rub the cut-work with such colours as they think most proper So that afar off you would think they were clad in some kind of flower'd Satin or other for the colours never rub out Their weapons are Bows and Arrows Pike and Musket and an Azagaya or Staff between five and six foot long with a long Iron Spike at the end which they very dextrously dart at the Enemy In the year 1665 there was at Siam a Neapolitan Jesuite who was call'd Father Thomas he caus'd the Town and the Kings Palace to be fortifi'd with very good Bulwarks according to Art for which reason the King gave him leave to live in the City where he has a House and a little Church CHAP. XIX Of the Kingdom of Macassar and the Embassadors which the Hollanders sent into China THE Kingdom of Macassar otherwise call'd the Isle of Celebes begins at the fifteenth Degree of Southern Latitude The heats are excessive all the day but the nights are temperate enough And for the Soil it is very fertile but the people have not the art of building The Capital City bears the name of the Kingdom and is situated upon the Sea The Port is free for the Vessels that bring great quantities of goods from the adjacent Islands pay no Customs The Islanders have a custom to poyson their Arrows and the most dangerous poyson which they use is the juice of certain Trees in the Island of Borneo which they will temper so as to work swift or slow as they please They hold that the King has only the secret Receit to take away the force of it who boasts that he has the most effectual poyson in
in Requenings or Debentures of the Servants of the Holland Company which they that have no mind to return into their own Country as being setled in the Indies will sell at an easie rate insomuch that for sixty or seventy you may buy a hundred Piasters the Act and Acquittance of the Seller being made and register'd by the Publick Notary Thereupon I bought of one of the publick Notaries who had Bills in his hands to the value of about eleven thousand Guelders at fourscore and two for the hundred After that I bought by means of the Advocate of the Treasury six thousand Guelders more at seventy-nine for the hundred But some few days after meeting with the same Advocate again he pass'd a Complement upon me and told me he was very much troubl'd for those that had bought Debentures in regard that the General and the Council had commanded him to recall all Debentures that had been sold for they had consider'd how sad a thing it would be for the poor men to lose so much of their Salaries I answer'd him that for my part I was willing to return mine provided I might have my Money again About six or seven hours after I was sent for by the General and his Council When I came there they ask'd me why I had not return'd the Debentures which I had bought to the Advocate who had demanded them by their order I answerd them that they were at Bantam whither I had sent them in order to my passage home in regard that the English President had offer'd me a convenience to go along with him The Council answer'd me that the Dutch Ships were as good as the English and very courteously assur'd me they would give order for a Cabin to my self in the Vice-Admiral But withall they told me I must deliver up my Debentures before I stirr'd assuring me that they would give me a Bill to be re-imburs'd my Money by the Company in Holland I thought it very hard for I knew not how to trust 'em but seeing the Merchants Commanders and all other persons clapt up and their Papers taken from them by force that had bought Debentures I thought it the best way to deliver mine and stand to their courtesie I often press'd the General and the Council for my Bill but after many delays the General ascertain'd me that my Bill should be in Holland as soon as I. Thereupon desiring the Vice-Admiral and some others to be my Wirnesses of what the General promis'd I took my leave of him very much repenting my going to Batavia CHAP. XXVI The Author embarks in a Dutch Vessel to return into Europe THE next day I went aboard the Vice-Admiral and the third day after we set sail and as soon as we were out of the Streight we discover'd the Islands of the Prince From thence being in the Altitude of the Coco Islands we beat about two days to discover them but all to no purpose thereupon we made directly for the Cape of good Hope The fourty-fifth day after our departure from Batavia our Vice-Admiral neglected to put out his Lights believing all the Fleet had been before at the Cape so that it happen'd that one of the Fleet being behind and not carrying any Lights out neither it being a dark night fell foul upon us which put every man to his prayers all people believing the Vessel had been lost and indeed had she not been a sound stanch Ship for the Provinces were so accounted she could never have endur'd so terrible a shock At length we clear'd our selves by cutting off the Yards of the Maestricht that hung in our Cordage The fifty-fifth we came within view of the Cape of good Hope but were forc'd to keep the Sea because the waves roll'd so that we were not able to come to an Anchor not that the Wind was extream high but because the South-wind had blown so long that it had forc'd the Water to that part When the Sea grew calm we came to an Anchor But of all the people that ever I saw in all my travels I never saw any so hideous nor so brutish as the Comoukes of which I have spoken in my Persian Travels and those of the Cape of good Hope whom they call Cafres or Hosentotes When they speak they make a noise with their tongues like the breaking of wind backward and though they hardly speak articulately yet they easily understand one another They cover themselves with the Skins of wild Beasts which they kill in the Woods in Winter wearing the hairy part innermost and in Summer outermost But there are none but the best sort among them who are thus clad the rest wear nothing but a nasty rag about their privy parts The men and the women are lean and short and when they bring forth a Male-child the Mothers cut out his right Stone and presently give him Water to drink and Tobacco to eat They cut out the right Testicle because say they it makes them swifter to run There are some of them that will catch a Roe-Buck running They neither know what belongs to Gold nor Silver and for Religion they have none among them So soon as we cast Anchor four women came aboard us and brought us four young Ostriches which were boil'd for some sick people that we had aboard After that they brought great store of Tortoise-Shells and Ostriches Eggs and other Eggs as big as Goose Eggs which though they had no Yolk tasted very well The Birds that lay these Eggs are a sort of Geese and so fat that they are hardly to be eaten tasting rather like Fish than Flesh. The women seeing our Cook throw away the Guts of two or three Fowl which he was dressing took them up and squeezing out the Ordure eat them as they were being hugely pleas'd with the Aqua Vitae which the Captain gave them Neither men nor women are asham'd to shew their nakedness for indeed they are but a sort of human Beasts So soon as the Ship arrives they bring their Beeves to the shore with what other Commodities they have to barter for strong Water and Tobacco Crystal or Agat Beads or any sort of old Iron work If they are not satisfi'd with what you offer them away they fly and then giving a whistle all their Cattel follow 'em nor shall you ever see 'em again Some when they saw 'em fly would shoot and kill their Cattel but after that for some years they would never bring any more 'T is a very great convenience for the Vessels that touch there to take in fresh Victuals and the Hollanders did well to build a Fort there It is now a good handsome Town inhabited by all sorts that live with the Hollanders and all sorts of Grain which are brought out of Europe or Asia and sow'd there come to better perfection there then in other parts The Country lies in thirty-five Degrees and some few Minutes over so that it cannot be said that
would have liv'd among the Hollanders and bin serviceable to them in the discovery of the Country but so soon as he got home he flung his Cloaths i' the Sea and return'd wild among his fellow Natives eating raw flesh as he did before and quite forgetting his Benefactors When the Cafres go a hunting they go a great number together and make such a prodigious howling and yelling that they fright the very Breasts themselves and in that affright with ease destroy them and I have been assur'd that their cries do terrifie the Lions themselves The women are of so hot a constitution of Body that at the times that their monthly customs are upon 'em they happen to make water and that an European chances to set his feet upon it it causes an immediate Head-ach and Feaver which many times turns to the Plague CHAP. XXVII The Holland Fleet arrives at St. Helens The description of the Island HAving staid two and twenty days at the Cape of good Hope seeing that the Wind was favourable we weigh'd and steer'd for St. Helens When we were under Sail the Mariners cry'd out they would sleep till they came into St. Helens Road. For the wind is very constant and carries you in sixteen or eighteen days to the Road of the Island All the trouble that our Mariners had was that fourteen days after our departure from the Cape they were often forc'd to the Top-Mast head upon discovery of the Island for as soon as you discover the Island the Pilot must take care to steer to the North-side of the Island because there is no casting Anchor but on that side and that very near the shore too by reason of the deepness of the water for if the Anchors come not to take hold the current of the water and the wind carries the Ship quite out of the Road which there is no recovering again because the wind never changes So soon as the Ships came to an Anchor part of the Seamen were sent ashore to get wild Hogs of which there are great plenty and to gather Sorrel which grows in great abundance and indeed they not only send the Seamen but all the Pigs Sheep Geese Ducks and Pullets aboard to feed upon that Sorrel which purges them in such a manner that in a few days they became so fat that by that time we came to Holland they were hardly to be eaten That Sorrel has the same operation upon the men who boiling their wild Swines flesh Rice and Sorrel together make thereof a kind of Potage so excellent that it keeps their bodies open by an insensible purgation There are two places upon the Coast of St. Helens where Ships may come to an Anchor But the best is that where we lay by reason that ground is very good and for that the water that falls from the Mountain is the best in the Island In this part of the Island there is no plain for the Mountain descends to the very shore of the Sea It is not so good anchoring in the other Road but there is a very handsome plain where you may sow or plant whatever you please There are great store of Citrons and some Oranges which the Portugals had formerly planted there For that Nation has that vertue that wherever they come they make the place the better for those that come after them whereas the Hollanders endeavour to destroy all things wherever they set footing I confess the Commanders are not of that humour but the Sea-men and Souldiers who cry one to another we shall never come hither any more and out of greediness will cut down a whole tree instead of gathering the fruit Some days after there arriv'd a Portugueze Vessel from Guiny full of Slaves which were bound for the Mines of Peru. Some of the Hollanders that understood the language of the Negro's told 'em how miserably they would be us'd and thereupon the next night two hundred and fifty of them threw themselves into the Sea And indeed it is a miserable slavery for sometimes after they have min'd in some places for some days together the Earth being loose falls down and kills four or five hunder'd at a time Besides that after they have been mining awhile their Faces their Eyes and their Skins change colour which proceeds from the vapours that arise from those concavities nor could they subsist in those places but for the quantity of strong Water which they give both to the men and women There are some that are made free by their Masters who labour however for their living but between Saturday night and Munday morning they spend all their weeks wages in strong Water which is very dear so that they always live miserably Being ready to depart the Island of St. Helens the Admiral call'd a Council to advize which way to steer The greatest part were for steering more to the West then to the South because the season for sailing was far spent and for that if we steer'd for the West Indies we should find the wind more proper to carry us into Holland But we had no sooner cross'd the Line but we found the wind quite contrary to what the Mariners expected so that we were forc'd to steer to the sixty-fourth Degree of Altitude with the Island and so return by the North into Holland CHAP. XXVIII The Holland Fleet sets Stil from St. Helens and prosperously arrives in Holland THE next day after the Admiral had call'd a Council we weigh'd and set Sail about ten a Clock at night Three days after our departure from St. Helens the Seamen were call'd very duly to prayers morning and evening though all the time we stay'd in the rode they never minded any such matter which made me wonder to find they should be more devout when they were out of danger than when they were in jeopardy After several other days sailing we discover'd the Coast of Island and then the Island of Ferella where we join'd with the Holland Fleet that stay'd for us Here it is that the Commander in chief calls to account all the Mariners for their misdemeanours during the whole Voyage Our Ship was bound for Zealand but we were forc'd to lye out at Sea seven days before we could get into Flushing because the Sand had chang'd its place Coming to an Anchor before Flushing two of the Company came aboard to welcome us home and to advise us to lock our Chests and put our marks upon them for all Chests are carry'd into the East India House where when the owners come for them they are order'd to op'n them lest they should have any counterband goods therein Thereupon I set a mark upon my Chests and went ashore after I had giv'n a good character of the Captain and his civility to me all the Voyage and thence proceeded by Land to Middleburgh Four days after I came to Middleburgh I went to fetch my Chests and finding the two Directors there one a Zealander the other of
by this course that they are kept within their duty and that they obey the Laws as much out of a principle of Religion and Conscience as out of the fear of chastisement and in that they do not much recede from our Christian Maximes The Mouftis and the Cadis pass therefore indifferently under the Name of Persons well skill'd in the Law as if we should reduce our Divines and our Civil Lawyers into the same Class and in civil and criminal Causes the Moufti is often consulted The Moufti is the honourary Chief of the Law all over the Empire and accounted to be the Interpreter of the Alchoran I speak of the grand Moufti of Constantinople who is the most esteem'd and the principal of all For there are several others of them in Turkey over whom he has no more jurisdiction than he has over the Imans or Priests every one of them submitting themselves only to the Magistrate and there being no Ecclesiastical Superiority amongst them That hinders not but that the Grand Moufti is honour'd by all the rest and in great veneration among the Turks The Grand Seignor never bestows that Dignity but upon a Person of great abilities and great integrity he often consults him in the Affairs of greatest importance he always follows his Directions and he is the only Person in the World at whose approach he rises up to receive him The Cadilesquers follow the Moufti and are Judges-Advocates of the Militia the Souldiers having this Priviledge That they are judg'd only by them whence they also call them Judges of the Armies There are but two of them all over the Empire the Cadilesquer of Romania and the Cadilesquer of Natolia who are in highest esteem next to the Moufti and have their Seats in the Divan immediately next to the Grand Vizir The Mollah or Moula-Cadis are the Judges of great Cities who receive their Commissions from the Cadilesquers to whom there may be an Appeal made from their Sentence in civil Concerns only for as to the criminal part the Cause is soon decided and the least Judge condemns to death without any Appeal The Cadis are under the Mollah and ought to be well vers'd in the Laws and Customs of the Countrey They have also under them the Naips who administer Justice in the Villages and that is done with much expedition without the help of Proctors or Advocates The Imans or Emaums are the Priests of the Turks and as 't were the Parsons of their Mosqueys where they take care that all things be done in order and at the times appointed The Hogias are the Doctors of the Law and as it were the Regents and Instructors of Youth The Sheiks are to them instead of Preachers and they make publick Exhortations The Muezims are they who cry upon the Towers of the Mosquey to call the People together at the hour of Prayer the Turks not using any Bells not the Christians in the Levant The Dervis are Religious Men among the Turks who live poorly and indeed the very word signifies poor They are for the most part ridiculously cloath'd and all generally great Hypocrites OF THE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF Gold and Silver-Coins And the small MONEY Now current in TURKEY Together With the History of the TRADE in Five Sols Pieces French MONEY and the Abolition of it THere are but two Species of Gold-Coins current all over the Turkish What Money current in Turkey Empire the one is the proper Countrey Money the other comes out of Forein parts The former is the Scherif otherwise called Sequin or Sultanine and that kind of Gold is worth at the present six Franks French Money though heretofore it yielded but five Franks nay came so low as four The Scheriffs come from Egypt and Cairo isthe only City of the Empire where The Gold brought to Cairo and coin'd there Gold is coin'd That Gold is brought out of the Kingdom of the Abyssines and this is the manner how it is brought to Cairo The quantity is not the same every year and when the passages are shut up whether by War or by extraordinary Rains whereby the Fields are overflown there comes but little Gold into Egypt during that time As soon as those obstructions are taken away and that there is a freedom of Commerce you shall see arriving at Cairo nay at Alexandria too several Abyssines who bring in one man two pounds another four every one more or less according to his abilities Those poor People run a thousand risques in their Travels and 't is almost a miracle how they bring them to a period Some of them are of that Country whence the Queen of Sheba came and which is now call'd the Kingdom of Sabour Others come from places at a greater distance and they have sometimes fifteen days journeys to make and cannot meet with any waters to drink but what are corrupt and destructive to health which I found but too true my self when I cross'd the Desarts of Arabia If by chance they come to some Cottage or Hut where they have kill'd an Elephant it is a place for them to feast in This consider'd we need not wonder at the short lives of those miserable people whose bodies are destroy'd in those Voyages and who for the most part do not exceed forty years of age The case is the same with those who trade with the Portugueses on the Coasts of Melinda and Mozambico the corrupt waters they are forc'd to drink in their way make them hydropical at five and twenty years at age and generally all the several peoples of the Kingdom of Sabour have the right Leg swell'd and twice as big as the left and seldom exceed five and thirty years 'T is a miraculous thing to see the fidelity wherewith those poor Abyssines demean The sincerity of the Abyssines themselves in trading as well those of the Southern parts who are Christians as those of the North who border upon Egypt and are Mahumetans For after they have taken the Commodities they like for the Gold they have brought if the Merchant they deal with will supply them with any thing further to be paid at their return and upon their own words he is sure enough of it and need not break his sleep for it For if it happen that one of those Abyssines who is a Debtor should die by the way some of his Relations or Friends whom he acquaints with his affairs brings the Gold at the next return for the Commodity which had been taken up and it could never hitherto be found that any Merchant could complain that ever he had lost ought by any one of them All that is to be fear'd is that they should fall into the hands of their Enemies who rob and kill them and particularly on the South-side there being less danger towards the North. The foreign Coins of Gold in Turkey are the Ducates of Germany Holland Hungary and Venice They are very much sought after and they are
the poor Abyssines who come from the lower parts of Ethiopia to traffick at Cairo and the Idolaters themselves in the Indies amongst themselves and with Strangers with a strict observance of an inviolable fidelity CHAP. I. Of the extent and external parts of the Seraglio THE PRINCIPAL HEADS The Origine of the word Serrail or Seraglio common to all the Royal Houses as well in Turkey as Persia. The admirable Situation of the Grand Seraglio at Constantinople It s extent figure and externals The Artillery not kept in good order and the Gunners not well skill'd A delightful place of it self but restraint makes it otherwise THE Grand Seignor's Seraglio whereof I undertake to give a Description The origins of the word Seraglio common to all the Royal Houses in Turkey and Persia. is the Palace where the Ottoman Princes ordinarily keep their Court All the Royal Houses as well in Turkey as Persia have the same Name which derives its Origine from the word Serrai which signifies a great Noble House in the Persian Language The Grand Seignor has many Seraglio's in the Provinces of his Empire and the principal of them are those of Bursa and Adrianople two Residences which that Monarch does ordinarily make use of according to the conjuncture of his Affairs But to confine our selves to Constantinople we find there three Seraglio's which have all their different Beauties The old Seraglio is the Palace appointed for the retirement of those Women who have serv'd the Predecessors of the Prince Regent and whence they never get out unless it be in order to Marriage The Grand Seignor goes thither but very seldom and that when he is out of humour to pass away some days there in solitude The Seraglio of the Hippodrome so call'd from the Exercises done there on Horse-back which was built by Ibrahim Bassa Son-in-law and Favourite to the Emperour Solyman the Second serves now for an Amphitheatre for publick Festivals Exercises Combats Carousels and particularly for the Circumcision of the Ottoman Princes which is their greatest Solemnity The third is the Grand Seraglio whereof I make the Relation and to which that Name is principally attributed so as that there needs not any thing else to be added thereto to distinguish rit from the others I shall have but little to say concerning the Structures of it wherein there is not any thing extraordinary to be observ'd but shall rather insist upon what is privately done in each Appartment of that great Palace The Grand Seraglio is a vast place inclos'd which reaches to that point of Land where the ancient Byzantium was built upon the Bosphorus of Thrace and the joyning The admirable situation of the Seraglio of Constantinople together of the Aegean Sea and the Euxine which contribute so much to the beauty and wealth of Constantinople This great City let the Wind sit where it will does every hour receive some refreshments or other from one of those Seas and the Seraglio advancing it self into the Channel which makes a communication between them receives the first Advantages that may be derived thence That great Inclosure makes a Triangle one side whereof is to the Land-side and It s extent figure and extenals reaches to the City and the two others lye open to the Sea and a River which falls into it This Triangle is unequal and if it be divided into eight parts that side towards the Land takes up three of them and the five others are for the two sides abutting on the Sea Its compass is about three Italiah miles or one of our common Leagues And this Palace is surrounded all about with high and strong Walls flank'd on the Sea-side with square Towers at a considerable distance one from another and towards the City with round Towers which are at a nearer distance one from another from the great Gate of the Seraglio which is towards St. Sophia as far as the Sea where you imbark for Galata In those Towers in the night-time there are Guards of the Azamoglans to see that no Body approaches the Seraglio by Sea or Land and if occasion require they may fire some pieces of Artillery which stand always loaden upon a Quay of five fathom breadth which is carried quite about the Seraglio Upon one of those Towers about a hundred paces from the great Gate of the Seraglio as you go down in order to your passage over to Galata they have wrought a Closet into which the Grand Seignor goes sometimes to divert himself and to see People passing to and fro without being seen himself Somewhat lower and upon the Sea-side there is a spacious place cover'd over under which as if it were in a little Haven they keep the Caicks or Brigantines wherein the Prince takes his divertisement by Water when he is pleas'd to do it Not far thence within the inclosure of the Seraglio are the Habitations of the Bostangis who are entrusted with the conduct of the Brigantines and at a little farther distance in your way to the point of the Seraglio which is towards Scudaret stands the Quarter of the Bostangi-bachi Overseer of the Gardens of the Seraglio and of all the other Gardens belonging to the Grand Seignor Upon the Quay which as I told you does surround the Walls of the Seraglio The Artillery out of order and the Gunners not well skill'd there are forty or fifty pieces of Canon of different bigness and there are some of so great a bore that a Man might get into them Opposite thereto and in the middle of the Channel there is a Tower built upon a Rock which the Turks call Quisler houlesi or the Tower of the Virgins It is kept by Bostangis and has its Guns levell'd with the Water which better defend the Streight than those at the point of the Seraglio which for the most part are without Carriages and unserviceable Besides they want good Gunners and if all that Artillery were well mounted and manag'd by skilful Persons it would better keep in awe whatever comes out of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea Some few paces from the place where these Canons are planted there springs a Fountain which comes out of the Seraglio and casts a great quantity of Water for the convenience of the Vessels which lye at Anchor near it and supply themselves therewith it being not permitted that any should land on that side of the Seraglio but upon that account We have spoken sufficiently of the external parts 't is time we now enter into the A pleasant abode but restraint makes it otherwise Seraglio and rather consider what passes in every Appartment of it than the Structures thereof wherein as I said there is not any thing of Magnificence whatever some Persons might invent who in my presence have made noble Draughts of it grounded on their own pure Imaginations I have seen as much of the Seraglio as a Stranger could do and I have seen it several times in
the Treasury of the Ottoman Monarchs and there are yet some very Remarkable passages to be The Ancient Custome practis'd when the Grand Seignor drinks between Meals communicated relating to the other Quarters of the inner part of the Seraglio Between the Treasury and an obscure Vaulted Gallery in length between Fifteen and Twenty paces which conducts you to an Iron-Door by which there is a passage into the Gardens you find on the left hand the Appartment of the Pages of the Kilar or the Cup-Bearer's Office That is the place where they prepare the Sherbets and other Liquors for the Grand Seignor's own drinking and where they keep the Wine if it happens that he drinks any as Sultan Amurath did of whom I have often had occasion to speak 'T is an ancient Custome That when the Grand Seignor calls for Water to drink between meals every time he so calls costs him ten Sequins or Chequins The Ceremony observ'd therein is this In the Chamber call'd the Haz-Oda which is the Appartment of the Forty-Pages who are alwayes near the Grand Selgnor's Person there is perpetually one of them standing Sentinel at the Entrance which leads to the Cup-Bearer's Office where two Pages of the same Quarter are in like manner upon the Sentry When the Grand Seignor is thirsty and calls for water the Page of the Haz-Oda immediately makes a sign to the two Pages of the Kilar of whom one advances up to the Kilar-bachi or Cup-Bearer himself crying out Sou which signifies Water to advertise him that the Prince would drink and the other runs to the door of the Haz-Oda where the most ancient of the Forty Pages gives him Ten Sequins That Page is the Treasurer of the said Chamber and he payes the small Sums which the Grand Seignor gives order for an Office which might be call'd in English The Treasurer of the petty Enjoyments The Water is sometimes brought in a Cup of Gold sometimes in a Vessel of Pourcelain placed upon a large Server of Gold about two foot diameter and enrich'd with Precious Stones within and without That is look'd on as one of the richest pieces of Plate belonging to the Seraglio The principal Cup-Bearer who is a white Eunuch carries it with great Ceremony attended by a hundred Pages of the Kilar whom he ordinarily has under his Charge and upheld under the Arms by two of them who walk on both sides of him For it is requir'd That he should carry it lifted up above his head and so he cannot see his way but by looking under it When he is come to the Door of the Haz-Oda the Pages of the Kilar who have accompany'd him so far pass no further save only the two who uphold his Arms and the Pages of the Chamber go along with him quite into the Grand Seignor's Presence But when they come to the door of the Chamber two of the more ancient among them take the places of the two Pages of the Kilar and compleat the conducting of the Kilargi-Bachi under the Arms to offer the Cup to the Prince When he has not any thing to say to him he carries it back again into the Kilar but if he will take his opportunity to entertain him with some Affair he delivers the Cup and the Server into the hands of one of the Pages who led him under the Arms and he delivers it to those who belonging to the Cup-Bearer's Office waited there in expectation of his return 'T is in the same place to wit that under the over-sight of the Cup-bearer they keep A way to quench thirst at meals wholly particular to the Levantines all sorts of refreshing and cooling Waters as that of Peaches Cherries Raspices and such other fruits The Turks do not drink during their refection that is not till they have given over eating and because it is possible they may be dry whilst they eat take here the manner how they quench that thirst They are serv'd at Table with these Waters in great Cups of Pourcelaine which hold about two Quarts and the better to distinguish them they put into every one of those Cups some of the same fruit from which the Water that is therein had been extracted and which they had preserv'd for that purpose Every one has lying by him a Wooden spoon which holds three or four times as much as any of our ordinary ones and whereof the handle is of a length proportionable for as to Gold or Silver spoons it is not their custome to use any With those spoons they can take out what is in the Cups according to the Water which they most fancy and so they suspend thirst taking ever and anon some spoonfuls of it It is also in the Cup-bearers Appartment that the Treacle is made which the Turks The Composition of Treacle call Tiriak-Farik and there is a great quantity of it made because they use it as an Universal remedy and charitably bestow it on all sorts of people as well in City as Country who are desirous of it The Vipers which are us'd in this composition are brought out of Aegypt and they make no account of those which other Countries afford or they are of opinion at least that the former are much the better for that purpose Before the Appartment of the Kilar there is a Gallery whereof the floor is pav'd A stately service of Gold Plate with square pieces of Black and White Marble and sustain'd by eight fair Pillars of White Marble and at the end of it is a little Quarter where the principal Cup-bearer has his residence There also are the Lodgings of his Substitute the Kilarquet-houdasi who is not an Eunuch as the Kilargi-bachi is and who at his removal out of the Seraglio is ordinarily advanc'd to the charge of a Bassa The Kilargi-bachi has in his custody all the Gold and Silver-plate the Basins the Ewers the Bowls the Cups the Servers and the Candlesticks the greatest part of that service being garnish'd with Diamonds Rubies and Emeralds and other pretious Stones of value As for golden Dishes and Candlesticks without any additional embellishments of precious Stone there are some so large and so massy that there must be two men to carry one of them These Candlesticks are made after a fashion quite different from ours They are ordinarily two or three Foot high upon a Base of above twelve inches Diameter and the upper part thereof is as t were a Box or kind of Lamp with its beak and it may contain above a pound of suet 'T is to prevent the fall of any thing upon the Carpet that they make the foot of the Candlestick so large as I told you and besides it is requisite that it should bear some proportion to the height The match or wieke which they put into the Suet beaten into small bits is about the bigness of a Man's thumb and consequently must needs make a great light in the Room As to the Kilarquet-houdast he
Termerossa and Asshowa 20 miles from Temerossa it falls into the Jein Sea and hath a Course of 500 miles The next is the River of Balke which comes out from Cabardy and falls into the River of Terigke 200 miles from its Source which River of Terigke descends from the Mountains between Shollohofe Knasse and Mundarawa Knasse runs through the Countrey almost due East passes by Goracho Colloda thence to the Shussa and the Shunsa so on to the Weistra and 6 miles from Tumein between Tumein and the Commocks Countrey it falls into the Caspian Sea having a Course of 600 miles There is another River called Tumenka which is a branch of Terigke runs through Tumeine Town and 3 miles beyond it enters the Caspian Sea There is also another River which they call Keeslar which falls out of Terigke and 60 miles from Tumeine is received by the Caspian Sea Having formerly mentioned Pettigor I shall give you some Account thereof Pettigor being interpreted is in English 5 Hills They are five very great and high Mountains distant about 500 miles from the Black Sea and 700 from the Caspian beyond Cabardy I came thus to know them In the year 1618. I was sent with Shiedake Myrsa from Astracan to the Little Nagoy to seize upon Orrake Myrsa who being informed of our coming fled up to Pettigor yet he made not such hast but we overtook him and having fought overcame him and took away his Hords by which means I became acquainted with Pettigor Nevertheless there are higher Hills than Pettigor as Sneesnagore in Cabardy which is incredibly high which is in English the Hill of Snow for upon that and Shadgore which signifies a wonderful high Hill and overtops the former and so along for 100 miles from Cabardy to Shollohofe prodigious quantities of Snow are lodged which it's thought were never dissolved since the Creation I asked a Circassian Whether ever any Man arrived at the top of Shadgore which to me seemed much elevated above the rest who answered me They had a Tradition among them that formerly a Bohatteere whose Name was Hroda attempted to climb it and after two or three days hard labour arrived not unto the middle but after a few days being better accommodated he returned with a resolution if it were possible to see the top but was never afterwards heard of and added That it was to that day customary for the neighbouring Circasstans at a certain season of the year with divers Ceremonies and great Lamentations to bewail his loss The next Countrey to Sheercassen Land is Abassa which is situated between Circassia and Mingrellia and the Inhabitants are a kind of Circassians Mingrellia is under the Dominion of the Turks and lies on the Black Sea Of these two Countreys I have no great knowledge having only coasted them three or four times in Boats when I was among the Cossacks where also we landed divers times taking store of Kine and Sheep but no Prisoners because they affirmed themselves to be Christians They are a proper handsome People but very poor and notorious Thieves for they steal not only Goods but even Women and Children from each other and sell them unto the Turks and Tartars chiefly for Salt which is there very scarce Next unto Mingrellia is Georgia whose Inhabitants are little better than the former only they have a kind of Scripture for they worship Idols or Images yet have Cloisters and a sort of Monks with some Priests of the Greek Belief I once landed in Georgia with an Army of 5000 Men we marched up into the Countrey until we came within a days journey of Deimur Capou or the Iron Gate which is a narrow passage between Georgia and Anatolia with Rocks on each side and a strong Town built in the midst We stayed ten days ravaging the Countrey they told us this Town and Castle belonged to the King of Persia and there is no other passage out of Georgia into Persia but through it The next Countrey unto Georgia is Anatolia where our Traveller resided several years having been sold by the Precopensian Tartars unto a Turkish Spahi or Timariot of which Countrey and the Manners of the Inhabitants he gives a large Description But we being sufficiently informed thereof by divers intelligent Europeans who dwelt long in those Parts shall with our Traveller pass on to those Countreys which are less known But first we will take his Account of the Periplus of the Euxine or Black Sea From Fennara which is at the head of the Strait or Gulf that enters the Black Sea to Precop is 700 miles from thence to Caffa a noted City and Port in Crim 300 miles to Asshowa 500 miles to Temerossa 500 miles to Mingrellia 400 miles to Trebezond 400 miles and from thence unto Constantinople 1000 miles in all 3800 miles Thus much I know of the Black Sea which I have three times coasted by Sea and traced above half by Land so that now it is time to speak concerning the Caspian Sea and shew all the Kingdoms and Countreys which lie upon it beginning at Astracan and proceeding thence Eastwards until I return unto the same City from the South Astracan is placed on a rising ground not far from the mouth of the Volga from which it is not distant above 50 miles it is in an Island on the Great Nagoy side made by the River Volga and a branch thereof having the Caspian Sea on the South The Town or City is secured by a strong Castle furnished with store of great Ordnance and in the midst of the Castle is a Roskade which commands both Castle Town and the Fields round about for above a mile The Tartar's Town is adjoyning placed near unto Cutuma which is a River naturally derived from the Volga or one of its many branches so that the Town is incompassed with Waters having the main body of the Volga on the West and Cutuma on the East Now if you would know whence the Volga comes I will acquaint you with what I have learned from the Muscovites It s utmost Source is said to be at the foot of a great Tree whence it runs unto Jerislave 1000 miles whence it proceeds to Neisna 500 miles and thence unto Cassan 300 miles from Cassan to Samara 500 to Saratoft 350 miles to Saraichena 350 and thence unto Astracan 500 miles from whence it is as we said before unto the Caspian Sea 50 miles in all 3550 miles The Volga is a wonderful great River abounding with divers sorts of great Fish as Sturgeon Bellouke Severuke Shelren Sterleke Som Sassan Suke Soudake Konnee Sablee Lessee Wobla Tarane and many others both great and small which I cannot readily call unto remembrance notwithstanding that I dwelt there ten years The Volga enters the Caspian Sea by 22 mouths and upon each of them is an Oughsuke or Fish-wear for to take Sturgeon every one of which Oughsukes is called by the name of the Water as Soellova Dertullee Bosserigee and
Ruslowa upon the main Wolga Cokelou Beerullee Ewansuke Mansor Argeessan Keessan Camusshuke Naowara Tussockly Collobery Malla Collobery Yamansuke Eirichsha Surka Libessha Bussan Carabussan Bealla Wolloskee In all which Oughsukes or Wears they take no Fish besides Sturgeon They are made of Shigenas or long Poles made sharp at one end and beaten into the ground under Water and a pleiting made of Rods somewhat resembling Osier after the manner of our Matts which are fastned to the Poles and hinder the Fish from passing up the River And Houses are built near the Wears for the Convenience of the Fishers 40 50 more or less according unto the greatness of the Water or resort of Fish and twice every day usually in the morning and evening they set about their Fishery They imploy only long slender Poles with an iron Hook or Cruke in the end baited and do ordinarily take 400 every day in the smaller and 600 in the larger Streams The Sturgeon they take is all salted excepting that wherewith they serve the Town of Astracan where a whole fair Sturgeon may be bought for ten pence English and when the great Caravan comes from Russia it takes off most of their Fish which is conveyed into divers parts of Muscovy but chiefly unto the great City of Mosco They return also with great quantities of Caviar and Salt there being not far from the Volga on the Little Nagoy side great Salt-pits which yield an immense quantity of Salt prepared yearly by the heat of the Sun without any further trouble than taking it off the superficies of the Water where it daily kerns The Volga a little above Seraichena 500 miles from Astrachan dismisses a great Branch named Actabon which passing through the Desarts of the Great Nagoy through Bussane enters the Caspian Sea The remainder of the Volga after having parted with several smaller Branches most of which joyn with the forementioned River divides the Little and Great Nagoy passes under the Town of Astrachan whence it proceeds unto Ruslowa on the South-west side of Crosna Boggar then falls into the Caspian And the distance between the East-side of the Volga near Astrachan and the River Actabon is about 20 miles which is mostly Water and Islands And that the Course of the Volga from its first Source until it doth dis-embogue it self into the Caspian Sea can be no less than what we have asserted is hence confirmed That the Snow which falls abundantly in Russia and begins to be dissolved about the latter end of April and do mightily increase the Waters of the Volga come not unto Astrachan until Midsummer when it so raises the Volga that overflowing the Banks it covers with his Waters all the Islands near Astrachan so that from the Little Nagoy unto Actabon in the Great Nagoy all the Countrey seems excepting a Hillock or two one continued Lake or a great Gulf of the Sea Wherefore they who go in the Spring from Astrachan to fetch Wood having cut it make great Floats which are lifted up when the River overflows and guided each by a few Men until they are brought unto Astrachan or those other places for which they are designed The most remarkable Towns and Habitations upon the Volga between Seraichena and Astrachan which are 500 miles distant from each other are Camena Rokegowa Osshenofka Chornoyar Borisse Offatalka Poollowoy Collmakof Satone Cossoyar Crosnoyar Nassonoyar Satone Yanatavy Daneelofka Perre Ousshake Eillansuke Eiskyborro Crukla Bussan Balsheeke Tollotonygorod Dolgoa Goradocha which was old Astrachan Sharina Bogor which is near Astrachan besides many other Places with whose Names I have not charged my memory We will now pass over the Volga through Astrachan into the Great Nagoy The Great Nagoy may be properly enough divided into Islands and Continent the former are made by the Volga and several Rivers which fall out of it variously mix'd with each other and are all at length emptied into the Caspian Sea Those Rivers or Branches have their several Names those which I remember are Cuttoma Boulda Malla Guellusa Creewantya Busane Actabon and Bereket The Kingdom of the Great Nagoy is all plain and desart 1200 miles in length between Astrachan and Samara 500 miles in breadth from the said Astrachan unto the River of the Yeike or Jaick There is no Wood in all this Countrey except what grows near the Rivers It hath no Towns or fix'd Habitations though it had formerly divers and some among them very considerable as Czarofsgorod or Czarofs Pollate in English the Emperor's Town which formerly must needs have been as its Name imports an Imperial or Capital City I have often viewed it with admiration and cannot compute it to have been less than 20 miles in Circuit I have told fourscore great eminent Buildings which must have been either Moschees Pallaces or Caravanseraies and some of them 6 miles distant from the other The Muscovites are of divers Opinions concerning its Destruction Some say it was ruined by the Cossacks but the Cossacks who are ready enough to brag of their Atchievements know nothing thereof only that they have often dispossessed the Russes when they endeavoured to rebuild part of it For indeed the Situation is very excellent having the Volga on one side the Actabon on the other The Countrey very beautiful healthful and fertile and yet notwithstanding all these encouragements it is not yet inhabited not by the Russes because it standing on the main Land they would be continually exposed unto the Inroads of the Tartars nor by the Tartars because its nearness unto the Rivers would render them obnoxious to the Russes every time the great Caravan passes that way which is at least twice each year Yet the Muscovites do frequently fetch Brick and Stones from this ruined City wherewith they have built a great part of Astrachan and the neighbouring Forts or Towns where such solid Materials are imployed But besides this Serai for so the Tartars call any fix'd Habitation there were in ancient times five or six more down along the Rivers side in each of which formerly dwelt a Chan but Time and Wars have almost entirely ruined them There is also another Serai upon the River Jaick named Seraichika where is said formerly to have been the Residence of a great Myrsa or Chan but 't is now quite ruinated The Tartars who inhabit the Great Nagoy both Men and Women are very proper at least of much taller Stature than many other Tartars but have ill-favoured Countenances broad Faces flat little Noses small Eyes sunk in their Heads all which are common to most of the Eastern Tartars But the Tartars of Crim are more comely which I suppose may partly proceed from their Wives who are many of them Captive Circassians Russes Poles Hungars and of divers other Nations The Nagoy Tartars are also Black or rather Tawny which I Conjecture is not so much natural as proceeding from the heat of the Sun which is in these Parts some Months of the Year much
more Excessive than one would expect from the Climate And besides their Children go stark naked during the great heats in Summer It is also remarkable That the Cold in Winter in the same Country is exceeding severe and one would think to them who have such mean accommodation intollerable These Nagoy Tartars have great store of Cattle as Kine Sheep Horses and Camels and yet notwithstanding they are very ill clad most of their Clothing being Sheep-Skins and those but scurvily dressed They have no sort of Corn or Grain mightily scorning the Europeans and Persians whose chief Diet they say is the top of a pitiful weed Polygamy is not only allowed but altogether in fashion among them most having divers Wives more or fewer according unto their Quality and Ability who unless they are Captivated by War are such as they buy of their Parents or Kindred for Cattle If one Brother dye the other takes all his Wives who are usually 5. or 6. But if all the Brothers die either in War or by Diseases then they are devolved like other Goods and Chattels unto the Elder Brother's Son they never suffering any married Woman during life to go out of the Kindred Here our Author hath inserted a Discourse concerning divers odd and some barbarous Customes which have long prevailed among the Nagoy Tartars and wherewith they will not easily Dispence But they giving little light unto History or Geography I have not thought them worthy the trouble of transcribing ner do I apprehend they would afford any considerable instruction or divertisement unto the Reader These Tartars of the Great Nagoy when they remove their habitation transport their Houses from place to place in Waggons with 4 Wheels which are drawn usually by Camels thoy pass up and down the Country in great Hordes their ordinary march is from the Volga unto Buskowshake thence to Voroslane Samara Eirgeesse Eishene Ougogura Reimpeska and all along under the Calmukes Country untill they arrive at the Jaick or Yeike Sometimes they pass by Cassoone Aurrow Camoyes Samar and so to Saraichika This is ordinarily their Summer Progress Against Winter they return unto those parts of the Country which border upon the Caspian Sea As Baksake upon the Caspian Sea Beallnssa Kitgach Sheennamara Coudake Caradowan Actabon and higher upon the Volga scattering themselves upon the Sea-shore and Banks of the Rivers among the Reeds and VVoods or wheresoever they find the Climate most mild and best Defence against the Cold which in the VVinter is in those Parts extremely severe so that 't is hard to determine whether they suffer more from the Heat in Summer or Cold in Winter During which latter Season they leave their Hergels or Horses and most of their greater Cattle to shift for themselves in the Deserts Having had often occasion to mention the River Jaicke or Yeike I shall here give a short account of what I have observed and learnt concerning its Rise and Course It comes from the Calmukes Land where it is thought to spring though some of the Russes affirm it Fountains are more Remote in Siberia the Southern parts of which is also inhabited if not possessed by the Kalmukes some of whose Ulusses or Hords are subject unto the Muscovites others in League with them but they have sometimes cruel Wars and did formerly destroy Tumen with some other Towns and Castles of the Russes who they apprehended did incroach too fast upon them But to return unto the Course of the Yeik after it hath passed through the Calmukes Country it divides the Great Nagoy from Cassachy Horda and after it hath passed in all a Thousand miles throwes it self into the Caspian Sea a little below Seraichika This is a very large River and the Land on each side well cloathed with Wood Grass divers sorts of Herbs and wild Fruits and the VVater full of good Fish which Conveniences do oft-times invite the Cossacks to make their abode there and from thence they make Incursions on divers parts bordering on the Caspian Sea This River among divers other Fish doth so wonderfully abound with Sturgeon that a man may stand upon the Pank side with a Pole in hand arm'd at the end with an Iron Crook make choice of what Sturgeon best pleaseth him which he shall rarely fail of taking though never so inexpert in Fishing if he have but strength or help to draw it on Land Not far from the Mouth of the Jaick in the Caspian Sea near the Shore are many Coves and Corners which they call Lapateens and Cultukes which are alwayes full of Swans usually swimming on the Sea which are so numerous that it is impossible to make any reasonable Computation thereof These Swans after Midsummer every Year cast their Feathers a little before which time there parts from Astracan many Boats which are manned by Russes and most of them are their Youth after a passage of 500 miles they arrive at these places which the Swans mostly haunt and having filled their Boats with Swans Skins and Feathers they return unto Astracan where a great Trade is driven with the Persians who give ordinarily a Dollar apiece for these Skins The next Country unto the Great Nagoy towards the East is Cassachy Horda which hath as I said on the West the Jaick by which it is divided from the Great Nagoy On the North the Kalmukes North East the Yurgeach or Jurgench Tartars and to the South the Caspian Sea and Caragans who inhabit on the North East side of the Caspian Sea These Cassachy Tartars march up and down the Country much after the manner of the Nagoys They have frequent Wars with the Kalmukes and Yurgeachians but seldome with either Nagoys or Caragans Only after the manner of most other Tartars they will clandestinely steal even from those Neighbours with whom they have the most uninterrupted and profound Peace Cassachy Horda is altogether Desart excepting some Woods Northward bordering upon the Kalmucks where there are divers small Rivers which empty themselves into the Jaick which River is also in most places bordered with Woods unto its Entrance into the Caspian Sea And therefore the Inhabitants may well be named Cassachy Horda or Wild people as the name imports They sowe no sort of Corn their chief Food being Horse-flesh and Mares milk which is also common to divers other Nations of the Tartars On the North of Cassachy Horda dwell the Kalmuke Tartars if such a life as they lead may be called dwelling The Country they inhabit deserves a better People the Land abounding with all things necessary for a Comfortable subsistence This Country hath store of Sables Marterns Black Foxes Squerrils and several other sorts of Furs which they Exchange with the Russes for Aqua-vitae Mead Tobacco and other Commodities This Country hath some Towns as Siberia the Head of a Province of the same name and Tumen both which the Russes have gained from them Ouffha Wadle Sellona Lucomoria which latter place they say is
they do most irreconcileably hate each the other The most noted Places on that side the Little Nagoy which regards the Caspian Sea and lye all along the Coast from Tumeine to Astracan are Sheerlona Yeare where I was first taken Prisoner by the Tartars Peremetka Arsi Bash Moyackee Bealla Oshera Bashmachake Kaboylly Machakofska Chostoway and so over the Volga unto Astracan And to conclude all I shall here enumerate all the Places on the Coast near Astracan which have Names that are considerable for Havens Trade Fishing or any other remarkable Circumstance Soteeza Bockgra Ueuslowa Cossa Beerulska Cossa Ewanshoska Cossa Seamme Bogoroffe Tussocleoff Lapateene Chaska Cossa Crosna Bogore Cocklouska Cossa Owarska Cossa Comashaska Cossa Colloberinska Cossa Cocktabow Bussanska Lapaten Kara Bussan which last place is not far from Sheene Mare which I have formerly mentioned I cannot so exactly tell the Circumference of the Caspian as of the Black Sea having been only on the North and West side but howsoever I shall from what I have seen and learnt from Experienced persons be enabled to approach very near unto the Truth The Distance between Astracan and the Jaick is 500 miles from thence unto the Confines of Bochara 500 miles From Jaxartes to Persia and thence unto Gilan is according unto my Information 1100 miles From Gilan unto Koisa 500 miles From thence unto Astracan as much in all 3100 miles But if any person should endeavour by Land to Travel round this Sea or in a Voyage by Sea follow the Coast he would make at least a Thousand miles more for this Sea is full of great Gulphs Bays and broken ground so that the Calculation I make is upon a direct passage by Sea suppose from Astracan to Gilan from thence to the Oxus from the Oxus to the great North-East Bay into which the River Jem falls which is full of Islands and broken Grounds Shelves Sand and Shallow Water and from thence back to Astracan Having presented your Lordship with a short but true Account of those Countries encompassing and lying between the two forementioned Mediterranean Seas I shall no less briefly and faithfully declare by what Accidents I came unto this Knowledge which cost me so dear that I suppose the most inquisitive person would not purchase the gratification of his Curiosity at a far less Expence of time and trouble than I have imployed though often against my will in my Travels and Enquiries I was born in Ireland yet of English Extract My Family Noble but my Estate not corresponding with my Quality being ambitious and withal naturally inclined to fee Forraign Countries I hoped to Raise my Fortune by my Sword After I left Ireland before I had been long in England an opportunity presenting it self I engaged in the Service of the King of Sweden who had then Wars with the Muscovite having given some Considerable proofs of my Courage I was gradually raised unto a Considerable Command but being engaged too far in a Body of the Enemies I was unhappily taken Prisoner by the Russes and carried Prisoner unto Plescow then in their possession having at the same time Arrears due unto me from the Swede above 5000 Dollars The Swedes taking no care for my Enlargement being willing I suppose to save so great a Summe of Money as at my Return I should have challenged after Three years close Imprisonment I was proffered Liberty by the Muscovite upon condition I would faithfully serve him against all his Enemies whereunto assenting I was sent unto Moscow and there before the Chancellor sworn a Tolmack and preferred unto a Command little inferiour unto what I enjoyed before And the Poles advancing towards Moscow with a great Army fearing lest I should go over unto them I was sent unto Astracan where I remained 10 years being continually Employed against the Tartars and Circassians By which means I came to know Pettigor Sneesnagor Shadgore Cabardye and the Great and Little Nagoy the Comukes the Tartars of Cassan the Kalmukes Cassachy Horda Caragans Ungensh and Usbeg Tartars During which Wars I conflicted with great difficulties and hardship In making long Journies faring hardly Nor was it a small labour to make floates in order unto our passing over the great Rivers I have mentioned to say nothing of the Danger Besides we run great hazards in our Journeying over those waste wide howling Desarts which on every side surrounded us frequently wanting provisions and sometimes Guides so that had we failed never so little in our Conjectures we had all perished After Ten years hard Service in my Return frrom Convoying Shollohofe Knez into Shercassen Land I was taken Prisoner by the Tartars of the Little Nagoy and by them carried unto Assowa upon the Mouth of the Tana or Don. There I was sould unto a Precopensian Tartar who carried me along with him towards Crim But upon the shallow Waters I very happily made my Escape I had little Knowledge of the Country but having formerly understood by our Cossacks at Astracan that great Bodies of the same name mortal Enemies unto the Tartars dwelt upon the Nepper not far beyond Crim by the help of the Sun and Stars I journeyed due West many days without any disastrous Adventure until I found them who gave me a very kind reception In this escape I traversed almost the whole Desart of Ingile and Ungule Dorosensko who then Commanded all the Cossacks upon the Nepper immediately made me a Poskofneke from which time for the space of almost two years I did accompany them in divers Expeditions in which we visited most of those Countries which lye upon the Black Sea to the no small vexation and loss of the Inhabitants We kept a Correspondence with the Cossacks upon the Don and frequently assisted each other And being all Foot and the Country exactly level we travelled surrounded with Wagons which they call a Tabor for fear of the Tartars who often set upon us but were as often repulsed we being well accommodated with Fire-Arms and small Field-pieces which the Tartars do exceedingly fear and will not ordinarily attempt closely unless they have greatly the Odds in Number But at length it was my ill Fortune between the Nepper and the Don to be again taken by the Tartars and by them carried into Crim where I lived long in great misery and was at length sould unto a Timariot Spahi living in Anadoule Anatolia or Asia minor with whom I lived 5 years but in more easie servitude than among the Tartars And to make my service less irksome my Master bestowed on me a Wallachian Woman whom I received for my Wife though without the usual Solemnities of Marriage which are practised among Christians Understanding at length that a Lord Ambassador was resident at Constantinople in behalf of the King of Great Brittain and to manage the Affairs of the English Nation in Turkey I prevailed with my Master whose Favour I had gained to grant me my freedom together with my Wives if I
they are reckon'd to be five or six for one Mahometan It seems a wonderful thing that such a prodigious multitude of men should be cow'd by a handful and bow so easily under the yoak of the Mahometan Princes But that wonder well may cease when we consider that those Idolaters are not in union among themselves for Superstition has introduc'd such a diversity of Opinions and Customs that they can never agree one with another An Idolater will not eat Bread nor drink Water in the House of any one that is not of his Caste though it be more noble and much more superior to his own Yet they all eat and drink in the Bramins Houses which are open to all the world A Caste among the Idolaters is very near the same thing which was anciently call'd a Tribe among the Jews And though it be vulgarly believ'd that there are seventy-two Castes yet I have been inform'd by some of their most ingenuous Priests that they may be all reduc'd into four principal ones from whence all the rest drew their Original The first Caste is that of the Brammins who are the Successors of the ancient Brachmans or Indian Philosophers that study'd Astrology You may also meet with some of their ancient Books in reading whereof the Brammins spend all their time and are so vers'd in their observations that they never fail a minute in the Eclipses of the Sun and Moon And to preserve this knowledg among themselves they have a kind of University in a City which is call'd Benarez where they make all their Exercises in Astrology and where they have Doctors that expound their Law which they very strictly observe But in regard they are so great a number and cannot all come to study at that University they are all very ignorant and consequently very superstitious those that go for the most refin'd Wits being the greatest Sorcerers The second Caste is that of the Raspoutes or Ketris that is to say Warriors and warlike people These are the only Idolatrous Indians that have any courage to signalize themselves in War All the Raja's that I have so oft'n mention'd are of this Caste. These are so many petty Kings whom their disunion has render'd Tributary to the Great Mogul But in regard that the greatest part of them are in his service they are highly recompenc'd by the large Salaries they receive for the small Tribute which they pay These Raja's and the Raspoutes their Subjects are the chiefest support of the Dominions of the Great Mogul for indeed the Raja's Jesseing and Jessomseing were those that lifted up Aureng-zeb to the Throne But you must take notice that all of this second Caste are not Warriors for they are the Raspoutes only that go to War and are all Horsemen But for the Ketris they are degenerated from their Ancestors and of Soldiers are become Merchants The third Caste is that of the Bannians who are altogether addicted to Trade of whom some are Sheraffs or Bankers others broakers employ'd between Merchant and Merchant for buying and selling Those of this Caste are so subtil and nimble in Trade that as I have said before the Jews may be their Prentices They accustom their Children betimes to fly idleness And instead of suffering them to lose their time in playing in the streets as we generally do they teach them Arithmetick which they are so perfect at that without making use either of Pen and Ink or Counters but only of their memories they will in a moment cast up the most difficult account that can be imagin'd They always live with their Fathers who instruct them in Trade and do nothing but what they shew them If any man in the heat of passion chafe at 'em they hear him patiently without making any reply and parting coldly from him will not see him again in three or four days when they think his passion may be over They never eat any thing that has life nay they would rather dye than kill the smallest Animal or Vermin that crawls being in that point above all things the most zealous Observers of the Law They never fight nor go to War neither will they eat or drink in the House of a Raspoute because they kill the Victuals they eat all but Cows which they never touch The fourth Caste is that of the Charados or Soudras who go to War as well as the Raspoutes but with this difference that the Raspoutes serve on Horseback and the Charados on Foot Both of them take it for an Honour to dye in Battel and let him be Horse or Foot that Soldier is accounted infamous that retreats in Fight 't is an eternal blot in his Family Upon which subject I will tell you a story A Soldier who was passionately in love with his Wife and reciprocally belov'd by her had fled from the fight not so much out of any fear of death as out of a consideration of the grief which it would occasion to his Wife should he leave her a Widow When she knew the reason of his flight as soon as he came to the door she shut it against him and order'd him to be told that she could never acknowledge that man for a Husband who had preferr'd the Love of a Woman before his Honour that she did not desire to see him any more as being a stain to the Reputation of her Family and that she would endeavour to teach her Children to have more courage than their Father The Wife continuing firm to her resolution the Husband to regain his Honour and her affection return'd to the Army where he so behav'd himself that he became famous and having highly made amends for his Cowardise the door of his House was again set open and his Wife receiv'd him with her former kindness The rest of the Natives that are not reckon'd in the number of these Castes are call'd Pauzecour These are such as employ themselves in Handicraft Trades among which there is no other distinction but according to the Trades which they follow from Father to Son So that a Taylor cannot prefer his Son but only in his own Calling though he be never so rich nor marry either Son or Daughter but to one of his own Craft By the same rule when a Taylor dies all those of his own Trade accompany the Corps to the place where it is burnt and the same practise is observ'd in all other Trades Among the particular Castes there is one that goes by the name of Alecors whose employment is only to clean Houses for which every Family pays him something once a month according to their proportion and quality If a person of quality in the Indies keeps fifty Servants let him be Mahometan or Idolater there is not one of them will take a Besome in his hand to sweep the House for he would think himself affronted it being one of the greatest scorns you can put upon an Indian to call him Alacor Besides every one of those
Servants knows his business whether it be to carry the pot of Water to drink by the way or to give his Master his Pipe of Tobacco when he calls for it so that if the Master should bid one to do that which the other was appointed to do that Servant would stand like a Statue and never make him any answer But for the Slaves they are oblig'd to do what ever the Master commands them These Alacors having no other business but only to make clean the Houses eat the scraps of all the other Castes and so without scruple feed upon any thing There are none but those of this Tribe make use of Asses to carry away the filth of the Houses into the Feilds for which reason none of the rest of the Indians will so much as touch that Animal which is quite otherwise in Persia as well for carriage as to ride upon Moreover there are none of the other Indians except the Alacors that will eat Pig CHAP. IV. Of the Kings and Idolatrous Princes of Asia THE chiefest of the Idolatrous Kings of Asia are the King of Aracan the King of Pegu the King of Siam the King of Cochinchina and the King of Tunquin As for the King of China we know that he was an Idolater before the Tartars invaded his Dominions But since that we know not what to report of certainty in regard that the Tartars who are now Masters of the Country are neither Idolaters nor Mahometans but rather both together In the Islands the King of Japon the King of Ceylan and some petty Kings of the Molucoa Islands are Idolaters as are all the Raja's as well in the Empire of the Great Mogul as in the neighbouring Kingdoms of Visapour and Golconda In a word all the meaner sort of people as well in the Territories of the Great Mogul Kings of Golconda and Visapour as in the Isles of Achan Java and Macassar though their Kings are Mahumetans are all themselves Idolaters Some fifty years ago one of the Kings of Ceylan became a Christian and was baptiz'd by the name of John being call'd before the Emperor Priapender But as soon as he had embrac'd the Christian Faith the Princes and Priests of the Country set up another King in his room He endeavour'd all he could to bring his people to follow his example to which purpose he assign'd to the Father Jesuits twelve large Villages about Colombo for the bringing up the youth of the Country in their Colledges to the end that they being well instructed might instruct others For the King made it plain to the Jesuits that it was impossible for them so well to understand the Language of the Country as to be able to preach to the Natives Besides that they found the ingenuities of the Youth of Ceylan so quick and apprehensive that they learnt more Latin Philosophy and other Sciences in six months than the Europeans learnt in a year and that they put such subtle Questions to their Masters as were beyond imagination Some years after the King had profess'd Christianity a witty man of the Island of Ceylan and a good natural Philosopher whose name was Alegamma Motiar or the Master of the Philosophers after he had convers'd with the Jesuits and other Religious persons was inspir'd to turn Christian. Thereupon he went to the Jesuits and told them that he desir'd to be a Christian but withall he was very earnest to know what Jesus Christ had done and lest in writing They gave him the New Testament which he set himself to read with that heed and study that in less than six months there was hardly a passage which he could not repeat After that he again testifi'd to the Jesuits and other Religious persons that he had a great desire to turn Christian in regard he found their Religion to be such as Jesus Christ had taught but only he wonder'd that they themselves did not follow his example For that he could never find by his reading that Jesus Christ ever took any money of any body but that they took all they could get and never baptiz'd nor buri'd unless they were well paid But though he started the Question he was baptiz'd and afterwards became a sedulous converter of others CHAP. V. What the Idolaters believe touching a Divinity THough the Idolatrous Indians attribute to the Creature as to Cows Apes and several Monsters those Divine Honours which are only due to the true Deity yet they acknowledg one only Infinite God Almighty and only Wise the Creator of Heaven and Earth who fills all places with his presence They call him in some places Permesser in others Peremael and Westnon among the Bramins that inhabit the Coast of Cormandel It may be because they have heard that the Circle is the most perfect of all Figures therefore it is that they say God is of an Oval Figure for they have in all their Pagods an Oval Flintstone which they fetch from Ganges and worship as a God They are so obstinately wedded to this foolish imagination that the wisest among the Bramins will not so much as hear any argument to the contrary So that it is no wonder that a people led by such blind Guides should fall into such Abysses of Idolatry There is one Tribe so superstitious in reference to that Article that they carry those Oval Flints about their Necks and thump them against their Breasts when they are at their devotions In this dark and lamentable mist of Ignorance these Idolaters make their Gods to be born like men and assign them Wives imagining that theirs are the pleasures of men Thus they take their Ram for a great Deity in regard of the Miracles which they believe he wrought while he liv'd upon Earth Ram was the Son of a potent Raja who was call'd by the name of Deseret and the most vertuous of all his Children which he had by two lawful Wives He was particularly belov'd by his Father who design'd him to be his Successor But the Mother of Ram being dead the Raja's other Wife who had her Husband entirely at her beck prevail'd with him to exterminate Ram and his Brother Lokeman from his House and all his Territories upon whose exclusion the Son of that Wife was declar'd the Raja's Successor As the two Brothers were about to be gone Ram's Wife Sita of whom he went to take his leave and whom the Idolaters worship as a Goddess beg'd of him that she might not leave him having made a resolution never to forsake him whereupon they all three went together to seek their fortunes They were not very successful at first for as they pass'd through a Wood Ram being in pursuit of a Bird stray'd from the Company and was missing a long time insomuch that Sita fearing that some disaster was befall'n him besought Lokeman to look after him He excus'd himself at first by reason that Ram had oblig'd him never to leave Sita alone foreseeing by a Prophetick Spirit what would
and generally all the Inhabitants of the Eastern parts make the Pilau The way of ordering the Pilau after this manner According to the quality of the persons who are to be entertain'd and the quantity which is to be made of it you take either a piece of Mutton alone or together with that some Pullets or Pidgeons which are to be boyl'd in a pot till they are half done or somewhat more When you think them so far boyl'd then pour out both meat and broath into a Basin and the Pot being wash'd put it on the fire again with Butter in it which they suffer to melt till such time as it is very hot Then they chop the meat which had been but half-boyl'd into little pieces the Pullets into quarters and the Pidgeons into halves and so they cast it into the Butter they fricass it till it be of a very brown colour The Rice being well wash'd they put some into the Pot over the meat as much as they think fitting and the broath which had been pour'd into the Basin they also put it into the Pot Ladle-ful after Ladle-ful over the Rice till such time as it stands two fingers breadth above it Then is the Pot immediately cover'd there is a clear fire made under it and they ever and anon take out some grains of the Rice to see if it be softned as also whether it be requisite to put in some more of the broath to compleat the stewing of it For it is not like the Rice brought into our parts which presently breaks asunder but their Rice is of such a kind that is must be fully boyl'd and yet the Grain entire as well as the whole Pepper wherewith they season it As soon as it is come to that condition they cover the Pot with a cloath three or four times doubled and set the Pot-lid upon that and some time after they make another melting of Butter till it be very red to be cast into the holes which are made in the Rice with the handle of the Ladle after which they cover it again of a sudden and so let it stand soaking awhile and then serve it up It is put into large Dishes with the meat handsomly dispos'd upon it and some part will be white that is continu'd in its natural colour some part yellow occasion'd by a little mixture of Saffron and a third part of a Carnation-colour done by the tincture of the juyce of Pomegranate Nay though the meat be as fat as is requisite for the ordering of this Dish yet to make the Pilau more delicate and palatable to them they bestow three pounds of Butter on six pounds of Rice which makes it so extraordinary fat that it disgusts and is nauseous to those who are not accustom'd thereto and accordingly would rather have the Rice it self simply boyl'd with water and salt There are always two or three Dishes serv'd up after that manner to the Grandees of the Port who for the most part keep open Table and instead of flesh they cover them with a great Aumelet or Omelet made with good Herbs and about three fingers thick or with some poach'd Eggs which are neatly dispos'd all about it A man is never incommodated by this kind of Rice but the other which is too fat is not fit for those who drink wine and will not excite in them a desire to eat of it often Since I have given you an account how they order the Pilau I cannot forbear making A particular way of roasting in the Levant you a further discovery of the Turks management of the Kitchin and telling you how they roast their meat The greater sort of meat as sheep and Lambs are roasted whole in Ovens made in the Floor wherein they hang them by the heads and they are taken out thence as it were brown-bak'd and Cook'd well enough so as to excite appetite At the bottom of the Oven there is ordinarily a Basin plac'd having in it some Rice and fair Water which receives the drippings of the Beast the very Tayl it self which sometimes weighs fifteen or twenty pound yielding a good quantity thereof as being in a manner all fat The Tayls of the Lambs having not so much fat are excellent meat and in a manner as delicate as the Sweet-breads of Veal These Lambs being thus roasted are always serv'd up with Rice under them and for the greater Tables they serve up two of them in a Dish So that there is no use of Spits in the Turkish Kitchins but what is for Poultry or Fowl which they order so untowardly that when they are brought up to the Table they appear so mangled and disorder'd that it is no easie matter to distinguish the head from the feet But it is to be observ'd that the Pilau and all sorts of Flesh-meat are not serv'd up but only at Supper about five of the Clock in the Evening and that in the morning those of better Quality eat only Sallets Herbs Fruits and Conserves the meaner sort of people contenting themselves with meats made of Milk Melons and Cucumbers according to the Season As for Fish the Turks care not much for it and though the Seas and Rivers are well replenish'd therewith yet they seldom eat of them It seldom happens also that any Venizon or Wild-Fowl comes into their houses as being a kind of meat they do not any way relish But above all meats they have an aversion for the Hare which observation I made also in the Armenians who are of a perswasion that the Female The Turks have an aversion for the Hare of that Creature has its monthly courses regularly as the Woman hath It is easily perceivable by what account I have given that there is no great variety or delicacy in the Turkish Entertainments and that the French and other Europaeans would not think themselves well treated thereat But however their Kitchins are kept very neat they have all the accommodations requisite for their way of dressing and whether you consider the Dishes and other Vessels they use or the meat it self there is as much cleanliness as can be expected The Officers where the Conserves and Sweet-meats are made there being six or Conserves seven of them are above the Kitchins and serv'd by four hundred Halvagis who were establish'd by Sultan Solyman a magnificent Prince who also regulated all the Offices and Officers of the Seraglio They are perpetually at work in those seven Offices and there they prepare all sorts of Conserves dry and liquid and several sorts of Syrups as also several kinds of Turchi which are Fruits preserv'd in Vinegar and Salt into which they put a quantity of fragrant Herbs such as Rosemary Marjoram and Sage In the same Offices they also prepare the ordinary drink of the Turks which they call Sherbet and it is made several ways That which is most common in Turkey comes Several compositions of Sherbet somewhat near our Lemonade but
there is very little water in it 't is in a manner all juyce of Lemmon or Citron having an intermixture of Sugar Amber and Musk. They make another sort of it which is highly in esteem and that is made with the water distill'd from the flower of a Plant which grows in Pools and Rivers and has the figure of a Horse-shooe These flowers are yellow and called Nuloufer But the Sherbet which they most esteem and which is drunk by the Grand Seignor himself as also by the Bassa's and other Grandees of the Port is made of Violets and Sugar and there is but little juyce of Citron put into it They make also another sort of drink which they call Magion compos'd of several Drugs whereby it is made hot and there is another sort purposely prepar'd for the Grand Seignor himself called Muscavi of which he takes a Dose when he intends to visit the Sultanesses The principal Persons about the Court send for it secretly to the Halvagibachi who does not deny them as being a great advantage to him because he is well paid for it Nor do they want Snow and Ice to cool all those Liquors and the Turks are much more humorous and delicate in their drinks than they are in their Meat At a place ten or twelve paces distant and opposite to these Offices is the Receptacle Receptacles for the Waters of the Seraglio or Reservatory which distributes all the Waters of the Seraglio and they are thence directed to every Quarter into the places where there is a necessity of them One of the Baltagis has his station there all the day long to give Water as he is directed And when the Grand Seignor passes from one Quarter to another the fountain of that where he is in person plays continually during his abode there by a Signal which is given to the Baltagi On the left hand in the same Court and opposite to the Kitchins may be seen the Grand Seignor's little Stables which do not hold above twenty five or thirty The little Stables choice Horses design'd for his Exercises with his Favourites and above the Stables in great Rooms they keep the Saddles Bridles Housses Trappings Foot-cloaths and Stirrops which are of inestimable value by reason of the abundance of precious Stones whereby they are enrich'd There are some Harnesses which amount to a million of Livers French Money The great Stables stand all along the Canal which beats against the Walls of the Seraglio They are always well replenish'd and in good order and they take care that there be not so much as one vacant place therein In those Stables does the Grand Seignor keep a great number of Horses of value to be reserv'd for the War or to be us'd in some Magnificent Solemnity that Strangers may see the Splendor of his Court. CHAP. IV. Of the Hall of the Divan and the exact Justice which the Grand Seignor causes to be admitted there THE PRINCIPAL HEADS The Divan-Hall not very magnificent The Council-days Causes quickly decided The causes of that expedition of Justice in Turkey The subtle Policy of the Ottoman Family The care which is taken to prevent the revolt of the Janizaries How the Grand Seignor assists at the Divan or Council The bold action of a Timar-Spahi who kills a Grand Vizir and is pardon'd The noble Genius of Sultan Amurat and by what Artifices he discover'd a great breach of Trust. A kind of Beads us'd by the Turks at their Prayers A noble Example of a severe act of Justice At what times and how the Grand Seignor rids those out of the way whom he suspects The days on which Ambassadors come to the Divan THe Hall of the Divan which belongs to this Second Court is on the left The Divan-Hall not very Magnificent hand next to the little Stables as you go towards the Grand Seignor's Quarter 'T is a great low Hall cover'd with Lead and wainscoted and gilt in some places within from which it derives a little Ornament The Floor of it is cover'd with a great Carpet and there are some Benches for the Officers of whom that Council consists which the Turks call Divan There are as I told you Galleries of all the sides of that Court which makes it look as it were like a Cloister and 't is under that Gallery which is on the right hand that the Janizaries have their station while the Divan is sitting The Council sits ordinarily four days in the week which days are answerable to Council-days the Saturday Sunday Munday and Tuesday of the Christians Justice is there exactly administred to any one that desires it and for what cause Causes soon decided soever it be so as that the differing Parties have no need either of Proctors or Advocates names not known in Turkey and the Persons concern'd are to lay open their Cases themselves There is no talk of delays or putting off from one time to another people shall not languish in expectation but the business is decided immediately what nature soever it may be of Though this Custom be very commendable yet can it not be so well practis'd The Reasons of that Expedition of Justice amongst Christians because they stand upon the property of what they have and that is deriv'd by Inheritance from some to others and the litigious partitions of them do many times engage the Proprietors thereof in long Suits of Law 'T is quite otherwise amongst the Great Officers of the Port who are all Slaves either taken in War or sent up as Presents by the Bassa's and Governours of Provinces All their Estates when they die return to the Grand Seignor from whom they had receiv'd them so that it is a perpetual Circulation and their Children as I told you in the beginning of this Discourse are brought up to the Seraglio to be educated there and that without any hope of ever succeeding their Parents either in their Estates or Employments The Ottoman Monarchy has always observ'd this subtle Policy not to permit that any Family should aggrandize it self and be powerful from Father to Son but they bring it down as soon as they have rais'd it up and timely enough deprive them of the means whereby they might create Factions to the disturbance of the State Thence it comes that besides the Royal Family of the Ottomans they know not what Gentility and antiquity of Extraction means there 's no emulation upon that score and Charges and Dignities are bestow'd answerably to the Merit of the Person without any consideration of his Extraction Nay it sometimes happens that the Principal Ministers of the Empire are the Sons of Cow-keepers as was one Rustan a Grand Vizir who made so much noise under the Reign of Solyman And so being not any way oblig'd to their birth they acknowledge their Fortunes to be the reward of their Education But to return to the administration of Justice amongst the Turks Those who make