they may stand in need of and not trust to Suez or Tor for a Camel will carry all I 'm sure for want of that counsel we suffered much and when we came back to Caire were all troubled with a Rheum that fell down upon our Lungs like to have choaked us by reason of the cold icey waters that we were forced to drink upon that Mountain nay our Moor Servant had almost lost his Life by it CHAP. XXXV The Journey from Caire to Gaza BEing recovered from my Journey to Mount Sinai From Caire to Gaza I resolved to travel to Jerusalem and seeing that which most recommends these places to us is the Birth Life and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ I stayed till Lent that I might be there at the time when the Church celebrates the memory of his dolorous Passion There is a Caravan that yearly in Lent goes from Caire to Jerusalem and with the Master of the present years Caravan who was a Christian of the Countrey I made a bargain for eighteen Piastres each Coune and all Caffaires payed to Jerusalem Counes These Counes are Hampiers like Cradles carried upon Camels Backs one on each side but they have a back head and sides like the great Chairs that sick people sit in A man rides in each of these Counes and over them they lay a covering which keeps them both from the Rain and Sun leaving as it were a Window before and behind upon the Camels back We wanted four Counes for we were four in company to wit a Capucin a Provencial my self and my Servant A Clergy man pays less than a Secular but the Capucin payed only sixteen Piastres the Religious not paying so much as the Seculars We had Biskets made for us French Bread Wine in Flasks Rice Lentils and other Lent-Provisions carrying with us a Tent a Pot or Skillet and in short all that was necessary not forgetting Candles Candlestick and Leather-Buckets to draw Water with All this we had carried upon a Camel over and above the Bargain Being thus provided we parted from Caire Saturday the three and twentieth of March at one a Clock after noon every one mounted on his Ass and by four a Clock came to Hhanque Hhanque which is a little Town where the Caravans of Jerusalem make their first Stage There we lay and next day came the whole Caravan consisting of six Score Camels with several Horses Mules and Asses We parted from Hhanque Monday morning the twenty fifth of March and rested without the Town till Noon at which time we set out on our journey Bulbeys and at eight a Clock at night came to ly at Bulbeys we had a tryal then of these Panniers and for my part I was much at my ease for I had under me a good thick quilt and a Pillow and lay at full Length turning my feet sometimes towards the neck and sometimes towards the tail of the Camel though the Camel-drivers kept a heavy clutter crying that I spoil'd their Camel for they would have had me sit after the Turkish manner as all the rest did Next day Tuesday the twenty sixth of March we parted from Bulbeys at one a Clock after Noon and came to lodge at Corede where we arrived at eight in the Evening and we parted from thence next day Wednesday the twenty seventh of March at Noon and at eight a Clock in the Evening we came to Salahia Salabia Tamarisks there are very pleasant Woods of Tamarisks about all these places but though all of them were good Towns and Villages yet we lay abroad in Tents making a little Camp and in the Night-time Guards with Musquets were placed on all the Avenues of the Caravan who suffered none to come in or goe out they are payed for that and it is a very good course to prevent being Robbed Next day Thursday the twenty eighth of March at Noon we parted from Salahia and about ten a Clock at night crossed over a fair Bridge under which runs the Water of the Mediterranean Sea that remains on land when that Sea makes any Inundation so we were told but it is probable it may be the Sirbonite Lake Sirbonite Lake We travelled on till five a Clock in the morning next day when we encamped in a place called Elbir Devedar because of a dirty Well of salt Water that is near to it Bir. for Bi r in Arabick signifies a Well the Beasts are watered there but such as have not provided themselves of fresh Water know what it is to want it at that place We parted from thence the same day Friday the twenty ninth of March about noon and betwixt three and four of the Clock we found upon the Road a Well called Bi r like the former but continued traveling till nine a Clock at night Catie when we arrived at Catie where we rested the next day being Saturday the thirtieth of March because of the Jews who do not travel on Saturday and there being a good many of them in the Caravan they had credit enough with the master of the Caravan to obtain this Catie is a Village where there is indeed a well of water that is not indeed salt but still unpleasant for drinking as being very sweetish but two miles from Catie there is a well of Water which is good after that it hath stood a little at Catie we ate fresh Fish half as long as ones Arm as broad and thick as Carpes and of as good a rellish they did not cost us a Maidin or five farthings a piece Cachef Saturday after noon the Cachef of Catie pressed our Camels th fetch wood from the Sea-side which is but a little way off and they did not come back till the next day Sunday at One a clock in the Morning which hindred us from Parting from Catie till the day after The Cachef of Catie sent for me to shew me some Books he had got a great many Latin and French Books of Physick and Chirurgery that had belonged to a Dutch Chirurgeon who died there some Months before as he was coming from Caire with the Caravan which the Cachef signified by Letter to the French Consul at Caire he told me that he had a Chest full of them he shewed me also holy Sepulchres and other such Relicks of the same Dutch-mans and gave me some of them having afterward treated me with Coffee he asked me wherein he could serve me I thanked him heartily for his civility and being returned to my Tent made up a Box of Raisins Almonds and such other Fruits which are there a great Treat and presented it to him We parted from Catie Monday the first of April at nine a clock in the Morning and four Turks armed with Muskets and Shables waited on us as a guard to Riche because we were afraid to be set upon by the Arabs About two a clock we found a shallow and narrow but very long Pit
Damascus Kfr. and is by others called Malhomar Some of it was sent in my time Malhomar from Aleppo to Venice for the same purpose it was sent for by a Merchant residing in Venice who had formerly lived at Aleppo I remember that I have read upon that Subject in the History of Stones written by Anselmus Boetius de Boot in the Chapter of the Lythanthrax or Pit-coal that the Boors of the Countrey of Liege make an Oyntment of Pit-coal wherewith they anoint the Eyes of the Stocks of their Vines least the insects should gnaw them Mixto oleo hic carbo emolliter eoque unguento Agricolae vites oblinunt ne earum oculi ab insectis erodantur I was told that in Cyprus and many other places of Turkey they use a little drug for the same ends At Aleppo when the Grapes are ripe they bring them to the Town Grapes in Sacks of Goats hair without breaking though sometimes they be brought eight French Leagues from that City These Grapes have a very thick Skin are all white and make a very strong Wine the best time to gather them is in the Month of May. All buy as many as they stand in need of for making of Wine for it is the Custom of the Inhabitants of Aleppo that every one makes his own Wine in his own house after this manner The way of making Wine at Aleppo They put the Grapes into a great square fat of wood where they press them with mens feet and then the Wine runs into a Pale or a shallow Tub through a hole and strainer at the bottom of the fat When it is all run out they put it with the Lees into very large Earthen Jarrs where it works for thirty or forty Days these Jarrs are covered onely with a Board and a Cloath over it without any fear of its taking vent In this manner they leave it as long as they please nay sometimes a whole Year carefully stirring it every day And when they have a mind to drink it they draw it off provided the time at least wherein it was to work be over and they put it with the lees again into the fat where they strain it a second time When it runs no more they put the lees into a bag and press them in the same press with mens Feet till no more come out and what comes out runs into the rest Then they spread the Stalks of the Grapes that have been so prest in the fat and pour upon them all the Wine again and so let it run through a third time This being done it is clear fit for drinking and hath no lees They then barrel it up and in that manner make Wine at Aleppo all the months of the year but as I have already said it is onely White-wine for there are no red nor black Grapes in all those Quarters The Christians in that City make very good Brandy but they who sell it are obliged to put about six Drachms of Alum into a Bucket full of Brandy to make it stronger for otherwise the Turks would not like it They drink very good Water at Aleppo observing a great deal of circumspection in the use of it It is indeed River-water but it is diverted from the River about three Leagues above Aleppo near a place called Ailan from whence it is brought into the City in open Aqueducts which coming near the Town are conveyed under ground to Fountains whence they take the Water These Aqueducts have been made for purifying the Water which is very muddy and also for supplying the City for the River being low in the Summer-time the Gardens drain all the Water almost with their Pousseragues The Francks have Cisterns also which they fill with the Water of these Aqueducts by opening a hole in the Cistern through which the Water comes and then stopping it again aswell as the mouth of the Cistern which they open not but in Summer and these Cisterns are made not onely to keep the Water very cool but also to make it pure and clear They have besides another excellent way of clarifying it that is they put the Water into great Jarrs of unburnt Clay through which it distills and falls into Vessels put underneath to receive it This River of Aleppo comes from Antab two days Journey from thence and loses it self under ground about half a league beyond Aleppo many think that it comes from Euphrates near to which it hides it self under ground and appears again at Antab Though commonly they eat but little Fish at Aleppo nevertheless they have sometimes great plenty but onely when they are brought from Euphrates The little River furnishes several Trouts which are not above a Fingers length and very small but exceeding good They take good Eeles in it which though they be but small are most delicious There are also a great many Crabs in that River which are broad and flat Crabs and pretty good They are at no pains to fish for them when the Mulberries are knit because these Crabs delighting in that Fruit fail not to ramble about and crawl up the Mulberry-trees to feed on the fruit and then it is no hard matter to catch them Cucumbers The Cucumbers are so good in Aleppo that not onely the Countrey-People but the Francks also eat them green skin and all and they do no hurt though they be eaten in great quantity it is the same all over Mesopotamia There is no salt used in this City but what is brought from a place a day and a halfs Journey of Caravan distant towards the North-East it is made of Rain-water which in the Winter falls into a spacious low place that makes a kind of a Pond and that Water having extracted the Salt out of the ground it covers congeals and is formed into Cubes of Salt like to Sea-Salt it is brought to Aleppo on Mules but is nothing near so good as Sea-Salt There is very good Turkey Leather made at Aleppo There also aswell as at Damascus they prepare the Sagri which is that we call Chagrine in France but much more of it is made in Persia They are so jealous of their secret in preparing of Turkey Leather that they suffer no body to enter their houses The Sagri is made of the crupper-piece Skin of an Ass The way of making Chagrin they shave that skin so long till it become smooth white and thin like Partchment but what they do with it afterwards is all mystery I did all I could to learn it but could not onely I was told by a Jew who trades in it and deals much with them that they put some very small grain upon the skin so prepared which being pressed makes at first little dents in it but these dents afterwards filling up again they make that grane which we see in Chagrin but he assured me that he knew not in the least what grain it was they made use of I came to
Bottles with a good deal of straw and two of these Chests make a Mules load They have also store of Capers Capers which they send also into all parts They preserve another thing in Vinegar which I never saw done any where else Preserved Grapes and that is Grapes which they gather half ripe and the time of gathering them they take to be when the Sparrows begin to peck them they put these Grapes into Bottles with good store of Vinegar which so macerates them that they lose their hardness yet no so as to become too soft or lose their Greenness only they look a little yellowish These Grapes preserved in Vinegar have a certain sweet acidity which is not unpleasant especially in the great heats and therefore they send great quantities of them into the Indies Rose-water They have also abundance of Roses from which they draw so much Rose-water that they furnish all the Indies with it They have a great deal of Corn but they give much of it to the Horses to be eaten in the blade because they say it would not come to maturity for want of water There is a great deal of Opium made at Schiras and round the Town there are large fields sowed with White Poppies A powerful Chan of Schiras In former times Schiras was Governed by a Chan who was the first of Persia and his Government reached as far as Lar Bender and the Isle of Ormus nay he was so powerful that in the Reign of the great Schah Abbas there was a Chan or Schiras called Imem-Couli-Chan who spent as much as the King and kept no smaller Family in so much that the King commanded him to spend a Mabmoudi less a day that there might be some difference betwixt their Expences Schah Sâ—fi grand Child of Schah Abbas and Father to Schah Abbas who Reigns at present put that Chan and all his Children to death because he was afraid that being so powerful he might play him some trick and after him there have been some Chans in Schiras but at present there is none a Vizier commands there as the Kings Farmer to whom he yearly pays out of his Government a thousand Tomaâ— which make a hundred and fifty thousand Crowns CHAP. III. Of the Road from Schiras to Bender and first to Lar. WE parted from Schiras Monday the sixteenth of March half an hour after Eight in the Morning having let the Caravan set out an hour and half before We took our way Southwards and past near the Lime-Kilns the way was good and in a lovely cultivated Plain Half an hour after Nine we had on our Left Hand a large Village called Oudgeval by which runs a Rivulet about half an hour after Ten we struck off a little to the Right Hand Oudgeval marching full South over Land all white with Salt where nothing grows but Abrotanum foemina An hour after we crossed over a Bridge of ten Arches under which a little River runs Abrotanum foemina It is called Poulifesa in coming to it you go along a Causey and find such another on the farther side the water that runs underneath is as salt as sea-Sea-water Poulifesa about Noon we entered into a great Plain covered with green Grass where having Travelled till half an hour after One a Clock we came to a wretched Kervanseray standing all alone it is called Baba-Adgi from the name of its Founder who lies buried hard by and is five Agatsch from Schiras Baba-adgi close by this Kervanseray there is a little Spring which makes a great marish in that Plain but the water being naught they drink of another a little farther off which is very good water We parted from that place Tuesday the seventeenth of March half an hour after Six in the Morning and marched South-East in a great green Plain full of Heath where we saw on both hands several Villages and a great many Flocks of Sheep feeding having Travelled there till half an hour after two in the Afternoon we arrived at a Kervanseray standing by it self and called Mouzeferi seven Agatsch from Baba-Adgi near to it there is a Spring of very good water Mouzeferi behind the Kervanseray there are several vent-holes by which one may see the water run and Fish playing therein whereof some are pretty big We parted from thence on Wednesday the Eighteenth of March half an hour after five in the Morning and kept our way Southward going up Hills and down Hills covered with Turpentine-Trees and Heath this Heath is like Tragacantha and has a Carnation-Blossome divided into four or five Leaves bearing a kind of Wooll Turpentine-Trees Tragacantha Erigerum Paira and perhaps it is your Erigerum we were troubled with this rough and stony way till Noon that we arrived at a great Kervanseray called Paira which stands alone by it self and is four Agatsch distant from Monzeferi A few steps from that Kervanseray there is an artificial Canal drawn from a River a little beyond and parallel to it that River comes from the Mountains of Orostan which are above thirteen or fourteen days Journy from thence and runs as far as Tadivan a great Village Tadivan upon the way to Lar six Agatsch from Paira it afterwards loses it self in the fields which is not to be wondered at because these people having scarcity of water when they can command a River they so let it blood by drawing it off to water their Grounds that they reduce it to nothing nevertheless in those places where that River is in its strength it is seven or eight Fathom broad the water of it is clear and good and runs rapidly in a fair bed of Sand where there is not a stone to stop its course it is full of Fish Rose-Laurels and Planted on the sides with Rose-Laurels and such like Trees so that there can be nothing more charming to the sight The Canal that passes near to Paira is cut from it a little above this place and waters many Sowed fields which being done about four Agatsch lower it falls again into the same River from which it was never far distant but in all its course it runs through high ground whereas the River rowls with a great noise in a very deep precipice We parted from that place Thursday the Nineteenth of March at four of the Clock in the Morning and held our way South-Eastwards having met now and then with very stony ways we found afterwards a fair way where on each hand we saw good Corn-Land with a great many Villages where there were many Gardens full of Trees About eight a Clock in the Morning we arrived at a fair large Kervanseray Chafer called Kervanseray Chafer from the name of a Village close by it on the River-side which at this place is dwindled away almost to nothing this is a great Village and nothing to be seen in it but Gardens with long Walks in them
where one may take the Air under the shade of Orange-Trees which are prodigiously big and bear much Fruit. There they have plenty also of Limon Pomegranate Date and other Fruit-Trees of all sorts nay and Vines also and the River runs in a bottom by the back of the Village in short it is a very agreeable place especially to those who have Travelled over large barren and dry Countries this Village is three Agatsch from Paira We left that pleasant Quarter Friday the Twentieth of March half an hour after one a Clock in the morning keeping still South-Eastwards in our way but a little toward the South in a fair even and smooth Road about four of the Clock we crossed a large Brook of running water which comes from the River of Paira below Chafer and a little after we crossed a Canal of running water over a little Bridge We afterwards crossed several other little Brooks having always to our Right Hand a great many Villages about break of day it behoved us to pass one large Brook more and about six a Clock in the Morning we found a little House where Rahdars lived about two or three Musket-shot from thence at the foot of a Hill Tadivan there is a Village call Tadivan where the River of Paira loses it self and ends Families of Arabs Upon that Road we met several Arabs with their Wives and Children on Camels which carried all their baggage also they were driving their Flocks of Sheep and Goats Since our departure from Schiras we dayly met such and they came from about Gomron and Lar. These Arabs Lodge under black Tents and have vast Flocks wherein consists the greatest part of their substance and that is partly the reason that they have no fixed Habitation and that they even remove from one Country into another in the different seasons of the Year just as some Birds doe For in the Spring they leave the Country of Lar and other places thereabout where the Heat is too great and packing up bag and baggage betake themselves with their whole Families towards Couchouzer which is a Village I have mentioned with very good Land about it and when Winter begins to draw nigh they pack up their Houses again and with their Flocks return towards Lar and Gomron where it is never Cold. It is not only the Heat that in the Summer-time drives them out of the hot Countrys but also the scarcity of water for they need a great deal for their Flocks They are almost all Black both men and women have long black Hair and cover not their Faces About Nine a Clock in the Morning we entered into stony way where we kept marching till half an hour after Ten that we arrived at a little Kervanseray called Mouchek Mouchek standing by it self and built in stony ground surrounded with Hills about some hundred paces behind this Kervanseray there is a great round Cistern four or five Fathom in Diametre and is very deep it is covered with a great Dome of rough stone that hath six Entries by so many Doors that are round it by which they go in to draw water which in the Spring-time is so high that it comes almost up to the Doors swelling so high by the Rain-water in the Winter-time by means of a Trench that comes from a neighbouring Hill at each Door there are steps to go down to the bottom when the water is low for there is no other water in that place They make Cisterns besides in those Quarters Cisterns after another manner they are of an Oblong Square covered with a long Convex Vault shaped much like the Roof of a Coach with a Door at each end and one of these ways are all the Cisterns from that place to Bender built We parted from that Kervanseray which is six Agatsch distant from Chafer Saturday the one and twentieth of May half an hour after Two a Clock in the Morning and had stony way till about Four after that we found a good Road which led us full South about half an hour after Five we past by the Walls of a ruinated Kervanseray with a Cistern adjoyning it about Seven a Clock we found some Brooks and then Travelled amongst good Corn-Fields until half an hour after Ten when having passed by a great many Gardens we arrived at a large Kervanseray Dgiaroun which is about an hundred paces from a little Town called Dgiaroun and is hardly worth a good Village however there is a fair Bazar in it This Town is on all Hands encompassed with Gardens full of Palm-Trees which there are so numerous and grow so near one another that they make a great Forrest and to say the truth I never saw so many together in one place Tamarisks besides the Tamarisks which are likewise plentiful in that place They have many Wells there and draw their water with Oxen as in all the rest of Persia in the manner I have described when I treated of Mosul There is a Cistern near the Kervanseray like to that of Mouchek but it is bigger having at least seven or eight Fathom in it Diametre it has a little house belonging to it which consists of a Kitchin and a Lodging-Room for the use of such as will not Lodge in the Kervanseray or cannot when it is full this place is five Agatsch distant from Mouchek there we began to feel the heat though in the Mornings a little before Sun rising we had pretty cold Winds before the Gate of the Kervanseray there is one of those Ox Wells with a great trough for watering the Horses but it is not good for men who in the Town drink running-running-water We stayed there all that day and the following and departed Monday the three and twentieth of March half an hour after midnight we took our way Westward by a very stony Road about an hour after we found a Cistern covered with a steep Roof half an hour after two we began to ascend the Hill of Dgiaroun The Hill of Dgiaroun to the South it is very high and the ascent not difficult save only that the way is full of stones but the higher one goes the worse it is and besides there is danger from Precipices that are on one side of it the truth is they have built little breast-walls about two foot high in some places to keep the Mules from falling down there one may see wild bitter Almond-Trees and other Trees of the Mountains We went up three or four times and down as often and the Sun found us in this exercise about five a Clock we came to a Cistern covered with a Dome and an hour after to another with a steep Roof Half an hour after seven we were passed our up Hills and down Hills but the way was still stony and bad at length about nine of the Clock we came to a little Kervanseray standing all alone near to which are two Cisterns the one covered with
good very pleasant Destberm Half an hour after five we came to a Lodge of Rahdars which is at the end of the Plain and is called Destberm commonly they make it a Menzil or days Journy from Chadgegih to Destberm because of the trouble of climbing over the Mountain which extreamly tires the Mules There being no water in that place but what is taken out of a beastly open Cistern we gave the Rahdars some Casbeghis and so went on A quarter of an hour after we found a Sepulchre in form of a square Chappel covered with a Dome and pretty near it two Cisterns We went downwards afterwards Chotal Ouscheneck by a very rugged descent called Chotal Ouscheneck in former times it was more rugged and I believe that neither Men nor Beasts could pass it but the Mother of Imam-Couli-Chan Governour of Schiras called Voli Naamet caused the passage to be made as now it is The Rock in many places is cut in the fashion of steps in other places it is Paved and all over where the way is so narrow that Beasts making a false step were in danger of tumbling into a Precipice there is a Parapet made of stone about a Foot and a half high and a Foot thick so that now it is passable though a great way of it one must alight and lead being come to the bottom of that descent for near three quarters of an hour we had very stony way and then came to a lovely Spring of water which spreads so over the Country that with its waters it covers a very large Plain it is called Abghine We saw that water the day before Abghine from Mount Andgira though there be a great Hill betwixt them We passed it at a narrow place upon a Bridge of two Arches which is all ruinous and is called Poul-Abghine Poul-Abghine Having Travelled on two hours and a half more over a barren Plain about half an hour after ten we came to Karzerum six Parasanges and a half from the last Stage Karzerum Karzerum is a Town of many Houses but all so miserable that in our Country the greatest Compliment that could be put upon it would be to call it Bourg or Village because it has a Market-place it depends on the Vizir of Schiras and is Commanded by a Kelonter there are two or three good Kervanserays it it and the water they drink there is brought above half a League from the Town but both in it and the Kervanserays there is water good enough for Beasts and the Kitchin. Here they would have seized our Mules to carry Provisions for the King to Ispahan but the Reverend Father Provincial going to wait upon the Kelonter to represent to him that we were Franks so soon as the Kelonter saw him he ordered that our Mules should not be taken because we were strangers They have a great many Grapes and Melons here and make Wine that may be made use of We parted from Karzerum Friday the second of October at two of the Clock in the Morning and Travelled on still Westwards in very good way Half an hour after four we passed by a sorry Village called Dris Dris where they have no water to drink but what is taken out of a little Lake About six a Clock we passed by a little River that runs in a bottom and there is a way along the side of it we took not that way but leaving both it and the River struck off to the Left Hand by a very stony way about seven a Clock we began to go up Hill in bad way and a quarter of an hour after found a Lodge of Rahdars to whom we made a Present of some Casbeghis and kept on mounting upwards till about eight a Clock and then having descended a little we came into a very even Plain but which produces nothing though there be not one stone in it Having Travelled therein an hour we passed by a Village called Kangh Turkon Kangh Turkon Kamaredge and still kept on in the same Plain till we came to a Village called Kamaredge at the farther end of it This Village is six Parasanges from Karzerum we arrived there half an hour after nine and Lodged in a House that was lent us for some small Gratuity the water we drank there is taken out of a Well close by We parted from that Village Saturday the third of October half an hour after three a Clock in the Morning A little after we passed by a Kervanseray called Kervanseray Khodgia Belfet it is not opened but in the Winter-time Khodgia Belfet when it Rains or Snows the rest of the Year it is shut and no body Lodges in it We continued going Westward but the way was very bad about four a Clock the way was so narrow that only one Mule could pass at a time it lyes betwixt two Hills that are very near one another but it is not above an hundred paces long immediately after we entered into another narrow pass among the Hills where the way is no broader and we went down Hill in very bad way until three quarters of an hour after four there we found a Caravan of several Mules and Camels which were coming from Bender Rik and we met with several others afterward every day Then we went up Hill for about a quarter of an hour and afterwards went down Hill again till six of the Clock in very irksome way and amongst dreadful Precipices being steep black Rocks where one is often forced to alight for fear of tumbling headlong After that we had good way but still amongst Hills until half an hour after six that we found a great broad and deep River Roudchone Bouschavir called Roudchone Bouschavir the water of which tasts a little sweetish the source of it is near the Town called Scheleston Scheleston which is a days Journy from Karzerum Northwards and it loses it self in the Sea towards Bender-Rik we Coasted along it at first in a Plain for the space of an hour and after that mounting during a quarter of an hour we continued our Journy by a flat way for another quarter and then lost fight of the River for the space of half an hour going up Hill all the while until about half an hour after nine we joyned it again and Travelled on along the sides of it an hour and a half in very good way There are many Villages thereabouts and much Cultivated Land some of which bears Tobacco I also saw in several places that fatal Shrub Kerzebreh About ten a Clock we Foarded over a large Brook that falls into the River of Bouschavir Bouschavir Sirt This may very well be the River which Sanson marks in his Map by the name of Sirt we Foarded it again a quarter of an hour after and then five times an end so that in less than half an hours time we crossed it six times having the water always up
Wind in Poop and a fresh Gale from South for those that go upon a Wind against Tide are driven back instead of going forward the Tides running very strong on that Coast and South Winds being rare Half an hour after eight at night we weighed Anchor and stood away North and by West the Wind being then North-East and by East Wednesday the sixth of January at two a Clock in the morning we came to an Anchor in seventeen Fathom water Having weighed again about nine a Clock we steered North North-East the Wind was then at East a little to the Southward but so weak that at ten a Clock it left us becalmed About three a Clock we had a Gale from West when we least expected it for it seldom blows on that Coast that was the reason we came not to an Anchor though it began to Ebb and we stood away North and by East Half an hour after five we had twenty Fathom water and at six a Clock we were becalmed Half an hour after eight we had the Wind at East North-East which made us steer away South-East but at ten a Clock the Tide of Flood beginning to make it behoved us to tack and stand away North and by East Thursday the seventh of January about four a Clock in the morning we came to an Anchor in ninteen Fathom water About nine a Clock a small Gale blowing from South-East we weighed though it was above an hour and a half to Flood and bore away East North-East but seeing the Wind did not last about half an hour after eleven we came to an Anchor again in seven Fathom water though it was Flood then but it did us no kindness because it carried us to Surrat and we were bound for Daman being so near it that some of the Ship discovered the Steeple of a Church in the Town Half an hour after one of the Clock we had a small Gale from North-East which made us presently weigh and bear away South-East and sounding every quarter of an hour we found first fifteen Fathom water then twelve after that ten and at least nine About four a Clock we steered away East South-East about five a Clock South South-East a little after we were becalmed and having cast out the Lead found eight Fathom water About six a Clock we turned the Ships Head East and by South half an hour after North-East and by East About seven a Clock we came to an Anchor in eight Fathom water and about a good League and a half from Land because there was no Wind and the Tide of Ebb cast us toward the South-West Next morning about nine a Clock we weighed though it was still low water only we had a Gale from South-East we steered East North-East that we might stand in to shoar and about half an hour after eleven we came to an Anchor a League off of the Town of Daman and Westward from it I did not go a shoar because the Captain told me that I could not stay there above an hour or two having ordered the Boat that carried a shoar Master Manuel Mendez to return immediately and being resolved so soon as he had unloaded his Goods to weigh Anchor and wait for no body I did not think going a shoar to be worth the pains of running the risk of being taken for there are Malabar Barks commonly upon the scout especially in the evening skulking behind some Points of Land and when they perceive any small Vessel make up to it and carry it away Daman is a Town belonging to the Portuguese who have made it very strong Daman Latitude of Daman and have a good Fort in it It lyes in the twentieth degree of North Latititude and is fifteen Leagues distant from Bassaim and forty from Diu. They have most delicate Bread at Daman and drink only water of a Tanquier but which they say is very good From Daman to Cape Comorin Cape Comorin a range of very high Hills runs along the Coast This Town has no other Harbour but a little Canal or Cut which is full at high water and remains dry when the Tide is out small Barks come into it but Ships ride out in the Road. Ours stayed there a little more than four and twenty hours for the Boats that were to come for the Goods of Master Manuel Mendez came not a Board of us till the next day which was Saturday it was noon before we had loaded them and it behoved us afterwards to stay till two a Clock for our Boat though we had fired a Gun in the morning as a signal for them to put off but the Sea-men being got drunk made never the more haste for that we did not weigh Anchor then till three a Clock in the afternoon and we stood away North the Wind being then at West North-West About seven a Clock we were forced to come to an Anchor because the Wind was down and the Tide of Ebb made us lose way About nine a Clock with a little Gale at East we weighed again and bore away North in five Fathom and a half water and for above an hour we had no more Next day being Sunday the tenth of January by break of day we were got within a Cannon shot of Land which was to our Starboard and to the Larboard we saw two great Ships at Anchor they were presently known to be Ships belonging to the King of Mogul which Trade to Moca Ships of the King of Mogul whither they carry at every Voyage above two Millions We saw many other Ships on Head some at Anchor and others under Sail amongst these there were two Dutch Ships who failed not to send off their Boats to know who we were taking us to have been an English Ship. At length half an hour after ten we came to an Anchor at the Bar of Surrat The Bar of Surrat in six Fathom and a half water and presently a Custom-House Waiter came on Board of us being there accidentally for commonly they come not till after the Captain be gone a shoar Next day Monday the eleventh of January several of the Custom-House Boats came on Board of us to take in all the Passengers and their Goods we went down into them and they put off from the Ship about half an hour after two at first we made towards shoar apace the Wind being good but it being low water an hour after we stuck a ground and it behoved us to stay for Flood to get off again which was not till half an hour after three when we weighed again the Anchor which we had dropped We went on then with the Tide for the Wind was contrary and within half an hour after ran a ground again where we were another half hour before we could get off having afterwards advanced a little farther we saw a small Isle to our Right Hand and from thence the Channel grows narrower and narrower About eight a Clock we passed by the
Looking-glass that another holds to you you have no more to do but to pay and be gone The common price of the Bagnio is two Aspres to the Master and they who would be well served give as much to the Man. These Bagnios are very commodious and I believe the frequent use they make of them preserves them from many diseases The poorest person that is Man or Woman goes at least once a week to the Bagnio There are Bagnios whither the Men go one day and the Women another others whither the Men go in the morning and the Women afternoon and others again solely for Women When the Women are there they are served by Women and it is a capital crime for any Man of whatsoever religion or quality he be to enter into the Bagnio where the Women are The modesty of the Turks It is also a great crime but punishable only by shame or some Bastonadoes at most to show ones privy Parts or to look upon another Person 's These Bagnios are heated underneath and Lords of high quality have them in their houses for their own and Wives uses CHAP. XXIV Of the Turks way of Eating Drinking and Lying THe Turks make no sumptuous Feasts and it is never heard in Turkie that a man hath undone himself by House-keeping a small matter contents them and a good Cook in that Country would have but a very bad Trade of it The Turkish food What Pilau is for indeed they are all Cooks there and they have no Sauces but what one may learn to make at first sight Their most usual food is that which they call Pilau This Pilau is Rice put into a Pot with a Pullet a piece of Mutton and Beef or only one of these and for want of Meat with Butter and when the Rice has boyl'd a little they take it off putting it into a large dish with a great deal of Pepper upon it and sometimes Saffron to make it look yellow When it is eating time Soffra the Turks Table they spread upon the ground a Carpet of Turky Leather which they call Soffra upon which they set the Pilau and Meat and breaking the Bread into pieces they distribute it all round then they squat down upon their heels like Taylors about the Soffra and all make use of one blew Napkin that is long enough to go round the Soffra then having said Bismillah that is to say In the name of God Bismillah which to them is instead of Benedicite they eat their Pilau with wooden Spoons a foot long making a scruple to eat in Gold or Silver and nevertheless the Grand Signior has Dishes of Gold Plate as we shall shew hereafter When they have no Spoons they make an easie shift without them putting the Pilau with one hand into the other and so carrying it to their mouth When they come to the Meat one of the company with his Hands tears it to pieces using no Knife for that and then every one takes what they have a mind to They are at no trouble for the Beef and Mutton for before it be drest they cut it into small pieces whether for roasting or boyling They drink not commonly in time of meal but when they have eaten they rise and fill their bellies full of Water then they give God Thanks by a Handillah that is to say God be praised Having thus made an end of their meal they wash their hands for they wash not before they sit down to eat but only when they rise from it Their usual Drink is Water many of them also drink Wine The Turks Drink The Turks are not forbid to drink Wine and though Wine seems to be Prohibited by the Alcoran yet the good-fellows say that it is no more but an advice or council and not a precept However they drink it not publickly unless it be the Janizaries and other Desperadoes that stand in awe of no Man when they fall to drinking they drink a great deal and if they can have it for nothing they 'll drink till they fall a sleep again if they be let alone saying that it is no greater sin to drink ten quarts than one cup full they never mingle Water with it and laugh at Christians for doing so as a thing that seems altogether ridiculous to them In the Countrey about Constantinople and all over the Archipelago they have plenty of good Wine They have besides another Liquor which they call Boza Boza made of Barley or Millet and tasts somewhat like our Beer but not so pleasantly I tasted of it once but found it to be very bad and none but the meaner sort of people drink it because it is very cheap This Drink makes them drunk but they have another which they use very commonly they call it Coffee Coffee and drink of it all hours in the day This Liquor is made of a Berry that we shall mention hereafter They roast or parch it in a Fire-shovel or such like iron instrument then they peel it and beat it into powder and when they have a mind to drink of it they take a copper Pot made purposely which they call Ibrick Ibrick and having filled it with Water make it boyl when it boyls they put in this Powder to the proportion of a good spoonful for three Dishes or Cups full of Water and having let all boyl together they snatch it quickly off of the fire or stir it else it would run all over for it rises very fast Having thus boyl'd ten or twelve wambles they pour it out into China Dishes which they set upon a Trencher of painted Wood and so bring it to you scalding hot and so you must drink it but at several sips else it is not good This Liquor is bitter and black and has a kind of a burnt taste They all drink it sipping for fear of scalding themselves Coffee-bane so that being in a Coffee-hane so they call the place where they sell it ready made one hears a pretty pleasant kind of sippling musick The virtues of Coffee This Liquor is good to hinder vapours from rising up from the stomach to the head and by consequence to cure the Head-ach and for the same reason it keeps one from sleeping When Merchants have many Letters to write and intend to do it in the night-time in the Evening they take a dish or two of Coffee It is good also to comfort the Stomach and helps Digestion In short in the Turks opinion it is good against all Maladies and certainly it hath at least as much virtue as is attributed to Tea As to its taste by that time a man hath drank twice he is accustomed to it and finds it no longer unpleasant Some put Cloves to it some Cardamom-seed called in Latine Cardamomum minus which they call Cacoule and others Sugar but that mixture which renders it more agreeable to the palate makes it less wholsom and useful There
made now a days as I have seen and have by me so that the Engravers of those times must have been excellent Artists nay it seems to me a doubt whether they might not have had the art of casting or at least softning the Stones for some of them are so little that one has much adoe to finger them and nevertheless they are Engraved to perfection When it rains the Moors search for them among the Ruines and never fail to find some then they come and sell them for a small matter to the Franks Good Asses in Aegypt Christians in Aegypt cannot ride on Horse back through Towns. Asses stand ready in the streets of the Towns of Aegypt but of late they hold them a little dearer because of the emulation of the Franks who come and out bid one another When Strangers go to see these Antiquities they take little Asses which goe very fast and stumble not nay will Gallop too if they be put to it for Christians whether Franks or not cannot ride on Horses through the Towns but in the Country they may if they please The Asses stand ready in the Streets and one has no more to do but to get up they pay no more for a whole Afternoons use of them but seven or eight Pence a piece to wit one half for the Ass and as much for a Moor who follows on Foot and beats and pricks on the Ass now and then to make him go A farther Description of Alexandria the Reader will find in the Second Part. CHAP. III. Of Rossetto AFter I had seen what I thought fit in Alexandria I resolved to go to Rossetto and parted from Alexandria on Saturday Morning the sixth of January with a Janizary whom the French Vice-Consul had given me to accompany me thither Bouquier we passed by Bouquier twenty short miles from Alexandria which is a Castle that defends a Road that is near to it and lodged that night at the Maadie of Alexandria Till you come to the Maadie there is no place to rest in being all a Desart of Sand. This place is called Maadie that is to say Passage because there is a Lake there to be crossed over in a Ferry-Boat with a Rope fastened to both sides of the Water The Maadie is thirty long miles from Alexandria This water is very full of Fish which renders a great Revenue to the Grand Signior There is a little Kervanserai on the other side of this Water where Travellers have a House over head for nothing and may eat and drink if they have brought Provisions along with them There we ate and drank and lay upon the Field-beds that we carried with us Next day being Sunday we set out in the Morning and about noon came to Rossetto Rossetto threescore miles from Alexandria but the miles indeed are short and all along the Sea-side On our way we saw the place where the River of Nile discharges it self into the Sea which is a very dangerous passage for Barks and Saiques Tht mouth of the Nile at Rossetto and close by shoar we saw the wrack of that Saique which stranded the same day that the great Gallion was cast away in the Port of Alexandria as I hinted at before The danger is when the Sea is rough for then it occasions an Eddy with the waters of the River that turns the Vessel round and casts it on shoar where it is sure to be split and none can save themselves by Swimming because of the force of the Waves but the wise make the best shift they can in their Caiques Rossetto Rossetto anciently called Canopus lyes upon a branch of the Nile which falls into the Sea five miles below the Town next to Caire it is reckoned the neatest Town of Aegypt not only because of the lovely Piazza's but also the many fair Hans it contains and yet they daily build new ones there for indeed it is a Town of great Trafick and very pleasant as being all encompassed with lovely Gardens The Houses of Rossetto are all high and well Built it is good living there as in all other places of Aegypt where Victuals are very cheap and wild-fowl especially Water-fowl very plentiful which they catch several ways but the Town hath this Inconvenience that in the Months of July and August they drink no other water but what they have gathered before into fair Cisterns Leaded and made for that purpose because during that time the Sea flows so high that it mingles with the water of the Nile and renders it Brackish The branch of the Nile that runs by this Town makes a Port for Saiques but great Ships cannot come up to it this port is always full of Saiques which come from the Archipelago to Trade in Aegypt The Town is very carefully kept by the Sous-Basha from all Disorders that might happen but besides that Guard there are threescore Men that in the Night-time march up and down to catch Robbers The cunning of the Arabs who rob in Rossetto who are Arabs of the Desarts These Villains strip themselves stark-naked then rub their Bodies over with Oyle that one may not take fast hold of them and in that manner come to the Town where they Steal what they can find and when they are pursued cast themselves into the River and swim over to the other side I made no long stay at Rossetto but knowing that every Tuesday and Friday Barks go off from Rossetto to Caire I waited for the first opportunity that I might go in company with several Barks which is the way to be safe from the Pirates of the Nile and having hired a little Boat only for myself and my Servant that I might be at more ease I parted from Rossetto Friday the nineteenth of January about Noon These Barks are Caiques or ordinary Boats and I had a Tilt or Covering made of Matts in the Stern to keep me from the Sun and the Dew which on the Nile is very cold and piercing It was very bad weather that day however we went on and Wednesday the twenty fourth of January passed the place where the Chanel divides it self into two Branches of which one goes to Rossetto and the other to Damiette The same day in the Evening we came to Boulac which is the Port of Caire though it be half a League from it Boulac Boulac is a pretty big long and narrow Town built upon the side of the Nile and has many Gardens and country Houses about it At Boulac we paid a Piastre a piece to some Jews it being the custome that every Frank the first time he comes to Caire pays a Piastre at Boulac In my Voyage from Rossetto to Caire I observed that all the land upon the Nile sides is excellently good and really Aegypt may be said to be an Earthly Paradise but Inhabited by Devils not only because the Inhabitants are Tawny but also very Vicious great Robbers especially and such as
will kill a Man for a penny and indeed they are very Poor therefore when one goes by Water upon the Nile he had need keep a good Guard against the Corsairs During our Voyage in the night-time we lighted several Matches which we fastened round about our Bark on the out-side and the Arabs seeing these Matches easily take them for so many Musquets which they are deadly afraid of as not knowing the use of them besides that we had Fire-Arms which we now and then Discharged as well by night as by day that they might hear them but notwithstanding all that a Bark of Robbers came one night up with our Caiques which one having discovered he allarmed the rest then all cried to them to keep off thereupon they made answer in Turkish that we need not be afraid for they were Friends and would go in company with us but when we called to them again that if they did not stand off we would Fire at them they went their way At Boulac we took Asses to carry us to Caire half a League distant from thence My Lord Honorie de Bermond the French Consul did me the favour to lodge me at his House The French Consul as those of other Nations resides at Caire because the Basha lives there so the Affairs of the Nation are the more conveniently managed he hath two Vice-Consuls under him whom he appoints as he thinks good one at Rossetto another at Alexandria and sometimes one at Damiette who depend upon none but him CHAP. IV. Of Caire THere are so many things to be seen at Caire that a very large Book might be fill'd with the Relation of them and seeing I made a considerable stay there and saw a good many of them I shall here describe them in order according to the several times I saw them in Caire the Capital and Metropolitan City of Aegypt Caire before it fell under the Turkish Dominion was in the later times Governed by Sultans or Kings who were taken from among the Mamalukes Mamalukes These Mamalukes were all Circassian Slaves bought of Merchants who came and sold them to the Sultan of Aegypt who presently made them renounce the Christian Religion then committed them to the care of Masters of Exercise by whom they were taught to bend the Bow shoot exact give a true thrust with a Launce make use of Sword and Buckler sit a Horse well for they were all Horse-men and skilfully manage him After that they were advanced according to their merit and the Cowards and Unhandy were left behind so that all who were brave might rise to be Sultans for by them the Sultan was chosen and none who were not Mamalukes could be Sultans nor was any received to be a Mamaluke that was not of Christian Extraction those being excluded who had either Mahometans or Jews to their Fathers These Men were exterminated in the Year 1517. that Sultan Selim the First Conquered all Aegypt and at the taking of Caire Thomambey their Sultan called Tbomambey who was the last Sultan of Aegypt falling into his hands he put him to an ignominious death the Thirteenth of April 1517. causing him to be Hang'd at one of the Gates of Caire called Babzuaila Babzuaila and for ever rooting out the Mamalukes who were cut off to the last man. Since that time the Turks have always been Masters of it This City stands ill Caire stands ill for it is at the foot of a Hill on which the Castle is built so that the Hill covers it and intercepts all the Wind and Air which causes such a stifling heat there as engenders many Diseases whereas if it stood in the place where Old Caire is in the first place they would have the benefit of the River which is of great importance were it only for water to drink for the water must be brought into all parts of Caire in Borachios upon Camels backs which feth it from Boulac above half a league from the City and yet that is the nearest place Hence it is that so much bad water is drank at Caire because those who go to bring it on their Camels that they make the more returns take it out of the Birques or stinking Pooles Birques that are nearer than the River and for all that sell it very dear They would besides have the advantage of the Wind which blows on all hands along the River so that the heat would not be so prejudicial nay more it would be a great help to Trade in that it would ease them of the labour and charges of loading their Goods on Camels to carry them from the City to the Port or from the Port to the City And indeed Memphis the Antients chose a very good Situation for Memphis on the other side of the River and Old Caire hath since been built opposite to Memphis also upon the River But the Later who ought to correct the faults of the more Ancient if they were guilty of any have committed the greatest errours for I can see no reason why they have pitched upon that incommodious Situation unless it was perhaps to joyn the City to the Castle that so it might be under the protection thereof Caire is a very great City full of Rabble it lies in form of a Crescent but is narrow and they are in the wrong who perswade themselves that Caire is bigger than Paris I once went round the City and Castle with two or three other French-men we were mounted on Asses not daring to go on foot for fear of some bad usage The circumference of Caire how many leagues but we went at a foot pace and as near as we could no faster than a man might walk and we were two hours and a quarter in making that round which is somewhat more than three but not four French Leagues I walked once on foot also the whole length of the Khalis from end to end which is exactly the length of the City of Caire for it is a Street that goes through the middle of it from one end to another I set out early in the morning with a Janizary that I might not be by any hindred in my design or abused and being come to the end about St. Michael's I alighted and having set two Watches which I had in my pocket at the same hour I began to walk pretty fast when I came to the other end of Khalis I found that we had been almost three quarters of an hour in going the length of it and I could undertake to perform it very well in half an hour if I had not on Turkish Shoes as I had at that time which was a great hindrance to me for at every turn my Paboutches slipt off my feet and besides I was in my Vest that likewise retarded my going I reckoned also all the steps I made putting at each hundred paces a bean in my pocket and at the end I found one and fifty beans in
full of very white Salt Salt of Rain-water and they assured us that that Salt was made only by the Rain-water the sand of that place having such vertue as being without doubt very Salt and the like is to be seen in Alexandria Birlab We came to Birlab about ten a Clock at night which is a Desart without any Hibitation but hath three wells of Salt-water We set out from thence next day Tuesday the second of April about ten a Clock in the morning and about noon came to a well of good fresh water lately made by a Sangiac of Aegypt for all Travellers Bi r Acat About six a clock at night we arrived at a place called Bi r Acat which is also in the Desart having neither habitation nor water to water Beasts and all these ways are full of Quick-Sands We lay there and parted on Wednesday the third of April about six a clock in the Morning and about one of the clock at noon we found a Well called Sibil el bar Acat newly made by an Aga who passed that way a little before on his Journey to Constantinople Sibil signifies a place where all may have water for God's sake This Well is covered with a Dome supported by four walls of free-stone built square the entry into it is by two Doors over against one another but one must first ascend four or five steps The Cistern is covered all over with free-stone except in two round places big enough to let a Bucket down by which the water is drawn that rises pretty high half a fathom of Rope being sufficient to reach it This Aga left a fond to maintain some Arabs who daily bring thither so many Camels laded with fresh Water which they take at a place near the Sea. Having there made a provision of Water we entered again into the Quick-Sands Riche which lasted as far as Riche where we arrived about four in the Afternoon A quarter of an hour before we got there we were overtaken by a Storm which lasted above thirty hours Riche is a Village not far distant from the Sea it hath a Castle well built of little Rock-Stones as all the Houses are and the Cachef of it as well as he of Zaka depends on the Cachef of Catie Zaka They have so many lovely ancient Marble-Pillars at Riche that their Coffee-Houses and wells are made of them and so are their Burying-places full We parted from Riche Thursday the fourth of April about one a clock at noon having eight Turks with us who guarded us to Cauniones Cauniones for fear of the Arabs An hour after we parted from Riche we found a Sibil of Salt Water We still travelled on through Quick-Sands though it blew very hard Rained Thundered and Lightened and about midnight came to Zaka which is in the Desart without any Habitation but has only three Wells of bad Water and yet the Corsairs come often there to take in fresh Water Friday the fifth of April the Wind after a great deal of Rain calming we parted from Zaka about nine a Clock in the Morning and travelled in good way a little after twelve of the Clock we found three fair Marble-Pillars two standing and one lying along upon the ground and a little after a large Well of good Water where there are Sakis there we began to see a very pleasant Countrey and some Corn-Land sometime after we found a Sibil of bitter Water which is close by Cauniones where we arrived about three in the Afternoon they have so many Marble-Pillars there also that their Coffe-Houses stand all upon such There we began to see abundance of Trees and a great deal of good Meadow ground and indeed both the Cattel and Inhabitants of that Place from the biggest to the least are extreamly Fat. There is a very fair Castle there with a large open place in it The Turks lodge in the Castle where there is a Saki of very good Water and the Moors and Felas live in the Houses without This Castle is commanded by a Muteferaca who has but a small number of Soldiers with him in it he depends immediately on Caire from whence he has his pay and his Soldiers are payed by the Cachef of Catie Cauniones is in Aegypt which here ends We parted from Cauniones on Saturday the sixth of April before five in the Morning guarded by seven or eight Turks of the Place who went with us to Gaza for fear of the Arabs About six a clock we found a Sibil of bitter Water and about seven another better a little after we discovered the Town of Gaza half an hour after eight we found a Bridge under which runs the water of the Meadows which are very spacious and at the end of that Bridge there is a well of good Water the Countrey abounds in fair Cattle and all sorts of Fruit-Trees about an hour after we found two Sibils not far distant from one another and about half an hour after ten we arrived at Gaza where we Encamped near the Castle in a little Burying-place walled about CHAP. XXXVI Of the Cities of Gaza and Rama and our arrival at Jerusalem Gaza THE City of Gaza is about two miles from the Sea and was anciently very Illustrious as may be seen by its Ruines for you have Marble-Pillars every where and I have seen Burying-places there where the Tombs were wholly made of Marble among others there is one enclosed with a wall which belongs to some particular Turkish Family and is full of lovely Sepulchres made of large pieces of excellent Marble which are the remains and evidences of the ancient splendour of that Town It was one of the five Lordships of the Philistins Lordships of the Philistins to which Samson did so much hurt nay and one day carried away upon his Shoulders the Gates of this City and left them upon a little hill at a miles distance The Castle is near the Town and is round with a Tower at each corner four in all it is kept in good order and has but a small circumference but two Iron-Gates Hard by this Castle is the Serraglio of the Basha's Wives and joining to it above some pieces of old wall of a matter so compact that it cannot be broken with a Hammer it is the ruines of the Castle of the Romans The Town is but very little it hath a Bezestein in very good order and a pretty large Greek Church whereof the arched Roof in the middle is supported by two great Pillars of Marble with their Corinshes of the Corinthian order they say that our Lady was three days there when she fled into Aegypt The Armenians have a Church there also Near to the Castle of Gaza behind the Burying-place where we Encamped is the place where the Palace of the Philistins stood which Samson pulled down Smothering himself and all that were within it it is now no more but a heap of
our Lord and afterwards threw them back being in despair for having sold his Master They were taken up and laid out in purchasing this Field which was appointed to be a Burying-place for Strangers and the Armenian Strangers are buried there at present The Grott of the Apostles Afterwards we saw the Grott where the eight Apostles hid themselves when our Lord was taken there are some Pictures of the holy Apostles still to be seen there then the place where the Strangers Greeks are Interred The pit where the Fire was laid during the Captivity of Babylon and the pit where the Jews hid the Fire of the Altar by orders from the Prophet Jeremy when they were carried away Slaves to Babylon by Nebuchadnezer King of Babylon and many years after they were delivered the high priest Nehemiah causihg search to be made for the Fire in that place they found nothing but a fat Clay which being by the said Priest laid upon the Burnt-Offering it took Fire and was Consumed Close by this Pit there is a Mosque with a reservatory of Water We came afterwards to the Pool of Shiloah Pool of Shiloah whither our Lord sent the Blind man to wash The place where the Prophet Isaiah was Sawn in sunder a live The Fountain of the Virgin The Mount of Scandal The place where Judas hanged himself Bethany The Castle of St. Lazarus The Sepulchre of Lazarus after he had anointed his Eyes with Clay and Spittle which restored his sight to him Then we came to the place where the Prophet Isaiah was Sawn a live in two by the middle with a wooden Saw by command of King Manasses then the Fountain of the Virgin so called because there as it is said she washed our Saviours Clouts There are thirty steps to go down to it and they say that such as are sick of Feavers by bathing in that water and drinking of it it being very good to drink are presently Cured From this Well comes the water of the Pool of Shiloah Not far from thence we saw the Mount of Scandal so called because the Concubines of Salomon made him commit Idolatry in that place by Sacrificing to the Idol Moloch and the Idol of Chamos Not far from thence is the place where Judas Iscariot Hanged himself after he had betrayed our Saviour then we went to Bethany where we saw the ruines of the House of Simon the Leper where Mary Magdalen poured the precious Ointment upon the Feet of our Lord. Advancing sixty Paces further we saw the place of the Castle of St. Lazarus nothing remaining but the ruines upon a little Mount at the foot of which is the Sepulchre that our Saviour raised Lazarus out of when he had been four days Dead and the very stone that was rolled against the mouth of it there are twenty uneasie steps down to it cut in the Rock and at the bottom of them are six wooden steps that lead into a little Chappel out of which you go into the said Sepulchre that is on the left hand This Sepulchre is a little square Grott containing a Table on which all the Priests of the Nations that Inhabit Jerusalem say Mass and the Body of Lazarus was laid upon this Table Not far from thence is the stone on which our Saviour coming from Jericho sat down and bewailed the Death of Lazarus The Castle of Mary Magdalen The House of Martha when St. Martha told him Lord if thou hadst been here my Brother had not Died. Within a few paces of that stone stood the Castle of Mary Magdalen called Magdalon and close by it is the place where the house of Martha stood after that we came to the place of the Fig-Tree which our Saviour Cursed because it bore no Fruit whereupon it instantly withered Then we passed through Bethphage where we saw the place where the Ass was when our Saviour sent for it to make his entry into Jerusalem on Palm-Sunday riding on the Ass Next we went to the Grott where St. Peter wept bitterly for his Sin The Grott of St. Peter after that the Cock had Crow'd from thence we came to the place where the Jews would have taken the Body of the Virgin from the Apostles as they were carrying it to the Sepulchre for which they were immediately punished Then we went to Mount Sion about five or six hundred paces distant from the City Mount Sion The place of the Lords-Supper which is the place where our Lord celebrated his Holy Supper with his Apostles washed their Feet and instituted the most August Sacrament the eighth day after his Resurrection he entered into it when the Doors were shut and said to his Disciples Pax vobis Peace be unto you the Holy Ghost also descended there upon the Virgin and the Apostles on the day of Pentecost the Sepulchre of David and Salomon In this place are the Sepulchres of David and Salomon About an hundred years since that Mountain was within the Town possessed by the Religious of the Order of St. Francis but after that Sultan Solyman rebuilt the Walls of Jerusalem The place where the Virgin died it was excluded and the Friers dispossessed of it The Turks have built a Mosque there into which the Christians are not suffered to enter close by we saw the place where the holy Virgin died at present there being no building there a little lower is the Church-yard of the Roman Catholicks On the left hand towards the City is the place where St. John the Evangelist many times said Holy Mass About an hundred and fifty paces from that Mount as you go towards the City there is a Church held by the Armenians in the same place where the House of Caiaphas stood we went into it and saw upon the Altar The Stone that shut the Sepulchre of our Lord. the Stone which shut the door of our Saviours Monument which is near seven foot long three foot broad and a foot thick On the right hand is the Prison into which our Lord was put whil'st Caiaphas after he had examined him consulted with the rest what should be done with him As you go out of the Church on the left hand in a low Court there is an Orange-Tree which is the place where St. Peter warmed himself when he three times denied his Master seven or eight steps from thence is the place of the Pillar where the Cock Crew After that we entred the City by the Gate of Sion and went to see the House of the High Priest Annas which now is an Armenian Church The House of the High Priest Annas In the Court before the Church there is an Olive-Tree which they affirm for a certain to be the same to which our Lord was Bound till he received the Sentence of the High Priest Going from thence we went to another very fair Church called St. James still held by the Armenians which was built by St. Helen The
of the wrongs which the Franks daily do to the Greeks their Countrey men and indeed we took that resolution only that we might be delivered out of the miseries that we endured a Board of these Ships for besides the bad entertainment we had there which we could not have born with much longer we were daily in danger of being taken and burn'd a live or at least made Slaves if these Corsairs had been taken as indeed it was to me a great wonder that the Turks should suffer these Blades to stop the entry into Damiette seeing they needed do no more but man out five or six good Sayques with an hundred and fifty or two hundred men a piece and fall upon these Corsairs whom they might easily have taken Besides that we were hourly in danger of being wounded if the Ships came to an Engagement and durst not defend our selves for if we had once taken Arms we must have laid aside all thoughts of setting Foot on Turkish Ground where we might be known by one or other that had Escaped or been Ransom'd out of the hands of the Corsairs In reality the life of a Corsair is a most wretched life both for this World and the next and certainly there is nothing but I could do rather than be engaged in it When we left our Corsairs we were fifteen miles from Damiette where we arrived in three hours time and so soon as we came to the place where the water of the Nile mingles with the Sea which is a good mile out at Sea from the mouth of the River for the different colours of the River-water and Sea-water may easily be seen There came out some Germes to unload our Saycot because at this place loaded Vessels cannot come in for want of Water These Germes are great Boats with high sides and very light they are Lighters open fore and aft having no Deck that they may take in the more Goods They came about us in such numbers every one striving to be the first that some of them were like to have run down our Saycot When they had lighttened us a little and we were got into the mouth of the Nile we took our Goods in again out of the Germes and in half an hours time went up the River to Damiette about two miles from the mouth of it For defence of this entry there is only a sorry tower in form of a Castle wherein are some Guns mounted which were those that Fired at the Corsairs Being upon the Nile we drank our Bellies full of good Water thinking our selves to be come out of Hell into Paradice as we came from Sea into a River however we were still fearful of going a-shoar at Damiette where being come we quickly dispatched a Monk to find out the House of a French Man whom we knew to be there the danger not being so great for a Religious Person as for us He speedily came back to us again and having given some Crowns which we had saved from the Corsairs to the Greeks of the Saycot for they would needs be paid for our Passage and that at a dear rate too without calling to mind that we had begg'd their Saycot for them We step'd a-shoar over the Galliot which had been the day before attacked by our Corsairs We went to that French Merchants House who made us very welcome and told us that that Galliot came from Satabia and that they on Board were three hundred Men having with them fifteen thousand Piastres wherewith they were going to Trafick at Mecha and that they had had one Man Killed and three Wounded Had our Corsairs minded their business as they should they would have enriched themselves for all these Turks were well Cloathed and able to pay Ransoms being all Rich after we had rested our selves a little we went to the Bishop of the Greeks to acquaint him with our Disaster and to desire his Protection and Certificate that we were not Corsairs Afterward we kept very private within doors but the People of the Countrey were so far from abusing us that they pitied our misfortune and three Turks came to see us and told us that they were of those that were on Board that Polaque which ran foul of our Sanbiquer in the night-time and had swam a-shoar They asked us news of their Comrades that were made Slaves and we desired to know of them what was become of the other nine who jump'd into the Sea with them but they told us that they could not tell what was become of them they were certainly Drowned and indeed it requires a very good Heart to swim above two Leagues We had no sight of Damiette Damiette but upon our Arrival not daring to walk abroad in the Streets all we could observe was that it is a very handsome well built long Town yet not so long as Rossetto It was anciently called Pelusium and lyes upon a Branch of the River of Nile which discharges it self into the Sea two miles below this Town that makes one Angle of the Delta CHAP. LXIV Our Departure from Damiette and Arrival at Caire TVesday the fourth of June Departure from Damiette for Caire we Embarked in a little Bark that we had hired for our selves but the Wind not being good we made but little way till Thursday the sixth of June when a fair Wind presenting we past by Mansoura on the left hand This is a pretty neat long Town Mansoura Sammenud but we stopt not at it Friday the seventh of June we passed by Sammenud on our right hand which appears to be a Handsome Town but it is ancient and ruinous Saturday the eighth of June we left Metegamr to the left hand Metegamr a pretty neat Town half way betwixt Damiette and Caire Monday the tenth of June in the Morning we passed by that place where the River divides it self into two Channels one whereof goes to Damiette and the other to Rossetto and at length about eleven a Clock in the Forenoon we arrived at Boulac where we paid a Piastre a piece and from thence we took Asses and rode to Caire where the Merchants wondered to see us in so bad plight for I had not so much as a pair of Pabouches having lost them on board the Corsairs and all the Cloathes I had were a Wast-coat a pair of Drawers and my Capot However they had been informed that we had been twice taken by Corsairs for it was known all along the Coast And they thought we had been carried to Malta and so many times I thought we should for the Corsairs told us that if they could but take a Prize that might be worth the pains such as a good Sayque loaded with Rice they would stand away for Malta CHAP. LXV Of the Publication of the Growth of the Nile THE publication of the wonderful growth of the Nile The growth of the Nile begins to be made on St. Peter and St. Paul's day or the day
bits of Straw so that it looks more like brown Paper than bread if a Stranger were not told it he might be mistaken And some French when first these Cakes were brought before them took them for course Napkins They make great use of Earthen ware which is very pretty especially because of the lovely Varnish they give it it is made in Kerman and I was assured that the Dutch had the invention from thence of making that false purcelane which we call Hollands purcelane Butter In Persia generally they make not use of Butter of Cow's Milk alone because it is not good but they mingle it with the Butter of Ewes Milk which is much better The Yogourt is an ordinary Ragoe in that Countrey I remember that I have described it already and shall onely now add how they season it in the Spring they cut Fennel into small bits and with Turpentine-seed which in that season is still green and begins onely to look a little reddish they put it into the Yogourt to qualify the coldness of it Torschi They also make Torschi or a preserve of that seed in Vinegar into which they put the Berries to be pickled whole The Persians way of drinking VVine The Persians by their Law are prohibited to drink Wine as well as the Turks but they are not so scrupulous as to that point When they drink VVine they do it without mixture after the Levantines manner who never drink water with it but when they drink VVine they have pots of water by them whereof now and then they take large draughts Bowl of Punch The Francks use a Beverage there which they call a Bowl of Punch and is cooling They take a large Earthen Bowl that holds four or five quarts and fill it half full of water then they put in as much VVine with the Juice of Limons Sugar Cinamon and Nutmeg which they drink in full draughts in the Summer-time Ice-houses in Persia The Persians make great use of Ice even in VVinter but never of Snow they make not their Ice-houses as in France and this is their way They raise a wall towards the South three or four fathom high Along that wall on the North-side they digg a Ditch about three fathom deep and as much broad and Northwards from the Ditch they make several beds six or seven fathom long and one fathom broad which are separated one from another by little Dykes of Earth like Salt-pits some are two or three foot deep and others one foot When it is very cold they bring the River-water into these beds which freezes very quickly and when it is thick and hard they break the Ice of the hollowest beds into great pieces which they carry into the Ditch where they lay it in very good order Then they break the Ice of the shallower beds and having put it into the Ditch upon that which they had laid there before they beat it into very small morcels with a spade or shovel and fill up all the chinks that are betwixt the large pieces with them At night they throw a great deal of water over all which they do with the skins of gourds cut in two pieces and fastened to the end of long poles this water freezes in the Night-time and joyns all the Ice into one piece In the mean time they bring in more water into the beds that it may freeze there after which they remove the Ice into the Ditch where they place it above the former in the same manner untill it be a fathom and a half high then they cover all with Straw and Reeds two or three foot thick and when they would take out any for use they open the Ditch but in one place This is an easie invention at at Ispahan where the Air is very dry and where there is but little moist Weather It would seem some few of these Ice-houses might be sufficient for a whole great City and nevertheless there are a great many such made in several places near the Town A good many in Persia take Opium The use of Opium but it is a drug that so enslaves those who are addicted to it that if a man hath once made it customary to himself and after forbear to take it no less than his life is in danger so that if a Tereaqui as they call them all over the Levant go ten Leagues from the Town and forget to take Opium with him if he find none in the place he comes to though he should immediately return back again and make all the haste he can yet he would not get to the Town in time enough to save his Life CHAP. XI The Continuation of the Observations of Ispahan Of the Court of Persia HAving treated of the nature of the Persians of their Carriage Apparel and way of living we may now see how their Monarch governs them whom he makes use of for executing his Orders and at the same time observe some of his recreations Persia is a Monarchy governed by a King Monarchy of Persia The King of Persia absolute in all things who has so absolute a power over his Subjects that no limits can be set to it He meddles in Religion and they do not begin the Ramadan nor any Festival till first they have had his leave and sometimes he keeps them back a few days according to his pleasure though the Moon wherein they are to be celebrated hath been seen His Subjects never look upon him but with fear and trembling and they have such respect for him and pay so blind an obedience to all his Orders that how unjust soever his Commands might be they perform them though against all Law both of God and Nature Nay if they swear by the King's head their Oath is more Authentick and of greater credit than if they swore by all that is most sacred in Heaven and upon Earth He observes no form of Justice in most of his Decrees and without consulting any Person no not the Laws and Customes he judges of lives and fortunes as seems best to him without any regard to those who feel the weight of his power The kinds of punishments not regulated and that without observing the kinds of punishments that are in use in the Countrey but appointing such as his fancy suggests to him According to this Principle two years ago he commanded the Nazer who had vexed him to be exposed naked to the Sun and the Nazer is one of the chief Officers of that Court This was presently put into execution and he was exposed to the heat of the Sun and the rage of flies in the great place from Morning till Night at which time the King discharged him Whilst he was thus exposed no body minded him no more than if he had been a Dog which was a great instance of the inconstancy of fortune and of the friends she gives but both counterfeit and real friends have this excuse that on
as well as those of Keuschkzer by Schah Abbas who took their Country and gave them good Lands to Cultivate in this place they make Wine but their Grapes come from Maain We parted from thence Wednesday the fourth of March half an hour after five in the morning and at our setting out saw on our right hand two good Fields watered with several Brooks that come from Springs which are plentiful in that Country where the people live in Villages We marched on through a Plain in good way until Noon when having passed over a Bridge of seven Arches under which a River runs Oudgioun we came to a Village called Oudgioun four Agatsch from Asoupas we found a Kervanserai there but it stank so by reason of the great quantity of Carrion and filth that was in it that we could not Lodge therein so that we were fain to encamp hard by under Carpets which we pitched instead of Tents A River fix or seven Fathom over runs through this Village the water of it is very muddy and has a Bridge of seven small Arches over there is Wine also in this place and the Grapes are brought from Maain Within a Mosque there lyes Enterred the Son of a King Schah-Zadeh-Imam-Dgiafer called Scbah Zadeh-Imam-Dgiafer whom they reckon a Saint the Dome is rough cast over before the Mosque there is a Court well Planted with many high Plane-Trees on which we saw a great many Storks that haunt thereabout all the year round We parted from Oudgioun Thursday the fifth of March half an hour after two in the Morning and having advanced a quarter of an hour through Grounds full of water we had the way good till half an hour after Four that we went up an extraordinary high and uneasie Hill because of the stones that lay in the way it is called Chotal-Imam-Zadeh-Ismael Chotal-Imam-Zadeh-Ismael that is to say the Hill of Ismael the Son of an Imam and we were above an hour in mounting it We found on the top a great many Camels coming from Schiras loaded with Tabacco which is brought from Beban after that for above two hours we went down Hill in pretty good way save that here and there we met with some stones one would have thought that we had changed the Climate when we came to the top of the Hill for the side by which we came up was all covered with Snow and on this side there was none at all on the contrary it was full of wild Almond-Trees that bear a bitter Fruit and other Trees which with their Verdure delighted the sight When we were a good way down we came to a Mosque where that Ismael the Son of Imam who gives the name to the Hill is Enterred The outside of that place looks like a Castle with a round Tower at each corner within there is a Court at one end of which is the Mosque whose Frontispiece is a Portico six Arches in length and in the middle of the Mosque there is a Dome rough cast close by it is a Village with a great many Gardens watered by a lovely Brook that runs hard by We then continued our Journy in stony way till Eleven a Clock that we found a River about a Fathom and a half over which divides it self into many Rivulets that water all the Grounds thereabout being very good Land and all sowed The water of that River is very clear and has many Trees growing on the sides of it which render it a very pleasant place The River of Main or Bendemir or Kur it is called the River of Main because it runs by Main but it is the Bendemir and I was told that its right name was Kur from which the Son of Cyrus who there was exposed took his name Bendemir signifies the Princes Dyke and it is so called because of a Dyke or Bank that a Prince made there consult as to that the Geography of Diagiaib Makhlouear This River is the second Araxes of Quintus Curtius Diodorus Siculus and Strabo We kept along the side of it and crossed many of its Canals until about one of the Clock we arrived at a large Village called Main fix Agatsch from Oudgioun Main We Lodged in a good Kervanserai where we found some men who accompanied to Mecha the body of a Lady who had desired to be buried there There are many Gardens all round this Village full of Vines that bear good Grapes and abounding also in Pear-Trees Peach-Trees Walnuts and other Fruit-Trees with water-Melons and other Melons We parted from Main Friday the sixth of March half an hour after two in the Morning and presently left the High-way striking to the left over Sowed Ground till we got near to the River we were obliged to do so because the High-way would have led us to a place where the River was not Foardable and they take not that way but when it may be Foarded over the other way leads to a Bridge we followed the current of the River which is the same that runs by Main until half an hour after Three that we crossed over the Bridge consisting of three Arches but the middlemost a very large one under which the water is very rapid a quarter of an hour after we found a great Brook that falling from the Hill discharges it self in the River a little farther on we saw upon the River a Bridge broken down and a quarter of an hour after the ruins of another Bridge in this place there are a great many small Brooks that lose themselves in the River we then went forwards in good Way till day that we began to ascend a little In these Quarters is the Hill which Alexander the Great made himself Master of by stratagem sending Soldiers by a compass about to surprise the Enemies on their back whilst he Attacked them on the Front as Quintus Curtius relates it a Franck shewed me one separated from the rest which he said was the very same but there was little probability in that because there are a great many such thereabouts and it is very difficult to pitch upon the right besides I did not see how it could command the Passage which is too wide in that place to be Locked in by Mountains About Eight of the Clock we came to a Bridge built over the River of Main or Bendemir which at that place is at least nine or ten Fathom broad This is a rapid River and seems to be deep the water of it is thick and swells high in Winter for they assured me that then it swelled up as high as the Bridge which consists of five Arches but somewhat ruinous nevertheless it is called Pouli-Now Pouli-Now New-Bridge that is to say the New Bridge having passed it and left a way on our Right Hand we took to the Left and having Travelled on an hour and a half more in a Plain till about half an hour after nine we Encamped near to a Kervanserai
another that is contiguous and afterwards fills a large and long Trough for watering of the Horses There are many other Cisterns also here and there in the Fields Two Musket-shot from the Kervanseray there is a Village called Dehi-Kouh Dehi-Kouh that is to say Hill Town because it stands on a Hill. This Kervanseray is four Agatsch from Bihri we staied there the rest of that day and all the following to comply with the humour of the Muletors it Thundered much in the night-time and we had Rain the whole next day we staied sometime thinking it might blow over but it still lasted We parted not then till Sunday the nine and twentieth of March at Noon continuing our way Southwards having set forward half a quarter of an hour we ascended the Hill which is neither very high nor very bad when we were got down on the other side we crossed several Torrents about two a Clock we found a little Kervanseray standing alone with a Cistern by it it is called Hhormont Kervanseray Hhormont from the name of the neighbouring Village so called because of the many Palm-Trees that grow about it Hhourma signifies the Fruit of the Palm-Trees or Dates On all that Road we found many of the Shrubs called Badisamour Badisamour a Shrub Hherzehre and there is hardly any thing else to be seen till you come to Bender but they give them another name in those Quarters calling them Hherzehre about four a Clock we saw on our Left Hand an Aqueduct which in former times conveyed water from a neighbouring source to Lar but it being dryed up the Aqueduct which cost a great deal of mony though it be but low and built only of rough stone is let go to ruin CHAP. IV. The continuation of the Journey to Bender and first of the Town of Lar. AFter many ups and downs and a great deal of turning and winding between Hills amongst many Tamarisk and some Conar-Trees about five a Clock we arrived at the Dutch House which is near the Town of Lar The Dutch House three Agatsch from Pai Chotali but these Agatsch seemed to me to be very long this is a very neat House with lovely Courts and Chambers and a fair Stable after the Franks Fashion it belongs to the Dutch Company There is a Kervanseray a little farther whither the Caravans go but both Franks and Armenians Lodge at the Dutch House We stayed three days in the Town of Lar which hath always been Lar. as at present it is the chief Town of the Province it was heretofore the residence of the King of that Country to wit when the Guebres were Masters of it The Guebres Masters of Lar. Ghermes the great Schah Abbas took it from them and now a Chan resides there who Commands the whole Province which is called Ghermes and reaches to the very Gates of Gomron This Town which is four days Journy from Gomron and seated on a Rock is but small it hath no Walls but only a sorry Ditch beyond which are several Houses pretty well built of which the Dutch House is one and these make a kind of Suburbs to it There is nothing to be seen at Lar but the Chans House the Market-Place the Bazars and the Castle The Chans House looks to the Ditch The House of the Chan of Lar. the Walls of it are very high on that side and at the farther end there is a Divan covered fit for taking the fresh Air in the entry into that House is from the Market-Place which is very pretty it is a Square with Arches all round and Terrasses on the top along which there is a row of Rails and Ballisters for a border these Ballisters consist of Arches interlaced about two foot high made of narrow stones about four Fingers thick In the middle of the East side of the Square is the Porch of the Chans House which juts out a little into the place and hath seven Fronts on the opposite side over against this Porch there is a large Gate over which there is a great covered Divan The entry into the Bazars is by that Gate and they are very fair and large well covered and paved with broad smooth Free-stone Lovely Bazars in Lar. amongst others there is one covered in the middle by a very large handsome Dome which hath well furnished Shops Having passed the Bazars and crossed the Town which is but narrow and reaches in length from South to North you come to the Quarter of the Jews who are very numerous in this Town Many Jews in Lar. they live near the foot of the Hill on which the Castle stands which reaches as the Hill-does South and North and is to West of the Town This Castle is very long and built all of stone The Castle of Lar. the Walls of it seem to be good and have Towers at some intervals the Hill on which it stands is a mere Rock steep almost on all sides this Castle Commands all round it and there is a Wall drawn from it with some Towers a little down the side of the Hill in short it is strong considering the Country and was built by the Guebres All the Country about Lar is full of Tamarisks which are very big Abundance of Tamarisks at Lar. and I never saw so many together in one place Gun-powder Bad water at Lar. There is good Gun-powder made in this Town Their drink is very bad for they have only Cistern-water which is very unwholesome and it is good to quench a red hot Iron in it and strain it through a Cloath because of the Worms that breed therein which being swallowed down slide betwixt the Flesh and the Skin Worms bred in the Body by the water as I shall describe when I come to speak of Gomron and get not only into the Legs but also into other parts of the Body nay and into the Testicles too so that a man will have sometimes four or five of them in several places as for our parts we drank good water there because of the Rain that fell the day when we arrived It Rained all Wednesday and next night which hindered us from setting out but Thursday the second of April about five of the Clock in the Morning we continued our Journy going streight East in a very good Sandy way betwixt Corn-Fields for the Villages are very thick thereabouts On that Road I observed a pretty pleasant thing which is practised in all that Country as far as Bendar Abassi I saw several Peasants running about the Corn-Fields who raised loud shouts and every now and then clacked whips with all their force and all this to drive away the Birds which devour all their Corn when they see Flocks of them coming from a neighbouring Ground that they may not light on theirs they redouble their cries to make them go farther and this they do every day Morning and Evening The truth is
Adjoyning to this Kervanseray there is another very little one through which the same water runs and a little farther there is a third which is bigger but somewhat ruinous This place is five Agatsch from Hhormont We parted from thence Monday the sixth of April half an hour after Midnight at first for above an hour we had very bad stony way but it proved pretty good afterward about two in the Morning we passed by a little covered Kervanseray called Berkei Dobend and about four a Clock by another called Dgei Hhon Berkei Dobend Dgei Hhon at break of day we entered into bad way again where we clambered up and down for above an hour among stones and then we found the way better till we came to a covered Kervanseray called Kor Bazirghion Kor Bazirghion that is to say the Merchants Ditch where we arrived about eight a Clock This Kervanseray is of the same bigness as the other where we Lodged the day before it is built much after the same manner having in each Corner three Chambers of which the one which is on the inside is open by Arches on two sides and the other two have their Door without the Kervanseray this place is five Agatsch from Tengbidalan We parted from thence about half an hour after one a Clock in the Morning during a large quarter of an hour we had bad stony way and about half an hour after five we passed by a little covered Kervanseray Berkei Soltouni called Berkei Soltouni about three quarters of an hour after seven we came to such another near to a great Village called Coureston Coureston four Agatsch from Kor Bazirghion we left the Caravan at this place because our Carriers took Camels to finish the Journy with and resolved to Travel only by day and to be four days longer by the way I therefore took a Camel to carry my man and baggage and a guide to shew us the way which from thence to Bender is so difficult that he who hath Travelled it fifty times may lose himself there in so that it is absolutely necessary to take a man of the Country if one would not wander out of the way We parted about eleven a Clock at Night and presently entered into a great sandy Plain which nevertheless is peopled and hath a great many Villages that are to be seen here and there this is occasioned by the abundance of Palm-Trees that this Country is full of the Soil being proper for them though very barren for any thing else About an hour after Midnight we passed by a little covered Kervanseray Dobrike called Dobrike which is an Agatsch and a half from Coureston and a little after we passed over an Aqueduct which is level with the Ground and called Pariabzahed Aly Pariabzahed Aly. this Aqueduct brings water from a Spring at the Foot of the Hills that are to the Left Hand towards the North in digging it was discovered and the water of it is very good Betwixt three and four of the Clock we went over a very high and fair Bridge above three Fathom broad and betwixt seven and eight hundred common Paces long it is well Paved and has a side-Wall on each side about a Foot and a half high under this Bridge runs a River above nine or ten Fathom broad which is heard at a great distance by reason of the noise it makes in its course there is no drinking of the water of it for it is Salt and it discharges it self into the Sea about six hundred Paces from thence Rohhouna The name of that River is Rohhouna that is to say the running River and that is the name they give to all great Rivers it comes from Kermont Pouli Seugh the name of the Bridge is Pouli Seugh that is to say Stone-Bridge or otherwise Pouli Coreston before this River comes to the Bridge it runs by the Foot of the Hills on the Left Hand Northwards and there it begins to be Salt when it comes to this Bridge which indeed is only upon the side of it finding it so runs along the side of it and discharges but part of its water underneath in passing which running under the Arches and finding the Ground lower on the other side of the Bridge falls with great impetuosity and that makes the rumbling noise that is heard at such a distance the rest of the water running along by the Bridge turns afterwards towards the South and loses it self in the Sea. Being over the Bridge we went a long a Causey above two Fathom broad and all Paved about a thousand Paces in length which hath a good Parapet or Breast-Wall about a Foot and a half high Wednesday the eighth of April about six of the Clock in the Morning we came to a covered Kervanseray called Ghetschi Ghetschi six Agatsch from Coureston There is another besides close by which is not covered but like the rest in all things else and a little ruinous There were several Tents of black Goats hair thereabout and as soon as we arrived a great many Women and Girls came out of them to visit us they were cloathed with blew streakâ—d Drawers and a blew Shirt over them their Noses Ears Arms and Feet were full of Silver Copper Bone or Glass-Rings every one of them held an Earthen Porringer full of Yogourt or Sower Milk and a little Vessel full of the same under their Arms and to invite us to buy some of them in our presence dabbed four Fingers and a Thumb into their Budgets and pulled out Butter full of Straws which they mingled with the Milk that was in their Porringers and then poured out more Sower Milk out of the same Borrachy their Husbands are all Fishermen and both men and women are Inhabitants fit for such a Country We parted from that place the same day half an hour after six in the Evening and continued our Journy along the sandy Plain about eight a Clock we passed a narrow streight betwixt little Hills and having kept turning about half a quarter of an hour we found two ways the one to the Left Hand over a pretty high Hill and the other to the Right which hardly appeared we followed this last leaving that to the Left Hand which is very dangerous if we may believe the people of the Country for they would needs persuade us that on that Hill there were Dgius who killed all Passengers by that word Dgius they understand evil Spirits Dgius which they say are of a middle Nature betwixt Angels and Men. This imagination then they have and give it out for a very certan thing that in that Hill there is a Tlisim or Charm by vertue whereof the Dgius prevail Tlisim and that they make Cauldrons there the sound whereof may be heard for they all agree that some men have been there and come safe back again who related all these things but they say that none but such
was advised to it by other Portuguese for he answered haughtily that he would not be taught by any man what he was to do Nevertheless his bravery not succeeding according to his expectation Unseasonable bravery and finding himself hard put to it he became calmer and gave consent but too late to follow that Counsel for the Enemies were under the Walls and at length he was forced to Surrender the place So soon as the Persians became Masters of it they opened the Canal as well knowing the importance of it Oisters at Ormus They catch excellent Oisters about the Isle of Ormus they are as small as English Oisters but so hard that it is not possible to open them with a Knife nay it is not very easie neither to break them with a Hammer The Sand of Oâ—â—…s The Sand of Ormus is also much talked of for the dusting of writing and for that end a great deal of it is Transported into Christendom Lareca A League to the South-West of Ormus is the Isle of Lareca which is longer than Ormus but the Ground as bad and Sandy It reaches in length from North North-West to South South-East and there is nothing remarkable in it unless it be the Fort and that is no great matter neither The Dutch began it under colour of settling a Factory there but the Persians smelling out their design drove them off and finished it it is at present kept by a very few men A little farther off to the West Error in Geography Quesomo South-West about a League and a half from Lareca though it be marked five in the Map is the Isle of Quesomo which is twenty Leagues in length it is Fruitful and well Inhabited and stretches from East to West The Land about Gomron or Bender-Abassi is no better than that of Ormus The Land about Bender-Abassi or Gomron is good for nothing for it is all Sand the water they drink there is brought from a Cistern without the Town they drink also of another which is esteemed better water and that out of a Well three Parasanges distant from the Town in a place called Isin both are very dear because of the trouble in bringing them so far nevertheless the water is very unwholesome because of little Worms that are in it which if they be drank down with the water slide betwixt the Flesh and the Skin Worms between the Skin and the Flesh and fall down into the Legs where they grow to the full length of the Leg and are never bigger than a Lute-string as I have been told for I never saw any of them this causes a great deal of pain they make a little hole in the Skin through which they shew their Head and for a Cure they must be drawn by little and little out of that hole drawing only a little every day and twisting it about a stick according as they draw it out until it be wholely out but this requires a great deal of patience for if they draw too much out at one time or draw too hard it breaks and what remains in the Leg causes racking pains for which there is no other remedy but to lay open the Leg and make the Incision as long as that which remains to be taken out This water has another bad quality in that it swells the Testicles The meat is also very unwholesome at Bender-Abassi and they scarcely eat any but Kids Flesh which is the best of the bad and Pullets In fine the best way to preserve ones Health at Bender-Abassi is to keep a very regular Diet Remedies for keeping ones Health at Bender eating so moderately that one hath always an Appetite to quench a red hot Iron in the water to strain it afterwards through a Linnen Cloath and to be always chearful There is no Pasture-Ground in all that Territory and therefore the Cows Hogs and other Beasts live hardly upon any thing else but Fish-Heads Shell-Fish stones of Dates and a little Hay which is brought some Parasanges off and indeed the Milk tasts altogether Fishy for I speak by experience their Horses they feed with Hay and Barley After all there cannot be a more dangerous Air than that of Comoron especially in Summer when it is so excessively hot Cruel and dangerous heat at Bender-Abassi that the Inhabitants are forced to leave it and remove three or four Parasanges off where most of them live in Tents nay the very Garison of the Fort removes leaving only a few men who are weary of their lives Nevertheless that place so abandoned is in no danger of being surprised because that time is the Winter of the Indies wherein there is such terrible Rain Great Thunderings at Bender Wind and Thunder that it would seem the World were to be reduced to its first Chaos so that during that Season no Ship can keep the Sea where Shipwrack is inevitable And indeed there is but one Season for crossing over to the Indies which the Portuguese have named Mouson Mouson and which they have certainly borrowed from the Arabick word Mouson which signifies Season but in short that word is used in all Languages to signifie the time of Sailing which lasts one half of the Year to wit from the end of October to the end of April Bender has a pretty safe Road for to the North it hath the main Land of Persia The Road of Bender-Abassi to the South the Isle of Ormus and to the South-West Lareca which is to the Westward of Ormus from which it is but a League distant Vessels come to an Anchor in it near to the Isle of Ormus on the West side and to go to the Indies they Sail betwixt the Isle of Ormus which is to the South of Bender-Abassi and the Coast of Arabia Foelix A Parasange to the East of Comoron there is one of those Trees called the Banians Trees because the Banians make commonly Pagods under them Banians Trees the Portuguese call it the Tree of Roots because Roots come out of every Branch that fasten in the Ground and grow as other Trees do in so much that one of these Trees may make a whole Forest I shall not describe it because I never saw it since there was no going thither by reason of the excessive heat The Author saw it since in his Travels in the Indies where he has given a description of it and therefore I refer the Reader to Linschot and Jonston who have given a description of it Under this there is a Pagod or Temple of the Banians I stayed but a week at Bender-Abassi and then was obliged to turn back again there being no probability that I could embark there for the Indies seeing I must have run too great a danger if I had stayed longer for a favourable occasion There were but six Vessels there which were bound for the Indies four Dutch Ships one Armenian and a Moor as for the
where it is used for dying red and several Bags of Tobacco for neither the Indian nor Persian Tobacco is good for any thing and cannot be taken but with a Bottle full of water through which the smoak passes before it come at the Mouth so that they who carry good Tabacco to the Indies make a great profit of it we took on Board also several Chests of Schiras Wine and our Franks of the Ships Company carried some Bags of Nuts of which they hoped to make at least fifty per cent Bags of Nuts but you must take notice that this is a Commodity proper only for those who have not above twenty Piastres to lay out in Trading and pay no Freight such as the inferiour Officers or Sea-men for every Officer and Sea-man may put on Board so many Bags Freight free according to the Office he discharges in the Ship. Besides all these Goods there came on Board so many people with their Chests Jarrs and other luggage and such a quantity of Pullets Goats and Kids for in that Climate it is the best and wholesomest meat the Mutton there being good for nothing A great clutter in the Ship. that the Ship was thwackt full above and below Decks and so pestered that one had much a do to stir Many more Goods were offered to be put on Board but the Captain refused them having no more spare room With all this clutter and confusion we had the vexatious humour of the Captain to suffer who was so imperious and haughty The Captain a hasty man. that the least triffle offended him and he was continually quarrelling with one or other of the three Franks who were Officers in the Ship though they never gave him a word again when the fancy took him in the Head he would break out into such extravagancies of rage that he would fall a Cursing and abusing the first Man that stood in his way and sometimes he would challenge all the Ship to fight him when he came to Surrat adding that he was an Italian yes that he was He would suffer no body to say any thing to him and to hear him vapour there was no Man greater than he he had many debates with the Soubrescart at whom he had a great Pique as with the rest of the Armenians also sometimes he was so enflamed with rage that no less would serve his turn than to go a shoar and leave the Ship but then considering on it better he would burn her or run her against a Rock All the Armenians were to have their Heads broken nay more than that he was resolved to come some time or other and take all the Ships on those Seas and a hundred such extravagancies that blew away with the Wind the Pilot had no easie task of it for he could not endure that he should give his Opinion thinking it an indignity that any Man should seem to know more than himself When he was in all his rage no body made him answer no more than if he had been a Mad-man and indeed it was commonly the Shiras Wine or Congo Brandy that raised all this huff and din. When he was at a stand whom to fall soul on he turned to the Merchants that came last on Board who had their Goods in some place upon the Deck not knowing where else to put them he would tell them that he must have so much mony to suffer their Goods to lye in such a place or else threaten to throw them over Board if they told him that they had payed so much to the Soubrescart and that they knew not where to lye he shewed them little Cabins but he would have so much mony for the hire of them that no body would take them The truth is he was not altogether in the wrong as to this last point for they suffer not commonly Goods to lye upon the Deck because they hinder the working of the Ship and as for the Cabins it is usual to let them at a very dear rate in Indian Ships because of the many Passengers they have commonly on Board An hundred and sixteen souls on Board We were in all an hundred and sixteen on Board of whom about fourscore were Passengers all Armenians except the Sieur Manuel Mendez and his Company my Man and I. A Cabin five Foot long two Foot wide and three Foot high was let for a Toman and a half during the Voyage to Surrat and the Boat was let for fourscore Abassis It is the Custom that so soon as the Ship is out at Sea the Boat is halled in and lashed to Midships betwixt the Main-Mast and Fore-Mast Cabins belonging to the Captain In short all know that there are some Cabins which belong to the Captain as also all the Deck and those who would accommodate themselves there must pay for it especially when there is a Soubrescart on the Ship who takes the mony for the passage What a Passenger is furnished with for which you are allowed no more but Salt Water and Wood and these two last too are given out every day by Measure but you must hire a place to lye and be in from the Captain or some of the Officers of the Ship who have Cabins and have no share of the mony that you pay for your passage These things are all but triffles and have but little relation to the Voyage yet I thought it might not be a miss to mention them to shew how much Ships are commonly pestered in that passage for it is to be concluded that it is the same thing on Board all other Ships A Moorish or Mahometan Ship. nay in Moorish Ships the accommodation is worse where you have no Cabins and where Christians are used like Dogs only the noise is not so great there because commonly in them the Master has absolute command and is not so great a Fool as ours was The greatest inconvenience Men endure on Board these Ships is the want of water for though every one has no more allowed him but two measures a day to drink boil his Victuals water his Poultry c. each of which measures containing three Pints or there abouts and every Horse eight measures nevertheless it is many times wanting and then happy is he that hath a Jarr Care was taken to fill our two Cisterns and all our Casks with the best water that is drank at Congo and these Cisterns held sixteen Hogsheads a piece Monday the sixth of December a West Wind coming in with the New-Moon the Ship Masulipatan made Sail in the morning without firing a Gun and all day long such as were to go with us were coming on Board until five a Clock in the evening when we weighed made Sail and Steered away South We were then in five Fathom water and about half an hour after six we found six Fathom About seven a Clock the Wind veered about to North-West and we stood away South South-East Half an
are above four Foot Diametre and hard by there is a kind of Mahometan Chappel This Tanquie was made at the charges of a rich Banian named Gopy Gopy who built it for the publick and heretofore all the Water that was drank in Surrat came from this Reservatory for the five Wells which at present supply the whole Town were not found out till long after it was built It was begun at the same time the Castle was and they say that the one cost as much as the other It is certainly a Work worthy of a King and it may be compared to the fairest that the Romans ever made for publick benefit But seeing the Levantines let all things go to ruine for want of repair it was above six Foot filled with Earth when I saw it and in danger sometime or other to be wholly choaked up if some Charitable Banian be not at the charge of having it cleansed Having viewed that lovely Reservatory The Princesses Garden we went a quarter of a League farther to see the Princesses Garden so called because it belongs to the Great Moguls Sister It is a great Plot of Trees of several kinds as Manguiers Palms Mirabolans Wars Maisa-trees and many other planted in a streight line Amongst the Shrubs I saw the Querzehere or Aacla of which I have treated at large in my Second Part and also the Accaria of Egypt There are in it a great many very fair streight Walks and especially the four wich make a Cross over the Garden and have in the middle a small Canal of Water that is drawn by Oxen out of a Well In the middle of the Garden there is a Building with four Fronts each whereof hath its Divan with a Closet at each corner and before every one of these Divans there is a square Bason full of Water from whence flow the little Brooks which run through the chief Walks After all though that Garden be well contriv'd it is nothing to the gallantry of ours There is nothing to be seen of our Arbours Borders of Flowers nor of the exactness of their Compartments and far less of their Water-works About an hundred or an hundred and fifty Paces from that Garden The War-tree we saw the War-tree in its full extent It is likewise called Ber and the Tree of Banians as also the Tree of Roots because of the facility wherewith the branches that bear large Filaments take Rooting and by consequence produce other branches insomuch that one single Tree is sufficient to fill a great spot of Ground and this I speak of is very large and high affording a most spacious shade It s circuit is round and is fourscore Paces in Diametre which make above thirthy Fathom The Branches that had irregularly taken Root have been so skilfully cut that at present one may without any trouble walk about every where under it The Gentils of India look upon that Tree as Sacred A Sacred Tree and we might easily perceive that at a distance by the Banners which the Banians had planted on the top and highest Branches of it It hath by it a Pagod dedicated to an Idol which they call Mameva and they who are not of their Religion believe it to be a representation of Eve. We found a Bramen sitting there who put some Red Colour upon the Foreheads of those who come to pay their Devotions and received the Presents of Rice or Cocos that they offered him That Pagod is built under the Tree in form of a Grot the outside is painted with diverse Figures representing the Fables of their false Gods and in the Grot there is a Head all over Red. Charity towards Ants. In that place I saw a Man very charitable towards the Ants He carried Flower in a Sack to be distributed amongst them and left a handful every where where he met with any number Whilst we were abroad in the Fields we considered the Soyl of Surrat it is of a very brown Earth and they assured us that it was so very rich that they never dunged it After the Rains they sow their Corn that is after the Month of September and they cut it down after February They plant Sugar-Canes there also Sugar Canes and the way of planting them is to make great Furrows wherein before they lay the Canes they put a great many of the little Fish called Gudgeons Whether these Fish serve to fatten the Earth or that they add some qualitie to the Cane the Indians pretend that without that Manure the Canes would produce nothing that 's good They lay their pieces of Canes over these Fish end to end and from every joint of Cane so interred their Springs a Sugar-cane which they reap in their season The Soyl about Surrat is good for Rice also and there is a great deal sown Manguiers and Palm-trees of all kinds and other sorts of Trees thrive well there and yield great profit The Dutch water their Ground with Well-Water which is drawn by Oxen after the manner described in my Second Part but the Corn-land is never watered because the Dew that falls plentifully in the Mornings is sufficient for it The River of Tapty The River of Tapty is always brackish at Surrat and therefore the Inhabitants make no use of it neither for Drink nor Watering of their Grounds but only for washing their Bodies which they do every Morning as all the other Indians do They make use of well-Well-water to drink and it is brought in Borrachoes upon Oxen. This River of it self is but little for at high-High-water it is no broader than half of the River of Seine at Paris Nevertheless it swells so in the Winter-time by the Rain-water that it furiously overflows and makes great havock It has its source in a place called Gehar-Conde in the Mountains of Decan ten Leagues from Brampour It passes by that Town and before it discharge it self into the Sea it Waters several Countries and washes many Towns as last of all it does Surrat At low Water it runs to the Bar but when it flows the Sea commonly advances two Leagues over that Bar and so receives the Water of the Tapty CHAP. XV. The Port of Surrat The Port of Surrat THe Bar of Surrat where Ships come at present is not its true Port at best it can be called but a Road and I had reason to say in the beginning of this Book that it is called the Bar because of the Banks of Sand which hinder Ships from coming farther in The truth is there is so little Water there that though the Vessels be unloaded the ordinary Tides are not sufficient to bring them up and they are obliged to wait a Spring-tide but then they come up to Surrat especially when they want to be careen'd Small Barks come easily up to the Town with the least Tides The true Port of Surrat is Soualy two Leagues from the Bar. Soualy It is distant from the Town
is the same all over the Indies A Cow of Paste There is another day of rejoycing whereon they make a Cow of Paste which they fill full of Honey and then make a fashion of killing it and break it to pieces the Honey which distills on all sides represents the Blood of the Cow and they eat the Paste instead of the Flesh I could not learn the Original of that Ceremony as for the Catris or Raspoutes except that they eat no Pullets they as the rest of the inferiour Castes do make use of all kinds of Fish and Flesh unless it be the Cow which they all have in veneration The Gentiles Fasting The Gentiles generally are great Fasters and none of them let a fortnight pass over without mortifying themselves by Abstinence and then they Fast four and twenty hours but that is but the ordinary Fast for there are a great many Gentiles and especially Women who will Fast six or seven days and they say there are some that will Fast a whole month without eating any more than a handful of Rice a day and others that will eat nothing at all Criata a Root only drink Water in which they boyl a Root called Criata which grows towards Cambaye and is good against many distempers it makes the Water bitter and strengthens the Stomach When a Woman is at the end of one of these long Fasts the Bramen her director goes with his companions to the House of the penitent beats a Drum there and having permitted her to eat returns home again There are such Fasts many times among the Vartias the Sogues and other religious Gentiles of that Province and they accompany them with several other mortifications Religious Communities Now I have mentioned these Religious Gentiles I would have it observed that in all the Indies there is no religious Community amongst the Gentiles belonging particularly to one Caste or Tribe For Example There is not any whereinto none are admitted but Bramens or Raspoutes if there be a convent of Sogues any where the Community will consist of Bramens Raspoutes Comris Banians and other Gentiles and it is the same in a convent of Vartias or a company of Faquirs I have already treated of both these as occasion offered CHAP. XLVIII Of the Province of Baglana and of the Marriages of the Gentiles The yearly Revenue of Baglana THe Province of Baglana is neither so large nor do's it yield so great a Revenue as the other nineteen for it pays the Great Mogul a year but Seven hundred and fifty thousand French Livres it is bordered by the Countrey of Telenga Guzerat Balagate and the Mountains of Sivagi the Capital Town of it is called Mouler Mouler The Portuguese border on the Moguls Countrey Daman Before the Moguls this Province was also of Decan and at present it belongs to Mogolistan by it the Portuguese border upon the Moguls Countrey and their Territories begin in the Countrey of Daman The Town of Daman that belongs to them is one and twenty Leagues from Surrat which is commonly Travelled in three days It is indifferently big fortified with good Walls and an excellent Citadel the Streets of it are fair and large and the Churches and Houses built of a white Stone which makes it a pleasant Town There are several Convents of Religious Christians in it it depends on Goa as the other Portuguese Towns do especially as to Spirituals and the Bishop keeps a Vicar General there It lies at the entry of the Gulf of Cambaye and the Portuguese have Slave there of both Sexes Portuguese Slaves which work and procreate only for their Masters to whom the Children belong to be disposed of at their pleasure from Daman to Bassaim it is eighteen Leagues Bassaim This last Town lies in the height of about nineteen Degrees and a half upon the Sea being Walled round and almost as big as Daman it hath Churches and a College of Jesuits as Daman hath From Bassaim to Bombaim it is six Leagues Bombaim made over to the English this last Town hath a good Port and was by the Portuguese made over to the English upon the Marriage of the Infanta of Portugal with the King of England in the year 1662 it is six Leagues more from Bombaim to Chaoul Chaoul The Port of Chaoul is difficult to enter but very safe and secure from all foul weather it is a good Town and defended by a strong Citadel upon the top of a Hill called by the Europeans Il Morro di Ciaul it was taken by the Portuguese Il Morro di Ciaul in the year One thousand five hundred and seven From Chaoul to Dabul it is eighteen good Leagues Dabul Dabul is an ancient Town in the Latitude of seventeen degrees and a half it has its Water from a Hill hard by and the Houses of it are low it being but weakly fortified I am told Sivagi hath seized it notwithstanding its Castle as also Rajapour Vingourla Rasigar Rajapour Vingourlâ— Rasigar Towns. and some other places upon that coast of Decan It is almost fifty Leagues from Dabul to Goa which is in Viziapour As all the People of that coast are much given to Sea-faring so the Gentiles offer many times Sacrifices to the Sea Sacrifice to the Sea. especially when any of their Kindred or Friends are abroad upon a Voyage Once I saw that kind of Sacricrifice a Woman carried in her hands a Vessel made of Straw about three Foot long it was covered with a Vail three Men playing upon the Pipe and Drum accompanied her and two others had each on their head a Basket full of Meat and Fruits being come to the Sea-side they threw into the Sea the Vessel of Straw after they had made some Prayers and left the Meat they brought with them upon the Shoar that the poor and others might come and eat it I have seen the same Sacrifice performed by Mahometans The Gentiles offer another at the end of September Opening of the Sea. and that they call to open the Sea because no body can Sail upon their Seas from May till that time but that Sacrifice is performed with no great Ceremonies they only throw Coco's into the Sea and every one throws one The only thing in that Action that is pleasant is to see all the young Boys leap into the Water to catch the Coco's and whilst they strive to have and keep them shew a hundred tricks and feats of Agility In this Province as in the rest of Decan the Indians Marry their Children very young The Marriage of Children and make them Cohabit much sooner than they do in many places of the Indies they Celebrate Matrimony at the Age of four five or six Years and suffer them to Bed together when the Husband is ten Years old and the Wife eight but the Women who have Children so young soon leave off Child-bearing and commonly do not conceive
the more honourable with the Turks The more honourable side because it is the Sword-side so that he who is on the right-hand has the Sword under the hand of him whom he would honour When a Turk walks with a Christian he will not willingly give him the left hand and it is very easie to make them agree as to that point for seeing with us the right hand is the more honourable both of them are in the place of honour CHAP. XXIII Of Baths or Bagnios THE Turks make great use of Bathing both for keeping their bodies neat and clean and for their healths sake For that purpose they have many fair Bagnios in their Towns and the sorriest Village that is Bagnios has at least a Bagnio they are all made after the same fashion and there is no difference but that some are bigger and more adorned with marble than others I 'll describe that which is at Tophana near to a fair Mosque as being one of the loveliest that I have seen You enter into a large square Hall A Description of Bagnios about twenty paces in length and of a very high roof all round this Hall there are Mastabez or benches of stone against the wall above a fathom broad Mastabez and half as high which are all covered with mats so soon as you come they spread you out a large napkin which they call Fouta upon the said benches Fouta where you sit down and lay your cloaths after you have stript In the middle of this Hall there is a great Fountain with a large Bason of marble for washing the Linnen that hath been used and when they are washed they are hung up to dry upon poles which are on high all round the Hall When you have sate down upon the napkin which they have spread for you they bring you another to put before you which you tie over your shirt before you pull it off lest you should show what ought not to be seen which would be a great crime that covers you behind and before from the girdle down to the knees Having pull'd off your shirt you put it with your cloaths in the napkin you sate upon leaving them there without fear that any body will touch them for the Bagnios are places of liberty and security as though they were sacred and there is no cheat ever committed in them for if any were the Master of the Bagnio would be obliged to make good what was lost or embeziled After you are stript you enter by a little door into a small room somewhat hot and from thence by another door into the great Hall which is very hot All these Halls are made with Domes having little glass windows to let in the light This great hot Hall is of a Pentagone figure each side being supported by two Pillars of white marble on each side there is a marble edging or rising about half a foot high and in the middle of that in the floor about two foot from the wall there is a little Bason of white marble two foot broad and over it a cock of warm water and a hands breadth above this cock another cock for cold water so that you mingle them as you please then you take large copper Cups which are alwaies ready for that use and with them throw upon yourself as much water as you have a mind In this Hall also there is a large stone-Fat full of hot water whereinto you may go if you please but that is not safe because a great many Rogues who have several diseases go into it though the water be often changed but if you be sure that no body has as yet been in it you may wash yourself there So soon as you enter into that great Hall you sit down upon the flat floor which is all of marble heated by Furnaces underneath then comes a Servant stark naked except those parts which modesty requires to be covered the Servants of the Bagnio are always so that they may be in readiness to wait upon those that come and making you lye out at length upon your back he puts his knees upon your belly and breast and embracing you very streight makes all the bones of your body arms and legs crack again to stretch and soften the sinews then laying you upon your belly he does the like on your back treading upon it so that he often makes you kiss the ground after that having shaved your chin and under the arm-pits he gives you a rasor to shave yourself every where else and you go into one of the little chambers that are made in the intervals betwixt the sides and being there you take off your napkin and hang it upon the door that so every one that sees it may know there is some body within which will hinder them from coming in and there you may shave yourself at your leisure If you be afraid that you may hurt yourself with a Razor they give you a bit of Paste The way of using Rusma made of a certain mineral called Rusma beat into a powder and with lime and water made up into a Paste which they apply to the parts where they would have the hair fetcht off and in less than half a quarter of an hour all the hair falls off with the Paste by throwing hot water upon it They know when it is time to throw on water by trying if the hair comes off with the Paste for if it be left too long sticking on the place after it had eaten off the hair it would corrode the flesh Rusma is a mineral like to the rust or dross of Iron What Rusma is it is much in use in Turky and sold in so great quantities that the Custom of it yields the Grand Signior a considerable Revenue In Malta they use instead of Rusma Orpiment which they mingle with lime for the same use Having taken off the hair and put your napkin about you again you return into the great Hall where you sweat as long as you please then comes a Servant with a Purse of black Camlet into which he puts his hand and rubs your body so hard all over that he clears all the filth from your skin yet without hurting you then he takes a lock of Silk with a bit of Soap in it and therewith rubs and soaps you all over after which he throws a great deal of water upon your body and washes your head also if you please with Soap Having done so he goes and brings you a dry napkin which you put about you in the place of the wet one then you return into the Hall where you left your cloaths where sitting down he pours water upon your feet to wash off the filth that you may have got in coming and after that he brings you hot and dry napkins wherewith you rub and dry your skin and when you cloaths are on again and you have seen yourself in a
Hebrew Breath or Spirit They say then that he was conceived by the Breath of God in the Womb of the Virgin Mary a Virgin both in his Birth and after his Birth which goes a great way but they deny that he is the Son of God thinking it an unworthy thing to attribute a Son to God The opinion of the Turks concerning Jesus Christ who is One and hath no companion They believe that Jesus Christ is a great Prophet who wrought great Miracles among the Jews to whom he foretold the coming of Mahomet under the name of the Comforter that therefore they endeavoured to kill him but that having disappeared from among them and ascended up into Heaven they crucified Judas whom they took to be Jesus In the first Chapter of the Gospel of St. John at the tweny seventh verse it is said He it is who coming after me is preferred before me whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose where St. John means our Lord whose shoes latchet he was unworthy to unloose they say that is false and invented by the Christians and that it was not St. John who said that of Jesus but Jesus who said it of Mahomet They believe that Jesus will come and Judge the World that he shall reign forty years in Damascus Marry and have Children at which time Antichrist shall arise whom they call Dedgial who shall lead away many Dedgial especially of the Jews and put a mark on the foreheads of all those whom he shall deceive but that Jesus shall destroy Antichrist and all that have his mark When that time is expired that he shall again ascend up into Paradise then the Day of Judgment shall come after which that God shall create a sort of very little People such as are described by the Name of Pygmies who shall be great Drinkers for they shall drink the Sea dry and these they call Meijutch In short Meijutch they give great honour to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary The Turks honour Jesus and the Virgin and if they heard any Man speak ill of them they would chastise him no less than if he spake amiss of Mahomet They believe that the Gospel was sent to Jesus as the Law was to Moses and the Psalms to David They believe all the Prophets They believe a Paradise that shall be filled with the Just and a Hell that shall be filled with the Wicked but they believe not Purgatory Aaraf and nevertheless they will have a place called Aaraf which is betwixt Paradise and Hell wherein they shall be who have done neither Good nor Evil. Mahomet promises the Blessed in Paradise wonderful Gardens where many Rivulets shall run The Turks opinion concerning Paradise and delicious Fruits abound 〈◊〉 all Seasons He says also that in that Paradise there shall be Rivers of Water Rivers of Milk Rivers of Wine and Rivers of Honey He promises them also that they shall be clothed in Green and Scarlet and that they shall have lovely Virgins whom they call Dgennet Kzlar that is to say Virgins of Paradise Dgennet Kzlar who shall be exceedingly beautiful as white as new-lay'd Eggs with great black Eyes and the complexion of the Body extremely white that they shall be alwaies young and never passing the Age of fifteen years have every day a new Maidenhead and never cast an eye upon any but them that they shall never exceed thirty years of Age and shall be served by young Boys that God shall appear to them once a week to wit on Friday They tell a thousand other Fopperies of this voluptuous Paradise which I shall not relate as having been mentioned by many Authours Mahomet promised them in this Paradise all things that he thought could work upon their senses and he feasts them with Gardens Fruits Brooks and Rivers because he was of a Countrey where it is excessively hot where there is but little Fruit and where Water is so scarce that a good Well is a great treasure He promises them Cloahts of Green and Scarlet because he delighted much in these colours as the Turks and Moors do at present especially in Green which is held in great veneration among them Seeing they are very lascivious he would have his Paradise provided with beautiful Maids and young Boys and because they reckon Women with big black Eyes and red Cheeks to be the greatest Beauties so they fancy to themselves those Coelestial Virgins who shall look upon none but their own Husbands which will be very grateful to them The opinion of the Turks concerning Hell. for they are jealous to extremity Those that are in Hell shall drink scalding hot Water and eat of the Fruit of the Tree Zacon this Tree grows out of the bottom of Hell and rises to a great height the Branches of it being like the Heads of Devils If those that are in Hell have a little Faith that is to say if they be not Atheists after that all their sins are consumed Zacon a Tree Selzaboul and they washed in a water which they call Selzaboul they shall be admitted into Paradise where they shall receive and enjoy as much happiness as those who entered at first And on the contrary they who have no Faith that is to say Atheists shall burn everlastingly in Hell-fire and their Bodies being reduced into Ashes by continual torments God shall create them a-new and so they shall suffer Eternally They pray for the Dead aswel as Christians and they likewise invocate their Saints as being able to recommend them to God. CHAP. XXX Of Tutelary Angels and of the Examination of the Black Angels THE Turks also acknowledge Guardian-Angels but in far greater number than we do for they say that God hath appointed threescore and ten Angels though they be invisible for the guard of every Musulman and nothing befalls any body but what they attribute to them They have all their several offices one to guard one member and another another one to serve him in such an affair and another in another There are among all these Angels Two chief Guardian-Angels of every Man. Kerim Kiatib two are the Dictators over the rest they sit one on the right side and the other on the left these they call Kerim Kiatib that is to say the Merciful Scribes He on the right side writes down the good actions of the man whom he has in tuition and the other on the left hand the bad They are so merciful that they spare him if he commits a sin before he goes to sleep hoping he 'll repent and if he does not repent they mark it down if he does repent they write down Estig fourillah Estig fourillah that is to say God pardons They wait upon him in all places except when he does his needs where they let him go alone staying for him at the door till he come out and then they take him into possession again wherefore when the
to shew how insignificant a thing the Grand Signior is when the Soldiery is in an Insurrection CHAP. LV. Of the Christians and Jews that are Subjects to the Grand Signior THE Subjects of the Grand Signior who are not Musulmans The Grand Signior's Subjects are either Christians or Jews of the Christians the chief are the Greeks who use the same Habit that the Turks do only there are some colours which they dare not wear neither on their Head nor in their Body-Apparel for not only they but generally all who are not Turks whether Christians or Jews Subjects to the Grand Signior or not dare not wear Green on their Head or any other part of their Body and if a Christian or Jew be found with the least bit of Green about him he 'll be soundly Bastonado'd and pay Money to boot in so great veneration is the Green colour with them Nor dare Christians wear a Turban all white A white Turban for if he be taken with such an one whether he be a Subject of the Grand Signior's or not he must turn Turk or die for it Colours for those who are not Mahometans but they may wear of all other colours or of mixt colours provided there be no Green among them though still it be dangerous to wear all Red or all Yellow because the Soldiers affect those colours Neither dare the Christians who are Subjects to the Grand Signior wear yellow Paboutches upon pain of several Bastonadoes but only Red Strangers however may wear Yellow Papas The Papas or Greek Priests are always clad in Black and wear a black Cap with a list of white Cloth about it having a piece of black Cloth fastened to it within which hangs down upon their back They wear long Hair and so do their Monks also As for their Religion the chief point wherein they differ from the Church of Rome is that they maintain that the Holy Ghost proceeds only from the Father and not from the Father and Son together They acknowledge not the Pope for Head of the Church but have four Patriarchs who are Chief and have equal Authority in their several Patriarchates The first is the Patriarch of Constantinople the second of Antioch the third of Alexandria and the fourth of Jerusalem All the four are confirmed in that Dignity by the Grand Signior or by his Officers at least to wit he of Constantinople by the Grand Visier and the rest by the Bashas of the Countrey He that receives them gives them a Caftan or Vest the day of their Confirmation They admit not of Purgatory but yet allow a Third Place where they will have the Blessed to be in expectation of the Day of Judgment And nevertheless though they believe not that the Saints are in Paradise into which they say they are not admitted before the Day of Judgment yet they pray to them that they would intercede for them with God. At Mass they Consecrate with Leavened Bread such as we commonly eat they Communicate under both kinds aswel Laicks as Priests and aswel Women and Children as Men. They have four Lents The Greeks Lents and begin the First six weeks before Easter which they continue till Easter Day The Second fifteen daies before the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul until the Day of that Feast The Third the First of August until the Assumption which is the Fifteenth day The Fourth from the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas day and all this according to their Calendar which is the ancient During these three last Lents they may eat Fish and Oyl The Great Lent of the Greeks but in the first Lent they eat neither Oyl nor Fish nor any thing that hath blood but only Herbs and Shell-fish and that which they call Ceppia and we Cuttle-fish whose blood is as black as Ink and certainly what Busbequins says That the Greeks never eat Oysters is not true for they hardly eat any thing else during Lent and at all times they are great Eaters of Fish The Lent of the Armenians is stricter than that of the Greeks The Lent of the Armenians for during their Lent they eat no kind of Fish not so much as Shell-fish nor Oyl nor do they drink Wine but live only on Bread Water Herbs and Roots But to return to the Greeks their Churches are like ours save that the High Altar is divided from the rest of the Church by a wooden partition with three doors in it and that makes a kind of Sanctum Sanctorum They have no Images but in flat Picture The Greeks kneel not and not in Relief The Greeks kneel not in their Churches no not at the Elevation of the Sacrament but all lean upon Crutches and for that purpose the Greek Churches are always well provided with them The age of Greek Priests Priests married A Man with them cannot be a Priest if he be not full thirty years old Their Priests may have been Married once in their life to a Virgin and keep their Wives after they are Priests but being dead they cannot take other Wives The Caloyers or Religious Greeks can never Marry Caloyers These Monks eat no Flesh I shall not here spend time in describing their way of celebrating Mass which is in substance the same with that of the Latins nor shall I speak of their Sacerdotal Vestments which have their Mysteries aswel as the Candlestick with three Candles that signifies the Holy Trinity and the other with two which signifies the two Natures in Jesus Christ to wit the Divine and Humane Natures Every one knows also that in giving the Blessing they make the sign of the Cross from the right to the left whereas the Latins make it from the left to the right But let us say somewhat of their Marriage The Marriage of the Greeks Maids shew not themselves before they be married nor yet a long while after avoiding the sight even of their Relations and go not to Church for fear of being seen I saw a Maid married at Rhodes who had two other Maiden Sisters who were neither present at the Ceremony nor Rejoycings of the Wedding for fear of being seen The Greeks are married by a Priest as the Latins are and give a Ring in the same manner But over and above that they have something that the Latins have not Father and Mother of the Marriage for they take a Godfather and Godmother to whom they present some wrought Handkerchief at least I had one presented to me when once I was chosen for a Godfather The Godfather and Godmother present themselves before a Papas with the Bridegroom and Bride and while the Papas says some Prayers the Godfather and Godmother hold a Garland of Flowers interlaced with Orpine over the Heads of the couple that are to be married and a Pall over that When Prayers are said the Bridegroom and Bride holding one another by the hand turn several times while
little Grains It is said that Caesar erected this Pillar in memory of the Victory which he obtained over Pompey At fome Paces distance from thence is Caesars Palace Caesars Palace in Alexandria but all ruined save some Pillars of Pomphyrie that are still entire and standing and the Frontispiece still pretty sound which is a very lovely piece About three or fourscore paces wide of that Pillar there is a Khalis or Canal of the Nile Khalis which was dug by the ancient Aegyptians to bring the water of the Nile into Alexandria having none other to drink This Canal which is much about the breadth of that that runs through Caire whereof we shall speak hereafter begins about six Leagues above Rossetto on the side of the Nile and from thence comes to Alexandria and when the Nile swells they give it a Passage through this Khalis by breaking down a bank The Cisterns of Alexandria as we shall take notice in speaking of that of Caire this Water fills the Cisterns which are purposely made underneath the Town and are very magnificent and spacious for Alexandria is all hallow under being an entire Cistern the Vaults whereof are supported by several fair Marble-Pillars and over these Arches the Houses of Alexandria were built which made men say that in Alexandria there was a Town under Ground as big as that above Ground A Subterranean Town in Alexandria and some have assured me that one may still walk under the whole Town of Alexandria in fair Streets where the shops are still to be seen but that the Turks suffer no body to go down Now the Water of the Nile which is so conveyed by the Khalis under the Town serves the Inhabitants to drink all the year round Pouseragues for every house has it drawn by Pouseragues which pour it into their private Cisterns as fast as it is drawn up These Pouseragues are Wheels with a Rope hanging round them like a string of Beads without an end to which are fastened several earthen-Potts which going empty down come always full up again and pour the Water into a Canal that conveys it whethersoever one pleases But in the Months of August and September which is the time when these Cisterns are filled the new Water is unwholsome and few that drink of it escape some Sickness or other therefore several keep of the last years water until November Besides that inconvenience the Air of Alexandria is so bad during the months of July August September and October that many who ly upon the Ground at that time fall into quartain Agues which sometimes hold them several Years I my self having known some who have kept them eight years They who ly on Board of ships though in the Port are not annoied with that bad Air. But to return to the Khalis it has Gardens all along the sides of it which are full of Limon and Orange-Trees and a great many other Trees that bear a fruit like Oranges but so big that one cannot grasp them with both hands These fruits are not good to be eaten raw but they peal off the Rind of them then cut them into quarters and clearing them of the sower stuff preserve them which make a most excellent Conserve As for the Limons there are two sorts of them some very great which are not good to eat and others as small as Wall-nuts Juice of Limons that are the best because they are full of Juice having a very thin Skin and the juice of them they squeeze upon Meat for Sauce and likewise press it out with Presses and therewith fill several Casks which they send to Venice and other places And this juice serves for making of Sorbet In these Gardens there are also Cassia-Trees Carob-Trees and the like and the Fields about Alexandria are full of Palm-Trees and Capers shrubs Having seen these things I returned into the Town by the Gate of Rossetto where are many lovely Pillars of Porphyrian Marble and I went to see the Chrrch of St. Catherine held by the Greeks there you may see the Stone on which that holy Virgin had her Head cut off The Stone on which St. Catherine was Beheaded This Stone looks like a piece of round Pillar is almost two foot high and has a hole quite through it from one end to the other big enough to receive ones Fist the Greeks say that just over that hole her Head was cut off as may be seen by the marks that are in the hole which is stained all round within with Blood and Fat as I could plainly see This stone rests upon a marble-Pillar about four foot high which the Greeks have purposely made to set it upon Then I went to see the Church of St. Mark held by the Cophtes A Picture of of St Michael made by St. Luke St. Mark. wherein is to be seen the Pulpit where that St. used to Preach as also a Picture of St. Michael which they say was drawn by St. Luke St. Mark was the first Patriarch of Alexandria where he suffered Martyrdom in the year 64. His Body was kept in that Church until Venetian Merchants transported it to Venice After that as I was going along the way that leads from Rossetto to the Town they shewed me the ruines of the Palace of St. Catherines Father The Palace of St. Catherines Father Porphyrian pillars in Alexandria Obolisks of Garnet in Alexandria which are hardly now considerable Along that way also there are a great many fair Pillars of Porphyrian Marble to be seen In another place I saw two very lovely Obelisks of Garnet such as are in many places at Rome with Hieroglyfick figures upon them in the same manner there is but one of them standing without a Pedestal the other is buried in the Ground nothing appearing above but the Foot about ten foot long each of them are of one entire piece of the same thickness and perhaps are bigger than those of Rome Near to these pillars are the ruines of the Palace of Cleopatra The palace of Cleopatra which is utterly defaced They have so much Marble Porphyrie and Garnet there that they know not what to do with it and adorn the Gates with them as the Water-gate is beautified with four lovely Pieces of Thebaick-stone or Garnet one on each side one cross over above and one below and yet that Gate is very high and wide indeed all they have to do is to remove the Earth that covers these Stones and transport them Stones engraved Among the ruines of that Town there are also some very curious stones to be found which are little like Medals and are Agats Garnets Emeralds and the like all Engraved some with a Head some with an Idol some with a Beast and so all different which heretofore have served for Medals or Talismans Talismans that is to say Charms But most of these Engraveings are so excellent that certainly such cannot be
that go to other places that so they may avoid the heat which is almost insupportable and when the Moon does not shine there are Men who carry Links before the Caravan In all Caravans the Camels are tied tail to tail so that let them but go and there is no trouble of leading them Here I 'll give the Reader an account how many Stages there are betwixt Caire and Mecha how many days they stay in them how many hours travelling there is betwixt them and at what Stages the Waters are sweet or bitter all along the way This little Itinerary I had from a Prince of Tunis An Itinerary from Caire to Mecha who made that Journey whilst I was at Caire From Caire to the Birque it is reckoned four hours Journey there is fresh water there From the Birque to Misana that is to say Cistern ten hours no water there Misana Kalaat Aadgeroud Navatir Raftagara Kalaat el Nahhal Abiar Alaina Sath el Akaba Kalaat el Akaba Dar elHhamar Scharafe Benigateie Magare Chouaib Eyoun el Kaseb Kalaat el Moilah Castel Kalaat Ezlem Istanbel Antir Kalaat el Voudge Ekre Hank Krue Hhawre Nabte Nabathean Arabs Hazire Yanbouh Soucaife Beder Hunein Sibil el Mouhsin Rabij Haramein From Misana to Kalaat Aadgeroud which is to say the Castle of Sand-Pits twelve hours and an half there is bitter water there From the Castle of Aadgeroud to Navatir seven hours and an half no water there From Navatir to Rastagara ten hours no water there and the way bad From Rastagara to Kalaat el Nahhal that is to say the Castle of Palmes fifteen hours there they stay a day and have fresh water From the Castle of Nahhal to Abiar Alaina fourteen hours only bâ—tter water there From Abiar Alaina to Sath el Akaba that is to say the Plain of the Hill fifteen hours no water there From Sath el Akaba to Kalaat el Akaba that is to say the Castle of the Hill that 's upon the side of the Red-Sea sixteen hours there they stay two days and an half the way is very bad but they have fresh water From the Castle el Akaba to Darel Hhamar six hours and an half no water there Dar el Hhamar signifies Asses Back and it is like the Mountain in Italy where there is an Inn called Scarga l'asino From Dar el Hhamar to Scharafe Benigateie fourteen hours no water there From Scharafe Benigateie to Magare Chouaib that is to say the Grott of Jethro fourteeen hours fresh water there that is the Countrey of the Midionites From Magare Chouaib to Eyoun el Kaseb fourteen hours and an half fresh water there It was in that place where Jethro's Daughters going to water their Cattel and the Shepherds offering to hinder them Moses protected and defended them against those who would have hindred them to draw water From Eyoun el Kaseb to Kalaat el Moilah which is by the Sea-side fifteen hours there they rest two days and an half and have fresh water From Kalaat el Moilah to Castel eleven hours bitter water there From Castel to Kalaat Ezlem fifteen hours and an half bitter water there From Kalaat Ezlem to Istanbel antir fourteen hours fresh water there From Istanbel antir to Kalaat el Voudge that is to say the Castle of the Face thirteen hours and an half fresh water there From Kalaat el Voudge to Ekre sixteen hours no water there but what is bitter From Ekre to Hank Krue that is to say Gulf twelve hours and an half no water there From Hank Krue going to Hhawre they enter into the Territory of Mecha to Hhawre it is thirteen hours only bitter water there From Hhawre to Nabte fifteen hours fresh water there From thence come the Nabathean Arabs Eurus ad auroram Nabathaeaque regna recessit From Nabte to Hazire thirteen hours and an half no water there From Hazire to Yanbouh that is to say Fountain fourteen hours and an half there they stay two days and an half and have fresh water From Yanbouh to Soucaife thirteen hours no water there From Soucaife to Beder Hunein that is to say the Moon of Hunein eight hours fresh water there Hunein was a Man that shew'd the Moon in his Well From Beder Hunein to Sibil el Mouhsin that is to say the way of Benefaction or Benefit fourteen hours fresh water there From Sibil el Mouhsin to Rabij seventeen hours fresh water there Rabij is a Sacred Place that is to say not to be entered into without being well prepared and purged from all sin Hence it is that there are two places which are called Haramein Sacred Places to wit Mecha and Medina that is to say which are two Holy Places where one should take heed not to set his foot Kawdire Bi r el fan Vadi Fatima Mecha unless he be well washed from all Sin. From Rabij to Kawdire fifteen hours no Water there From Kawdire to Bi r el fan fourteen hours fresh water there From Bi r el fan to Vadi Fatima fourteen hours fresh water there From Vadi Fatima to Mecha six hours CHAP. XVIII Of Mecha THE Musulmans have so great a veneration for Mecha not only because Mahomet was Born there but more especially for the Temple called Kiaabe that is to say square house that they think all who are not Musulmans are unworthy to come there and therefore they suffer them not so much as to come within some days journey of it and if a Christian or any other who were not Mahometan should be apprehended in that Holy Land he would be burned without mercy I never made the journey then but seeing in the conferences that I have had with a great many who have made it I have learned some things relating thereunto I think I may tell what I know especially since no man that I know of hath as yet given us any true relation of it A description of Mecha Kiaabe Mecha is an ancient Town scituated among the Mountains and built all of Stone and Morter in the middle of this Town is the Kiaabe which is a square House surrounded with a wall that hinders people from approaching it there being a void space betwixt the House and the Wall the House is covered with a Dome Within it there is a well of indifferent good Water at least in respect of the other Waters of Mecha which are so bitter that one can hardly drink of them There is besides on the right hand near the door as they enter into that House a black stone as big as a mans Head which they say came down from Heaven A black stone come down from Heaven and that heretofore it was white but that through the Sins of men it became black as it is at present He that first can kiss it at the time when they give one another the Selam after the Prayer of Kouschlouk A great happiness for him that
Places where they could find some fewel not only to warm them but for boyling their Coffee and Mafrouca This was the first time that ever I rode upon a Camel and indeed it made me very weary for their Pack-saddles are so broad that they are very uneasie to ones Legs which must straddle very wide the fatigue of this lasted with me about two days but after that I grew accustomed to it Camels are so well known at present Camels that I think it would be superfluous to give a description of them I shall only say that there are two kinds of them to wit those which are called Camels and those whom they name Dromedaries at least I think they may be ranked under one kind Dromedaries for all the difference that is betwixt them is that the Camels have one bunch of flesh upon their Backs are great and high go constantly at one pace which is fast but hard and travel when they are loaded with seven or eight hundred weight about thirty good leagues a day The Dromedaries have two bunches of flesh on their back shaped naturally like a Saddle are less smaller and lighter than the Camels and are only for carrying of men they have a good soft trott and will travel with ease forty Leagues a day all that one has to do is to sit them well and indeed there are some that tye themselves to them for fear of falling in all things else they are like Camels they have Ears and a short Tail like them a cloven foot and as soft as a Spunge the neck long and hair just like a Camels both kneel when they are loaded and unloaded and then rise as they are bid their Food is the same and both endure thirst well continuing upon occasion five days without drinking however the Camels can abstain longer than the Dromedaries But to return to our Journey we parted from our first Stage Saturday the twenty sixth of January about five a Clock in the morning and during all this Journey Ain el Mouse it was very cold in the mornings until the sun was up Shortly after we found several waters which they call Ain el Mouse that is to say the Wells of Moses there we filled our Borrachios as we did where ever we found fresh water About half an hour after ten we rested and having baited we went forwards about eleven and travelled till six a Clock at night having the Red-Sea always on our right hand about half a league wide of us We travelled at such a rate that it would have been all a good Foot man could do to have kept up with us Sunday January the twenty seventh we set out about five a clock in the morning and had not advanced above five hundred paces when passing by the side of a Bush An Arab who who had not eaten in five days time we heard a Voice that called to us and being come to the place we found a poor languishing Arab who told us that he had not eaten a bit for five days we gave him some Victuals and Drink with a provision of Bread for two days more and so went on our way We were not afraid of the Arabs Meeting with Arabs in the Desart whom we met on the way for when we found any they civilly saluted us and departed after we had given them some Bread and Tobacco which they very courteously desired of us for they durst not do us any hurt seeing us guarded by two Scheiks who told them that they had answered for us when we rested in any place to feed some of them came often who having saluted us fell a eating with our Arabs and when none came one of our Arabs cried out as loud as possibly he could That if any body had a mind to eat they might safely come and made this proclamation on all sides so that such as heard the invitation failed not to come with their half-pikes and laying down their Arms fell a feeding together on the Mafrouca of which I shall speak hereafter but there was no necessity of making proclamation at night for so soon as they saw the fire we made they came immediately to see what it meant After we had given that poor famished Arab some Victuals and travelled on in very good way about ten a clock in the morning we entred among the Hills on very stony ground loseing sight of the Sea Antelopes a Beast betwixt a Goat and a Deer Chacales Estridges on these Hills we saw a great many Antelopes and nothing else though there be abundance of wild Beasts in these Desarts as Woolves Bears wild Boars Foxes Hares Chacales and Estridges these are all very common there and all know that the Chacales are engendred of a Dog-Wolf and Bitch-Fox or of a Dog-Fox and Bitch-Wolf As for the Estridges they also live only in the Desarts where some of them are of a prodigious bigness Every one knows how Estridges are shaped which have a neck head and bunch on the Back like Camels with which they agree in many things Deve Cousch so that the Turks call them Deve Cousch that is to say Bird-Camels they go in the Fields always in an even number as two and two or four and four They always beget a Male and a Female and run swifter than a Horse but tire likwise sooner and while they run they throw with their feet the stones that they find with so much force against those that pursue them that if they hit a man they would do him a great deal of hurt I saw one once give a great Dog such a blow with his foot as left him sprawling with his four legs up in the Air. How Estridges are taken When they would catch Estridges an Arab pursues them on Horse-back at first gently and they run away in the same manner but still tiring a little After two or three hours time he rides faster and then when he sees his Fowl almost spent he puts on to a speed and having taken and Killed it he makes a hole in the Throat of it and then having tied streight the neck under the hole three or four of them take hold of it and for some time toss and shake it from side to side just as one would rinse and wash a Barrel when they think it is enough shaken they untie the Throat of it The Eutter or Mantegue of an Estridge and then a great deal of Mantegue or a kind of Butter comes running out at the holes insomuch that they say some of them will yield above twenty pound weight of that stuff for by that shakeing all the flesh of the Creature is dissolved into Mantegue nothing remaining but skin and Bones This would have seemed fabulous to me if several Barbary men had not assured me of it They say that this Mantegue is a very delicious food but very apt to cause a looseness We travelled among these Hills till noon
when we rested in a place where there were a great many fair Trees Near to that is a place where the Rain-water that falls from the Mountains is kept and that water is very good Here it was that the People of Israel came out of the Red-Sea having passed it over dry to the ruine and confusion of Pharaoh and all his men who pursued them as may be seen in the Book of Exodus where this place is called Shur Chap. 15. Exod. Chap. 15. Corondel Haman of Pharaon It is at present called Corondel Not far from thence there are hot waters in a Grott which the Arabs call Haman el Pharaon that is to say Pharaon's Bath They tell a thousand stories of it amongst others that if you put four Eggs into it you can take out but three and so many as one puts in there is always one fewer taken out again and that the Devil keeps for himself we did not see that place for our Arabs would not take us to it because it was a little out of the way They say also that over against Corondel the Sea is always Tempestuous about the place where Pharaoh and the Aegyptians were Drowned We parted from thence at one of the clock and continued travelling till seven then we rested in a place where there are Trees also Next day being Monday the twenty eighth of January we set out at four a Clock in the Morning and having passed over several Hills we came into good way again near to the Sea but there is one place to be passed over just by the side of it being white and smooth Rocks where the Camels had much ado to keep from sliding chiefly because they are wet with the sea-Sea-water but that lasts not long we rested at Noon and half an hour after set forwards again and towards the evening entred among Hills where we travelled till six a Clock that we rested in the hollow of a Rock where we spent the Night at that Stage and we could find no wood not to boyl so much as our Coffee Tuesday the twenty ninth of January we parted at five a clock in the Morning and entred into a plain where we travelled till Noon and then having rested a little after one a Clock we marched on over the same Plain until six a Clock at Night and then rested Next day Wednesday the thirtieth of January we parted at four a clock in the Morning and four hours after arrived at Tor about an hour before we came to Tor we found a great many Palm-trees and a well of very bad Water CHAP. XXVI Of Tor and of our arrival at Mount Sinai Tor. TOR is no considerable place nevertheless it has a good harbour for Ships and Galleys This Port is guarded by a little square Castle on the Sea-side with a Tower at each corner and two small Guns on the out-side before the Gate an Aga is Governour of this Castle where none but Turks lodge Near to it there is a Convent of Greeks dedicated to St. Catherine and to the Apparition of God to Moses in the Burning-Bush We delivered the Aga the Letter from the Bey of Suez but because we had no present for him he made no great account of us We lodged in the Convent which is very fair and spacious there we were very well received entertained with the Best and ate Fish of the Red-Sea at that time there were thirty Monks in it We searched for Provisions there but could not find any only the Monks commiserating our condition gave us Olives Dates Onions and a Jar of Brandy which we husbanded as well as we could we stayed a day there because the Monks told us that we needed two Septiers more of Flower so that having bought the Corn and got it ground they baked Bread of one half of it to give our Arabs by the way and upon the Mount and all this they did in a very obliging manner While we were there we bought of these poor Greeks several stone-Mushromes which in that place are got out of the Red-Sea as also small Stone-shrubs or branches of Rock which they call white Coral and many great shells all taken out of the Sea and very pleasant for artificial works But they could not furnish me with any thing of a certain Fish A Sea-man which they call a Sea-man however I got the hand of one since This Fish is taken in the Red-Sea about little Isles that are close by Tor. It is a great strong Fish and hath nothing extraordinary but two hands which are indeed like the hands of a man saving that the Fingers are joined together with a skin like the foot of a Goose but the skin of the Fish is like the skin of a wild Goat or Shamois When they spie that Fish they strike him on the back with Harping-Irons as they do Whales and so kill him They use the skin of it for making Bucklers which are Musquet proof Having payed all and made a Present of some Piastres to the Monks for their kind reception we prepared to be gone but were obliged first to pay a due of twenty eight Maidins a head to wit four for Tor and twenty four for the Mount and all to the use of the Arabs We parted from Tor on Thursday the last of January about eleven a clock in the Fore-noon with a Monk whom they sent with us to shew us the chief Places of the Mount and we payed for a Camel to carry him thither and back again He spoke to us Turkish and Arabick for he understood not a word of Lingua Franca we saw on our way the Garden of the Monks of Tor which is not far from it this Garden is the place which in Holy Scripture is called Elim Elim where when the Israelites went that way there were only seventy Palm-Trees and twelve wells of bitter water which Moses made sweet by casting a piece of Wood into them these Wells are still in being being near one another and most of them within the precincts of the Garden the rest are pretty near they are all hot and are returned again to their first bitterness for I tasted of one of them where People Bath themselves Hamam Mousa which by the Arabs is called Hamam Mousa that is to say the Bath of Moses it is in a little dark Cave there is nothing in that Garden but abundance of Palm-Trees which yield some rent to the Monks but the seventy old Palm-Trees are not there now After we had seen these things we filled our Borrachios with the water of a Well near to that place which belongs to the Monks I told them that it stunk a little and they made answer that they had not Scowered it that year as they used every year to do but withall that it was the best water thereabouts Heretofore they had a Church near to that Well which the Turks Demolished and with the stones of it built the aforesaid
Castle called Tor. We travelled in the Plain till six a clock at night and then rested This Plain is in Holy Scripture called the Desart of Sin Desart of Sin. Acacia where the Israelites longing after the Onions of Aegypt God sent them Manna In this Plain we saw many Acacia-Trees from which they have the Gum that the Arabs call also Akakia It is to be observed that the Acacia-Trees which are now so common in France came at first from America and do not yield that Gum and that which in the Shops is called Acacia is the inspissated Juice of wild Plumb-Trees and comes from Germany these Trees are neither bigger nor higher than our ordinary Willows but the leaves of them are very thin and prickley The Arabs gather the Gum in Autumn without pricking the Trees for it runs of it self and then they sell it in the Town Next day Friday the first of February we set out about five a Clock in the Morning and entred among high Mountains where we rested near a Brook and putting on again about eleven a clock we travelled till about half an hour after four that we came into a little Plain where finding some Cottages of Arabs our Guides would go no farther that day Cottages of Arabs but feasted merrily on the Milk that we bought for them in these Cottages There we saw a great many Women and little Children most of them Sucking We parted from thence Saturday the second of February about two a clock in the Morning and travelled a Foot over other Hills where the way was very bad about eight a Clock in the morning we found little Houses pretty well built where Arabs live at present Raphidim This place is called Raphidim in holy Scripture A little further we saw several Gardens belonging to the Monks very well walled round and full of all sorts of fruit-Trees and Vines too kept in good order The Rock which Moses smote with his Rod. Then we found the Rock out of which Moses brought Water when he had smitten it twice with his Rod it is only a Stone of a prodigious height and thickness rising out of the Ground on the two sides of that stone we saw several holes by which the water hath run as may be easily known by the prints of the Water that hath much hollowed it but at present no water issues out of them This Stone in Holy Scripture is called the Stone of Strife About ten in the Morning we came to a Monastery of Greeks dedicated to the honour of the forty Martyrs from this to the great Monastery where the Body of St. Catherine lyes it is two hours travelling This Monastery of the forty Martyrs is pretty neat it hath a fair Church and a lovely large Garden wherein are Apple-Trees Pear-Trees Walnut-Tree Orange-Trees Limon-Trees Olive-Trees and all other Fruit-Trees that grow in this Country and indeed that little of good Fruit which is eat at Caire comes from Mount Sinai besides that there are fine Vineyards and very good water there A Greek Monk lives always in this Monastery and he whom we found there told us that he had been twenty years in it he takes care to see the Gardens dress'd and kept in order by some Arabs who willingly serve him We rested in this Monastery at the foot of the Mountain of St. Catherine CHAP. XXVII Of the Mountain of St. Catharine The Mountain of St. Catharine HAving reposed our selves in the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs we went out at One of the Clock and ascended the Mountain of St. Catharine that is before it taking with us a little Arab Boy who carryed a small Leather Bucket full of Water that we might drink when we were dry We were near three Hours in getting up that Mountain we stopt indeed several times by the way to drink Water but besides the Hill is full of sharp cutting Stones and many steep and slippery places to be climb'd up that hinder People from going fast There are many Stones to be found in ascending this Hill on which Trees are naturally represented that being broken retain the same Figure within of which Stones some are prodigiously big About the middle of the Mountain there is a lovely Spring of clear Water with a great Bason in the Rock This Spring was discovered by a Quail when the Monks having brought down the Body of St. Catharine so far were ready to die for Heat and Thirst and that Spring began at that time to run This water was so hard frozen in the Bason that we could not break the Ice with good blows of a Stick In many places of the Mountain we saw also a great deal of Snow and at length got up to the top of it where there is a Dome under which is the place whither the Body of St. Catharine was brought by Angels immediately after she was Beheaded in Alexandria that holy Body remained Three hundred Years there until a good Monk having had in the Night-time a Revelation that the Body was in the top of the Hill went next Morning with all the Religious who in Procession brought it down to the Monastery where it was put in a lovely Silver Shrine that is still there Under the Dome where this Body lay there is a great piece of Rock rising a little out of the Ground whereon they say the Angels placed it and it bears still the marks as if a Body had been laid on the Back upon it for the form of the Reins appear there The Greeks hold that this Cave was made by Miracle but there is some likelihood that it hath been done by the Hands of Men They made this little Dome about the Rock in form of a square Chappel Having in this place paid our Devotions we came down again with a great deal of trouble and were two long hours by the way so that we were tired enough when we arrived at the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs at six a clock at night CHAP. XXVIII Of the Mountain of Moses The Mountain of Moses WEE set out of our Lodging on Sunday the third of February about seven a clock in the morning that we might go see the Mountain of Moses which is not so high nor so hard to ascend as the former But there is much Snow upon it aswel as upon the other and many good Cisterns in several places especially near the top there is a fair and good Cistern After several rests we got to the top about nine a clock On it there are two Churches one for the Greeks and another for the Latins from the Greek Church you enter into that of the Latins which is dedicated to the Ascension of our Lord there we heard Mass said by the Capucin who was with us Near to that there is a little Mosque and by the side of it a Hole or little Cave where Moses fasted Forty Days There is a small Grott also at the side of the
condition that they should give Victuals to all the Arabs of the neighbourhood And for that reason when there are any Monks in the Monastery they are obliged to give Half a Peck of Corn to every Arab that comes and these Arabs grind it in a little Mill that they carry always about with them who come sometimes to the number of an hundred and fifty two hundred nay four hundred in a day and must all be served so that it amounts sometimes to many Quarters of Corn and to some they give three or four Piastres a year more or less according as they deserve it Now about two years before I was there Provisions coming to the Monastery the Arabs robb'd them which made the Greeks forsake the Convent the Gate whereof is walled up and the Walls so high that they cannot be scaled and without Cannon that place cannot be taken if there were any within to defend it But now for two years there has no body lived in it because they would punish the Arabs by depriving them of the sustenance which they daily had of them till they can bring them to reason and therefore it was that we found so many Monks in that Monastery of Tor whither they were almost all retired for there are not so many there when the Convent of Mount Sinai is open These Monks had many Rents in Candy which they lost by the Invasion of the Turks They have a Bishop who is called the Bishop of Mount Sinai on whom depend all these Convents and Chappels even the Convent of Tor too and this Bishop depends not on the Patriarch he was at that time at Caire We were fain to rest satisfied then with what we saw of that Monastery from the top of the Mount. CHAP. XXX Of Mount Horeb and of the Place where the Golden Calf was molten c. AFter we had walked round that Monastery we returned Mount Horeb. and saw at some small distance Mount Horeb on which Moses fed his Flocks when he saw the Burning Bush And near to that are the Mountains upon which Aaron prayed for the People all little ones There is a fair Garden adjoyning to the Monastery and within the Walls of it a lovely Chappel dedicated to the Holy Virgin. Upon our return from the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs about half a quarter of a league from the said Garden we saw the Stone or rather Place where the Golden Calf was molten it is in the very Rock The place where the Golden Calf was molten where one may see a great Head of a Calf cut to the life and within that place it was as the Greeks say that the Riches and Ornaments of the Israelites were cast of which they made the Head of the Golden Calf that they worshipped while Moses was with God upon the Mountain But it is more probable that the Greeks have in that place cut the Head of the Calf in the Rock to shew the place where it was Cast or where it was placed upon a Pillar Something near to that there is a high and great Stone with some Inscription upon it but so defaced that none of it can be read The Greeks say that this Stone was to mark the place where Jeremiah hid the Vessels of Gold and Silver and other costly Furniture of the Temple of Salomon when the Israelites were carried away Captives to Babylon and that it is not known how it hath been brought thither but that there is a very ancient Authour that speaks of it as being on Mount Sinai Father Kercher explains it in his Prodromus Copticus Father Kercher where he forges an Explanation of these Characters which are unknown to all Men besides himself as if they were Hieroglyphicks whereof without doubt he hath had the meaning by Revelation I relate all these things according to the Tradition of the People of the Countrey which not being authorized by Texts of Scripture nor ancient History I leave it to the Reader to believe or not believe as he thinks fit Having seen what was to be seen we returned to the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs very weary after so much mounting and descending Our luck was good that no Wind blew when we went up these Mountains for whether hot or cold it would have kill'd us CHAP. XXXI Of our Return to Suez WEE had so bad entertainment on Mount Sinai Return from Mount Sinai to Suez that we thought of nothing but of returning as soon as we could to Suez where we hoped to refresh ourselves and therefore Monday the Fourth of February having made a Present of some Money to the Monk who lives in the Monastery of the Forty Martyrs we set out at eight of the clock in the morning to go see what still remained to be seen being unwilling notwithstanding all our fatigue to leave any thing unseen we went first to the Church of the Twelve Apostles and then having travelled about an hour and one half of it up hill we went down into a very low place where there is a little Habitation with several Gardens full of Fruit-trees and a large Spring of excellent Water There there is a little Church dedicated to St. Cosme and St. Damian Having ascended a little we went down by the very place where the Earth opened and swallowed up Corah Corah Dathan and Abiram Dathan and Abiram because they had mutinied against Moses About eleven of the clock we came to a place where our Camels stay'd for us and having dined and given some Piastres to the Monk who had shew'd us every thing for his pains we set out about noon and followed the same way we came till four of the clock in the afternoon that we left it and struck off to the right leaving the Red-Sea at a pretty good distance from us on our left hand We travelled in good way being the streightest pleasantest and shortest Road from Mount Sinai to Suez But as we went we took the way by Tor partly to see it and partly to take a Monk to guide us in our visitations About half an hour after five we rested in a great Plain Next morning Tuesday the Fifth of February we set out at four of the clock keeping still in good way and rested about ten of the clock in a place where there was Water We went from thence about eleven and came to rest again about half an hour after five in the evening Next day Wednesday the sixth of February we parted at five a clock in the morning and about eight some two or three hundred paces wide of the Road we found a Well of good water where we provided ourselves About half an hour after one of the clock we rested and at two went forwards again till six at night when we took up our rest Next day Thursday the seventh of February we parted about five of the clock in the morning about six we entered again into the way by which we
came and found a Caravan of about two hundred Camels belonging to Arabs loaded with Coal and going to Caire When they have gathered their Gums they carry them in this manner in Caravans to the City We rested at Corondel about ten a clock in the morning and setting out again at eleven travelled till seven at night where we rested in a little Wood. From whence we departed next day Friday the eighth of February about four of the clock in the morning and rested at eleven From thence we set forward at noon and came to rest at six of the clock at night at the place which we had made our first Stage when we came from Suez The same evening at seven of the clock we parted and arrived at Suez on Friday the eighth of February at eleven of the clock at night but lay without near the Gate until day that it was opened suffering a great deal of cold for we had no wood to make fire All the way back from Mount Sinai to Suez was very good and even and we were very merry upon the Road for I took great pleasure to hear the Arabs tell the several passages of their Life putting them now and then in the humour by questions I put to them Here I shall relate what I learn'd from them CHAP. XXXII Of the Arabs THE Arabs are of the Race of Ishmael and of his Twelve Sons who were the Patriarchs of the Tribes of the Arabs as the Twelve Sons of Jacob were Heads of the twelve Tribes of Israel These Arabs are divided into those who live in Towns and those who inhabit the Desarts these last are the Arabs whom the Ancients called Scenitae and are now adays called Bedouins of whom particularly I intend to Treat One good quality they have that they willingly rob Caravans when they can and do no other hurt but strip Travellers stark naked unless they make resistance but when they catch any Turks they give them not so good quarter especially if any of their Countrymen have been lately used severely in the Towns. These People who are very numerous live in the Desarts where though they lead a most wretched life yet they think themselves most happy Their Cloathing is a long blew Shirt sewed up on both sides from top to bottom and then with a great piece of white Searge they wrap themselves about the Body under the Arm-pits and over the Shoulders giving it several turns about them some of them also have Drawers and a kind of Furred Vest or else a great many Sheeps Skins sewed together putting the rough side towards their Shirt to keep them warm and turning it the contrary way again when they would be cooler Several wear also a kind of Pabouches which are almost like our Shoes Their Wives are also miserably ill Cloathed all cover their Faces with a Linnen-cloath with holes in it for their Eyes and wear great Rings of Lattin in their Ears Most of these People have flocks of Camels Sheep and Goats which they feed here and there according as they find Grass and where they find Pasture they pitch their ugly Tents made of Goats-hair in which their Wives and Children live but when that is eaten up they pack up Bag and Baggage and loading their Camels with all they have House Goods Wives and Children they go in search of Pasture somewhere else They live on Camels or Goats Milk and on the flesh of Camels with water for their Drink they also eat Cakes or Buns among others they have the Mafrouca Mafrouca which is a great regale to them and indeed they eat but seldom of that I have seen them many times make it on our Journey to Mount Sinai where they had it daily Morning and Evening at my cost for I grudged them nothing They mingle Flower with Water in a Wooden-Bowl which they carry always about with them and knead it well into a Paste then they spread it upon the Sand making it round very thin and a Foot and a half in Diametre after that they lay it upon the Sand where the Fire was made covering it up with hot Embers and live Coals over them and when it is baked on one side they turn it upon the other When it is well baked they break it into small pieces and with a little Water knead it again of new adding thereto Butter and sometimes also Honey they make it into a thick Paste and then break it into great pieces which they work and press betwixt their Fingers and so feed on them with delight and they look like those Gobbets of Paste that are given to Geese to fatten them Their Desarts are divided into Tribes and the Tribes into Families which possess different Quarters Each Tribe hath a Scheik el Kebir or great Scheik and every Family hath its Scheik Scheik el Kebir or Captain The Scheik el Kebir commands all the other Scheiks The Scheiks of the Arabs and these Scheiks administer Justice to the Arabs having power over them of Life and Death and are punctually obeyed in what they Command for they can Fine those in Money who are refractory the Offices of Scheiks are Hereditary descending from Father to Son and when the Scheik of Family dies without Children all the Family assemble together and having set forth the praises of those whom they think worthy of the Charge they chuse the most vertuous and entreat the Scheik el Kebir to approve of their Election It is the same thing in the Election of the Scheik el Kebir only it is made in an Assembly of the whole Tribe The Bashas commonly give some pay to the Scheik el Kebir of the Tribes that are scattered in their Governments being very unwilling to have any quarrel with them and the Caravans also allow him a sum of Money yearly that they may safely pass without Molestation to the other Scheiks they give Provisions Money Vests and Cloth for Shirts in certain proportions and these Blades think themselves in their Tents happier than Kings Sultan Amurat heretofore would have confined them to live in Towns exempted from all Payments but they would not hear of it They keep constantly Spies abroad on all hands to know if there be any Plots in hand against them and to be always ready to defend themselves or flie farther off and certainly there is no great hurt to be done unto them in those Desarts for seeing there are no High-ways in them an Enemy would soon lose themselves Besides that they must carry with them Provisions for all the time they must be there for nothing is to be found in those places nay they would soon die of thirst too for though there be several Wells on all hands yet none but the Arabs know where they are The Arms of the Arabs are Lances or Half-pikes Swords or Shables and long Daggers Fire-arms they have none but are much afraid of them and it is prohibited to sell them any though
small as those of England and many other good Shell-fish besides several extraordinary Fish and among others that which they call the Sea-man mentioned before and the Chagrin Chagrin a fish which is a Fish shaped like a Sea-dog and about seven or eight Foot long at least that which was sent me from Caire is so Upon the side and at the beginning of this Sea famous for the passage of the Israelites stands Suez Suez Arsinoe Ptolomy Philadelphus which some will have to be the Ancient Arsinoe so called from Arsinoe the Sister of Ptolomy Philadelphus who built that Town and called it by the name of his Sister it is a little Town containing about Two hundred Houses It hath a pretty Harbour but so shallow Water that Ships cannot put into it and the Galleys themselves must be half unloaded before they enter into it nevertheless Ships and all ride safe enough in the Road. These Galleys are very little they carry no great Guns but only a Petrera to salute the Ports where they arrive Close by the Harbour there is a Baraque railed in with great wooden Palissadoes where are nine Culverines every one longer than another of which the biggest is of a prodigious length and I take it to be much longer and of a far wider bore than the two which are at Malta upon the Baraque and in the Castle St. Erme they are of the Turkish make and nothing of Workmanship about them There are also thirteen pieces of very great Cannon there and upon one of them a Flower-de-Luce however it is easily discernable that it hath been made in Turkie perhaps by some Renegado French man for it is altogether Turkish without any Workmanship as all the rest are These Guns are not mounted and were sent thither from Constantinople by Sultan Amurat on a design he had of attempting an Expedition into the Indies with a Fleet fitted out on that Sea. Close by the Gate of Suez there is an Eminence where heretofore stood a Castle built by the Franks and upon the same Eminence there is still a great Gun. The Slaves told us that the People of the Country believe there is some Treasure near that place guarded by Hobgoblins for my part that Night we arrived from Mount Sinai I lay at the foot of that Eminence and the Sprights did not at all disturb my rest There is in this Town still a Greek Church but in bad order There are some pretty well built Houses in Suez and an indifferent good Market-place To conclude this Town is very Populous when any Ship arrives or when the Galleys are in the Harbour but at other times it is very Desolate and indeed there is not so much as any good Fresh Water within two Leagues round it CHAP. XXXIV My Return from Suez to Caire Return from Suez to Caire AFter I had seen Suez at leisure enough I prepared to be gone with a Caravan of Two hundred Camels which the Emir-Adge had provided to carry from Suez to Caire the Coffee that was brought in the Galleys and twelve Ships which were in the Road there was in all Thirty thousand Load each Load weighing three or four hundred weight and every Camel carried two of these Loads I hired a Camel for my self there being no Mules to be got and we parted from Suez Thursday the fourteenth of February about eight a Clock in the Morning the Caravan was attended by a guard of Arabs from sundry places We left several thousands of Camels in Suez and met abroad several great Troops belonging to Arabs and others who came to let their Camels for Transporting of the Coffee I soon found the difference betwixt the Camels of the Arabs and those of the Town for being accustomed to Ride upon the Camels of the Arabs I could not make use of this which I had hired to carry me to Caire one half days Journey so that I hired a little Ass from a man of the Caravan and rode upon it to Caire The truth is the Camels of the Arabs go a great deal more easily than the others do At Noon we past by a Castle called Adgeroud which we saw not as we came because we past it in the Night-time only three persons live there who drink Salt-water We rested at Two a Clock and put on again at Six travelling till three a clock in the morning of Friday the fifteenth of February when we rested we parted again at noon and travelling till three a clock after we rested then we set forwards again at seven a clock at night and kept travelling till next day Saturday the sixteenth of February that about eight a Clock we arrived at Caire This Caravan from Caire to Suez and from Suez to Caire travels commonly very fast because it cannot spend much time by the way for otherwise they would fall short of provisions having none but what they carry with them both for Men and Camels and therefore they never stay above two or three days at Suez and if they stayed longer they would starve that Town where there is nothing but what is brought in from the Countrey about when the Galleys or some Ships arrive and indeed these Camel drivers are always so weary and spent that they can hardly stir they have not so much as time to sleep and now and then they run before the Caravan and tumbling down uPon the ground fall presently a sleep taking there a short nap till the Caravan be past when some take care to awaken them In this Journey from Suez to Caire for a days time and more we had so hot a Wind that we were forced to turn our backs to it A dangerous hot Wind. to take a little breath and so soon as we opened our mouths they were full of Sand our Water was so extreamly heated with it that it seemed to be just taken off of the Fire and many poor People of the Caravan came and begged of us a cup of water for Gods sake for our parts we could not drink it it was so hot The Camels were so infested with this Wind that they could not so much as feed but it lasted not above six hours in its force and if it had continued longer one half of the Caravan would have perished It was such a kind of wind that the year before so infested the Caravan of Mecha that two thousand men died of it in one night A great Mortality by that Wind. In this Journey I observed that when the feet of the Camels were cut and galled the Camel drivers took the Bones of dead Camels of which all the way from Caire to Suez is so full that following only the tract where these Bones ly one may go the streight way to Suez they took these Bones I say and with the marrow they fonnd in them anointed the sore place of the Camel. Such as would travel to Mount Sinai ought to make provision at Caire of all that
a low Valley the Garden of the same Salomon Hortus Conclusus The Mount Anguedy called Hortus Conclusus because it is on both sides shut in by two high Hills that serve it for a Wall. Then returning back towards Bethlehem we passed the Mount Anguedy where the Cave is in which David cut off the Skirt of Saul's Garment And about half a League from thence we saw a Castle upon a high Hill called Bethulia which the Franks maintained forty Years after they had lost the City of Jerusalem then we came to the Well where the Virgin desiring to drink when she fled from the Persecution of Herod and the People of the Country refusing to draw Water for her it swelled of it self up to the Wells mouth Next we went to the place where the Shepherds were when the Angel brought them the joyful Tydings saying I bring you good Tydings and Glory be to God on High which with great Devotion we sung there in an old ruinous Subterranean Church built by St. Helen in that place All the Inhabitants thereabouts are to this day Shepherds because it is a fertile Country We returned to Bethlehem about ten a Clock in the Morning and in the Evening went into the Grott where it is said the holy Virgin hid her self with the Child Jesus to avoid the Tyranny of Herod when he put to death the innocent Babes We carried Candles with us thither for you can see nothing unless you have a light with you This is a round Grott cut in the Rock and in it there is an Altar where the Latin Monks sometimes say Mass They say that the Virgin having in this place shed some of her Milk the Stone became white A Stone become white by the Virgins Milk. as it is at present and that by Gods permission it obtained this Vertue That it makes Womens Milk return to them nay the Turks and Arabs give the powder of it in water to their Females which have lost their Milk and that makes it return again About sixty paces from thence is the House where St. Joseph was when the Angel appeared to him bidding him flee into Aegypt with the Virgin and the Child Jesus CHAP. XLVIII Of the Mountains of Judea and of the Convent of Holy-Cross THursday the twenty fifth of April we parted from Bethlehem about seven a Clock in the Morning and went to the Mountains of Judea Mountains of Judea The Town of Sennacherib passing by the Town of Sennacherib so called because the Army of Sennacherib was cut to pieces there in the Night-time by an Angel. Then after we had ascended a little we passed close by Botirella which we left on our left hand and came to the Fountain where St. Philip Baptized the Eunuch of Candaie Queen of Aethiopia the Brook which runs from that Fountain is called in holy Scripture the Brook of Eshcoll Numb 13. That is to say the Brook of Grapes Brook of Eshcoll Vineyard of Sorec because it runs near to the Vineyard of Sorec Leaving that Fountain to the left hand we went near to the said Vineyard of Sorec that is to say Chosen Vineyard where the Spies whom Moses sent to view the Land of Promise Battir The Desart of St. John Baptist took a great cluster of Grapes then we pass'd by the Village of Battir and from thence by very bad way came to the Desart of St. John Baptist where after a pretty long Ascent we found a very old ruinous Building which heretofore was a Monastery under these ruines there is a Cave where that Saint lived and there you see the Bed whereon he lay which is the hard Rock cut in shape of a Bed. The Bed of St. John Baptist This Grott is on the side of a Hill at the foot of which there is a very stony Valley or Precipice then another Mountain which intercepts the View so that it is encompassed round with Hills There is a Spring of excellent water by the side of this Cave and near to it we Dined Being gone from thence we came to the House of St. Elizabeth where are the ruines of a fair Church that was built by S. Helen that is the place where the Virgin visited St. Elizabeth The House of St. Elizabeth and made the Magnificat which we Sung there Then going down about five hundred paces we found on the right hand the Well of St. John where St. Elizabeth washed his Clouts when he was an Infant Keeping on our way we came to a Village wherein is the House of St. Zacharias The House of Zacharias the Father of St. John Baptist which was converted into a Church wherein on the left hand of the Altar that is at the end of it as you enter is the Room where St. John was Born and where his Father at the Birth of that Son who was blessed from the Womb recovered his Speech and made the Benedictus which we sung there on the other side of the Altar to wit on the side of the Epistle there is a little hole where it is said St. Elizabeth kept St. John long hid to avoid the fury of Herod The Arabs lodge their Cattel many times in this Church When we came out from thence The Village of St. John. The Convent of Holy Cross we passed through the Village of St. John Inhabited by Arabs All the ways in the Hilly Country of Judea are very bad We came next to a Convent of Greeks called Holy-Cross built with very strong Walls we went into the Church which is fair very light and full of the pictures of Saints after the Mosaical way and paved also in that manner The place where the Olive-Tree was cut down of which the Coss of our Lord was made It is covered with a Dome There is a great hole under the high Altar where the Olive-Tree grew that was cut down to make the Cross of our Lord of When we had seen all these things we took our way streight to Jerusalem where we arrived about four a clock in the Afternoon We entered by the Castle-Gate called also the Gate of Bethlehem This Gate is called the Castle-Gate because there is a good Castle in that place CHAP. XLIX Of Bethany Bethphage Mount Sion the Houses of Caiaphas and Annas FRiday the twenty sixth of April we went out by the Gate of Bethlehem about seven a Clock in the Morning and saw first on our right hand at the foot of Mount Sion The Fish-ponds of Bathshebah Mount Sion The Palace of David Aceldama the two Fish-ponds of Bathshebah where she bathed her self and very near over against it but about fifty paces higher upon the same Mount Sion is the Palace of David from whence he saw and fell in Love with her then the Field called in holy Scripture Aceldama that is to say The Field of Blood because it was bought for the thirty pieces of Silver which Judas got for betraying of
Tyrannie of the Turks made them abandon it Among the ruines of the Town and even within the Precincts of it a great many Palm-Trees grow within this last Precinct there is a Castle upon the Sea-side which seems to have been a strong place A hundred paces from thence within the said Precinct we saw a Church five and twenty paces in length and fifteen broad dedicated to St. Peter which is still entire They say that St. Helen caused it to be built in the place where our Lord said to St. Peter Mat. c. 16. Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church c. There we had that Gospel read to us Others say it is the place where our Lord eat Fish with his Apostles after his Resurrection when He appeared unto them upon the side of this Sea. We Dined in that place and then washed our selves in the Lake the Water whereof is fresh very good to Drink and full of Fish It is about twelve or fifteen Miles long and five or six over It was heretofore called the Sea of Galilee Lake of Genezareth Capernaum Mat. 9. Mat. 8. John 4. or Lake of Genezareth From thence on the left hand upon the side of that Sea we saw the ruines of the Town of Capernaum where St. Matthew left the Custom-House to follow our Lord and where our Saviour Cured the Centurion's Servant and the Son of the Nobleman and raised a Maid from the Dead About an hundred paces from the Precinct of the Town of Tiberias close by the Sea-side there is a natural Bath of hot Waters to which they go down by some steps The ancient Walls of Tiberias reached as far as this Bath We parted from Tiberias about two in the Afternoon and about seven a Clock at Night arrived at a Village called Sabbato near to which we lay abroad in the open Fields Aain Ettudgiar for our Monks would by no means have us to Lodge at the usual place which is at the Castle called Aain Ettudgiar that is to say the Merchants Well as being afraid of some Avanie Next day Saturday the eleventh of May we left that bad Inn about five a Clock in the Morning and half an hour after came to a Castle called Eunegiar which is square having a Tower at each Corner close by it there is a Han which appears to be pretty enough The place where Joseph was sold and is also square It was at this Castle as they say that Joseph was by his Brethren sold to an Ishmaelite Merchant the Pit or Well whereunto they had put him first is still to be seen but we went not to it because it was quite out of our Road. This Castle is commanded by a Sous-Basha and there we payed a Piastre of Caffare a piece of which one half goes to the Sous-Basha and the other to the Arabs From thence we went towards Mount Tabor Mount Tabor or Gabeltour by the Arabs called Gebeltour and came an hour after to the foot of it where alighting from our Horses though one may ride up on Horse-back as some of our Company did we got up to the top about nine a Clock It is easie to be mounted seeing one may go up on Horse-back but it is also very high being almost half a League from the bottom to the top Having taken a little breath we entred by a low Door into a little Grott where we found on the left hand a Chappel built in memory of the place where our Lord was Transfigured and of what St. Peter said It is good for us to be here let us make three Tabernacles c. This Chappel is made up of four Arches cross-ways one of them is the entry of the Chappel that which is opposite to it is the place where our Lord was when he was Transfigured that which is on the right hand of it but on the left hand of those that enter into the Chappel is the place where Moses was because in holy Scripture Moses is mentioned before Elias The fourth which is over against that of Moses is the place where Elias was and a Monk read to us there the Gospel of the Transfiguration Near to this place there is a little Plain and a Cistern of excellent Water This Mount is shaped like a Sugar-Loaf and is covered all over with Trees for most part hard Oaks After we had eaten in that place we came down about ten a Clock in the Morning and took our way towards the Convent of Nazareth where we arrived about one of the Clock In the Evening we went to see the House and Shop of St. Joseph very near to the Convent there is an old ruinous building there which appears to have been a Church wherein were three Altars The House and Shop of St. Joseph built by St. Helen and a few steps farther we saw the Synagogue where our Lord taught the Jews when they had a mind to precipitate him CHAP. LVI The way by Land from Jerusalem to Nazareth ONE may Travel by Land from Jerusalem to Nazareth The way by Land from Jerusalem to Nazareth and besides avoiding the dangers that offer by Sea see a great many other curious places but as I have already said the Arabs exact such unreasonable Caffares upon the Road that few go that way at present however I shall set it down in this Place Parting from Jerusalem after Dinner you come to Lodge at Elbir Elbir there there is a very curious Village standing upon a height and Inhabited by a few People There is also a Church half ruined which was heretofore a fair Fabrick The Walls that yet stand are of great Flints They say that this was the place where the blessed Virgin lost her dear Son Jesus and therefore returned to Jerusalem where she found him in the Temple Disputing with the Doctors Next day you Lodge at Naplouse Travelling all the way over Hills and Dales Naplouse which are nevertheless Fruitful and in many places bear plenty of Olive-Trees Naplouse is the Town which in holy Scripture is called Sichim Sichem near to which Jacob and his Family most frequently Lived it stands partly on the side and partly at the foot of a Hill. The Soil about it is fertile and yields Olives in abundance The Gardens are full of Orange and Citron-Trees watered by a River and sundry Brooks About one hundred paces from the Town towards the East there is a spring under a Vault which discharges its water into a reservatory of one entire piece of Marble ten spans long five broad and as much in height in the front there are some Foliages and Roses cut in Relief upon the Marble About half a quarter of a League from thence upon the Road from Jerusalem is the Well of the Samaritan The Well of the Samaritane as the Christians of the Country say who keep it covered with great Stones least the Turks should fill it up
the Countrey being so stony that it cannot be Cultivated Raimbe About mid way you find a Han built of black stones and called Raimbe over the Gate whereof there is a square Tower with four Windows after the manner of our Steeples Saxa is a pretty Han having a Mosque in the middle and a Fountain by the side of it Without it you see a little Castle near to which runs a River that divides itself into four and thirty Branches and there you find three Bridges where there is a Caffare to be paid The day following you come to Damascus seven hours traveling from Saxa but first about an hour and a halfs journey from Saxa you cross over a Bridge upon the River that comes from Saxa For the four first hours the way is stony after that betwixt two little Hills and on the right hand of a ruined Village called Caucab that is to say Star Caucab the place of St. Pauls Conversion is the place where our Lord said to St. Paul Saul Saul why Persecutest thou me The rest of the way is over most fertile Plains CHAP. LVIII Of the City of Damascus and the places that are to be seen about it THE first thing that may be seen at Damascus is the Bezestein Damascus which is Beautiful enough and hath three Gates from whence you go to the Castle which is all built of Stones cut in Diamond cut but it is not easie for Franks to enter it At first you come to a Court of Guard with several Arms hanging upon the Wall and two pieces of Ordnance each sixteen spans long About fifteen steps further is the Mint where the Jews Work. A little beyond that there is a Dome of no great Workmanship but supported by four so great Pillars that three men can hardly fathom one of them round Fifty paces from thence you enter through a large Arched Hall into the Divan where the Council is held painted with Gold and Azure after the Mosaick way and in it there are three Basons full of excellent water When you come out of the Castle you see the Ditches half a Pikes depth and twenty paces over wherein on the side of the Town a little Canal of water runs which waters the Gardens about that are full of Orange Limon Pomgranet and several other Trees Through the middle of the Castle runs a branch of the River with which they can fill the Ditches when there is occasion On the outside of the Walls of the same Castle hang two Chains of Stone one of which contains sixteen Links and the other fourteen cut one within another by matchless Art each Link being about two fathom long and one and a half wide and the two Chains are of one entire Stone a piece From thence you come to a fair Mosque about twenty Paces Square painted all over with Mosaick work in Gold and Azure and paved with Marble Melec Daer in the middle of it is the Sepulchre of Melec Daer Sultan of Aegypt After that you must see the House of the Tefterdar wherein there is a little Marble Mosque of most lovely Architecture and painted with Gold and Azure There are several lovely Rooms in it of the same fashion at each Window whereof you have a little Fountain of most clear Water which is artificially brought thither in Pipes In this House there is a door and several great Windows with copper-Lettices which look into the great Mosque and thence one may see without molestation but Christians are forbidden to enter it upon pain of Death or turning Turk From that door and the Windows one may perceive a great part of the Mosque which may be about three hundred paces long and threescore wide The Court is paved with lovely Stones most part of Marble shining like Lookin-glasses Round about this Court there are several Pillars of Marble porphyrie and Jasper incomparably well wrought which support an Arch that ranges all round painted with several pieces in Mosaick work The Porch of the Mosque faces this Court and the entry into it is by twelve large Copper-Doors embossed with Figures with several Pillars most part of Porphyrie whose Capitals are gilt The walls are painted with lovely figures in Gold and Azure The Turks themselves have so great a veneration for this place that they dare not pass through the Court without taking off their Pabouches and certainly 't is one of the loveliest Mosques in all the Turkish Empire It was heretofore a Christian Church built by the Emperour Heraclius in Honour of St. Zacharias the Father of St. John Baptist and they say there is a Sepulchre in it where the Bones of that holy Prophet rest You must also see the Fountain where St. Paul recovered his sight and was Baptized by Ananias which is in the Streight-street so called in the Acts of the Apostles under a Vault in the Bazar near to a thick Pillar called the Ancient Pillar then you go up to the House of that same Judas with whom St. Paul Sojourned to be instructed in the Christian Religion and Baptized there you see a great door armed with Iron and huge Nails within which is the Chamber where the said Saint Fasted three Days and three Nights After that you go out of the Town by a Gate called Bab cherki Bab Cherki That is to say East Gate near to which in former times there was a great Church built in honour of St. Paul but at present the Turks have made a Han of it the Steeple remains still and is very ancient Work. Continuing your way along the Town-Ditches and about fifty paces Southward from the said gate you see a great square Tower joining to the walls in the middle of which there are two Flowers de luce cut in Relief and well shaped and at the side of each of them a Lyon cut in the same manner Betwixt these Flowers de Luce there is a great Stone with an Inscription upon it in Turkish Characters About three hundred paces further you come to the Gate called Bab Kssa Bab Kssa that is walled up under which is the place where St. Paul was let down in a Basket to avoid the persecution of the Jews Sixty paces from thence over against the Gate The Porter St. George is the Sepulchre of St. George the Porter who had his Head struck off upon pretence that he was a Christian and had made St. Pauls escape The Christians of the Countrey reckon him a Saint and have commonly a Lamp burning upon his Tomb. Returning the same way back to the Town The House of Ananias you pass by the House of Ananias which is betwixt the East Gate and St. Thomas Gate and there you find fourteen steps down to a Grott which is the place where Ananias instructed St. Paul and taught him the Christian Doctrine And on the left hand is the hole but now stopp'd up by which Ananias went under ground to St. Paul
wrought in it and a great many Magazines which served formerly to hold Provisions and Amunition Assi or Orontes The River Assi or Orontes runs by the side of this Castle and fills the Ditches about it that are cut in the Rock and very deep It runs also through the whole Town where it turns eightteen great Wheels which raise the Water two Pikes height into Channels that lye upon great Arches and convey it not only to the Fountains of the Town but also without into the Gardens You must also see a Mosque that stands near the River and over against the Castle before the door of which there is a Pillar of most lovely Marble erected with the figures of Men Birds and other Animals very well cut in Demy Relief upon it In this Mosque there is a very pleasant Garden Marra full of Orange-Trees by the River-side From Ama you go and lodge at Marra which is a sorry Town commanded by a Sangiac and there is nothing in it worth the observing but the Han you lodge in which is covered all over with Lead and is very spacious being capable of Lodging eight hundred Men and their Horses with ease In the middle of this Han there is a Mosque with a lovely Fountain and a Well two and forty Fathom deep from the top to the Water is still to be seen there About sixscore Years ago that Han was Built by Mourab Chelebi great Tefterdar when he made the Pilgrimage of Mecha About fifty paces from thence there is another old Han half ruined having a door of Black Stone of one entire piece seven span long four and a half broad and a span thick on which two Crosses like those of Malta with Roses and other Figures are cut in Demy Relief From Marra you go and lye at Aleppo CHAP. LXI The Road fram Tripoly to Aleppo by Damascus THose who have never seen Damascus may go to it from Tripoly in three good days Journey and from thence to Aleppo by the way following From Damascus the first nights Lodging is at Cotaipha one half of the way thither is over most pleasant and fruitful Plains abounding with Fruit-Trees Olive-Trees and Vines and watered by seven little Rivers and several Brooks where you see by the way a great many Villages in the Countrey about to the number as the People of the Countrey say of above three hundred and fifty The rest of the way is very Barren and Mountainous Cotaipha A fair great Han. There is at Cotaipha the lovelyest Han that is to be seen in the whole Countrey In the middle of this Han there is a Fountain that discharges its water into a great Pond There is plenty of all things necessary therein and a thousand Men and Horse may be commodiously lodged in it About fourscore years since Sinan Basha the Grand Visier passing through that Countrey upon his way to Mecha and Hyemen caused it to be Built as you go into it you must pass through a great Square Court walled in like a Castle It hath two Gates one to the South and the other to the North upon each of which there are three Culverines mounted to defend the Place There is a Caffare to be paid there From Cotaipha the next Nights Lodging is at Nebk and upon the Road five hours travelling from Cotaipha you see an old Castle called Castel or Han el Arous that is to say the Brides Han standing in a very Barren place and environed by Mountains Nebk is Situated upon a little Hill at the foot of which are Gardens full of Fruit-Trees and watered by a small River over which there is a handsom Bridge of four Arches Next day when you have Travelled two Hours you pass by a Village called Cara which contains two Hans and a Greek Church Dedicated to the Honour of St. George For half a League round this Village there is nothing but Gardens full of Fruit-Trees watered by little Brooks Two Leagues from thence you find a Castle called Cosseitel and without the walls of it is a Fountain that runs into a Pond twenty paces long then you come to Lodge at Assia which is a Han for lodging of Travellers As you go to it you pass through a large Court walled in like a Fort having a very lovely Fountain in the middle which discharges its Water by four Pipes and at the Back of the Han there is a Spring of Water that fills a Pond From Assia you go next day to Hems About mid way you find a sorry Han Hems. called Chempsi Hems is a pretty Town indifferently big the Walls whereof are of black and white Stones and half a Pikes height almost all round fortified with little round Towers to the number of six and twenty formerly they were begirt with Ditches which at present are for the most part filled up with ruines This Town hath six Gates and there are five Churches in it The first is very great and is supported with four and thirty Marble-pillars most part Jaspirs it is threescore and ten paces long and eighteen broad Within on the South-side there is a little Chappel where you may see a Stone-Chest or Case set in the Wall five spans in length and three in breadth wherein the people of the Country not only Christians The Case wherein is the Head of St. John Baptist but Moors believe the head of St. John Baptist to be and therefore the Moors make great account of it and have commonly a Lamp burning before it They say that on certain days of the year some drops of Blood distill from that Case There are also many other long and round pieces of Marble built in the Wall inscribed with Greek Characters and very artfully engraven with Roses and other Figures St. Helen built that Church which was long possessed by the Christians of the Countrey but at length about an hundred and sixty years ago was usurped by the Turks and serves them at present for their chief Mosque the Roof that is supported by these Pillars has been lately renewed and is only of Wood ill put together Christians are suffered to enter into it By the side of it without there is a great Pond where the Turks make their Ablutions before they go into it At the door of this Mosque there are two Marble-Pillars twenty span long lying along upon the Ground From thence you go to another Church held by the Moors called St. George's the Christians of the Country may perform their Devotions there paying for half the Oyl that is consumed in it The third is dedicated to the Honour of our Lady and is possessed by the Christians of the Countrey Arbain Chouade The fourth is held by the Greeks and is called Arbaine Chouade which is to say forty Martyrs it is very neat supported by five Pillars whereof four are Marble and the fifth Porphyrie wrought and cut in the form of a Screw
Prayers of the Hermites who at that time lived by it and chiefly of St. Macharius because the Pirats of that Sea much infested them Bahr el Malame it is called Bahr el Malame that is to say Mare Convicii There you may find a great many petrifications of Wood and some Bones converted into Stone which are pretty curious On the side of that Sea to the West The Mountain of Eagles Stones Dgebel el Masque is the Mountain of Eagles Stones called Dgebel el Masque where digging in the Earth and especially in time of heat and drought they find several Eagles Stones of different bigness so called because the Eagles carry them to their Nests to preserve their young ones from Serpents they have many Vertues and the Monks say that there are commonly many Eagles to be seen there You must make as short a stay there as you can for fear of the Arabs From the Mountain of Eagles Stones you go making a Triangle to the fourth Monastery and all the Journey from Ambabichoye to this Monastery Dir el Saydet is performed in one day This Monastery is called Dir el Saydet that is to say the Monastery of our Lady it is very spacious but a little ruinous It hath a fair Church and Garden but the Water is brackish and nevertheless there are more Monks in this Monastery than in the other three because the Revenue of it is greater and they have some Relicks also From this Monastery you go to the Lake of Natron Birquet el Natroun called Birquet el Natroun only two Leagues distant from it this Lake is worth ones Curiosity to see and it looks like a large Pond frozen over upon the Ice whereof a little Snow had fallen It is divided into two the more Northern is made by a Spring that rises out of the Ground though the place of it cannot be observed and the Southern proceeds from a great bubbling Spring the Water being at least a Knee deep which immediately as it springs out of the Earth congeals and makes as it were great pieces of Ice and generally the Natron is made and perfected in a Year by that Water which is reddish There is a red Salt upon it six or seven Fingers thick Natron then a black Natron which is made use of in Aegypt for Lye and last is the Natron much like the first Salt but more solid Higher up there is a little Well of Fresh-water which is called Aain el Goz and a great many Camels come dayly to the Lake to be loaded with that Natron From this Lake you go to another where there is Salt at Whitsontide made in form of a Pyramide Pyramidal Salt. Melhel Mactaoum and therefore is called Pyramidal Salt and in Arabick Melh el Mactaoum From the said Lake you return and Lodge in one of the Monasteries and next day come back to the Nile where you must stay for a passage to Caire or Rossetto if you have not retained the Boat that brought you CHAP. LXXII Of Aegypt the Nile Crocodiles and Sea-Horses AEGypt called by the Hebrews Mis Raim Aegypt Masr and by the Arabs at present Masr and in Turkish Misr is bounded on the East by the Red Sea and the Desarts of Arabia on the South by the Kingdoms of Bugia and Nubia The borders of Aegypt on the West by the Desarts of Lybia and on the North by the Mediterranean Sea. This Country lies so low that the Land cannot be seen till one be just upon it and therefore those that sail to it ought to be upon their Guard. Aegypt has no Ports on the Mediteranean fit for Ships except Alexandria and the Bouquer which is rather a Road than a Port The course of the Nile in Aegypt The River of Nile runs through the length of it and having its Course from South to North discharges it self into the Mediterranean by two mouths upon the sides of which stand two fair Towns to wit Rossetto to the West and Damiette to the East two miles below which it mingles its Waters with the Sea and by that division makes a Triangular Isle in Aegypt This Triangular Island was by the ancient Greeks called Delta because in Figure it resembles the Character Δ. The Delta of Aegypt One side of that Triangle is beat by the Mediterranean Sea on the North and the other two are bounded by the two branches of the Nile which divide at the point of this Triangle so that the three points or angles of this Triangle are the first at the place where the Nile divides it self into two the second at Rossetto and the third at Damiette The first Angle is at an equal distance from the other two to wit from Rossetto and Damiette and from that Angle it is five or six Leagues to Caire so that the Nile has only those two mouths which are Navigable for great Vessels for though there be some others yet they are no more but Rivulets The breadth of the Nile This River is broader than the broadest part of the Seine but it is not very Rapid unless it be at its Cataracts where it falls from so great a height that as they say the noise of it is heard at a very great distance When it overflows it seems to be a little Sea. The water of it is very thick and muddy but they have an Invention to clarifie it For in that Country An invention for clarifying the water of the Nile they make use of great Vessels of white Earth holding about four Buckets full of Water when they are full of Water they rub the inside of the Vessels with three or four Almonds at most until they be dissolved and in the space of a quarter of an Hour the Water becomes very clear and for that end most of those who bring Water to Houses have a Paste of Almonds wherewith they rub the Vessels as I have said After all this Water is so wholesome that it never does any harm though one drink never so much of it because it comes a great way over Land to wit from Ethiopia So that in so long a course and through so hot a Country the Sun has time to Correct it and cleanse it from all Crudities and indeed it is sweated out as fast as one drinks it In short The number of Villages upon the Banks of the Nile they have no other Water to drink in Aegypt and therefore most of the Cities Towns and Villages are upon the sides of the River and there are so many Villages that you no sooner leave one but you find another and all the Houses in them are built of Earth This River abounds not much in Fish and we had but one good Fish of the Nile at Caire which they call Variole and that is rare too Variole Crocodiles but there are a vast number of Crocodiles in it which perhaps is the cause of the scarcity of the
Breast or at his Head or Shoulders they lift him up and plant this Stake very streight in the Ground upon which they leave him so exposed for a day One day I saw a Man upon the Pale who was Sentenced to continue so for three Hours alive and that he might not die too soon the Stake was not thrust up far enough to come out at any part of his Body and they also put a stay or rest upon the Pale to hinder the weight of his body from making him sink down upon it or the point of it from piercing him through which would have presently killed him In this manner he was left for some Hours during which time he spoke and turning from one side to another prayed those that passed by to kill him making a thousand wry Mouths and Faces because of the pain he suffered when he stirred himself but after Dinner the Basha sent one to dispatch him which was easily done by making the point of the Stake come out at his Breast and then he was left till next Morning when he was taken down because he stunk horridly Some have lived upon the Pale until the third day and have in the mean while smoaked Tobacco when it was given them This poor wretch carried the Scales and Weights of those who go about to visit the Weights to see if they be just and he had so combined with such as had false Weights that he brought false ones also with him so that the Searchers not perceiving the change of their own Weights thought the other to be just When Arabs or such other Robbers are carried to be Empaled they put them on a Camel their Hands tied behind their Backs and with a Knife make great gashes in their naked Arms thrusting into them Candles of Pitch and Rosin which they light to make the stuff run into their Flesh and yet some of these Rogues go chearfully to Death glorying as it were that they could deserve it and saying That if they had not been brave Men they would not have been so put to death This is a very common and ordinary Punishment in Aegypt but in Turkie it is but very rarely put into practice The Natives of the Country are punished in this manner but the Turks are strangled in Prison CHAP. LXXX Of the Inconveniencies and Ordinary Distempers at Caire Ordinary Inconveniencies that happen at Caire Heat in Egypt Drink in Egypt THE first Inconvenience to be felt at Caire is the excessive Heat which is so intolerable that one can scarcely do any thing and what is worse there is no sleeping hardly there in Summer For when you go to Bed you 'll find the Sheets full of Sand and so hot that I think they could not be more after long warming with a Warming-pan What you drink there is commonly as hot as your Blood for you must not think of Ice Snow or a Well there all that can be done is to put the Water into certain Pots of a white Earth that Transpires much and leave them abroad in the Night-time having done so the Water is indeed pretty cold in the Morning but in the Day-time they put those Pots in Windows which receive any little breeze and there the Water cools a little or at least loses somewhat of its heat and it is a great happiness in that Country to have a Window that lies well for a breeze and a Bardaque or Pot that is Transpirable Besides these Inconveniencies there is that of little Flies or Musketto's which I reckon the greatest of all No Man can believe but he who hath felt it by Experience how uneasie and troublesome these Insects are in Aegypt there are always swarms of them buzzing about People and continually pricking of them so that they make themselves fat and plump with Man's Blood. There is no other remedy against these Gnats but to have a very fine Cloth all round your Bed which shuts very close and for all that some always get in when you go to lie down A pain in the Stomach is very common in that Country and all New-comers are subject unto it who finding themselves in a hot Countrey leave their Breast and Stomach open and will not take Counsel Nevertheless the Air which is subtile and penetrating chills their Bowels and causes dangerous Fevers and Bloody-Fluxes especially in Autumn when the Nile overflows and therefore one must always keep the Stomach warm and well covered There is another Distemper that reigns there also and that is a swelling of the Scrotum and to some I may speak without Exaggerating their Cods swell bigger than their Head which is occasioned by the Water of the Nile and I my self was troubled a little with it for the space of eight days but then it went away of it self To cure this Distemper they make Incision with a Lancet in the swelled Scrotum and let out the Water that is got into it Sore Eyes are very common there and very dangerous in the Summer-time that is caused by the burning heat of the Sun which reflects from the Ground upon the Eyes and scorches them as also from the Dust which is very subtile and salt and is blown into the Eyes by the Wind which is the reason that there are many blind in that Country Whilst I was in Aegypt a French Merchant lost an Eye so and I have known other French troubled with that Distemper who for a fortnight or three Weeks could not sleep because of the sharp pain they felt which made them cry out and roar both Night and Day In the Summer-time you hardly see any abroad in the Streets but who are afflicted with that evil and carry pieces of blew Stuff before their Eyes and certainly you shall find nine of ten whom you meet with such defensives before their Eyes Every one threatned me with that Distemper and yet thanks be to God I never had the least touch of it perhaps I took care to prevent it because in that bad Season every Morning and Evening I washed my Eyes with fair Water and when I returned from Abroad I did the like to wash out any Sand that might have got into them Pains in the Legs are very bad at Caire and a great many have their Legs swollen to a prodigious bigness There is also another Distemper or rather inconvenience for it is more uneasie than dangerous which happens when the Water of the Nile begins to rise there is a kind of Inflammation or Wild-fire that runs over the whole Body which exceedingly torments People by its pricking and stinging and when you drink to ease and refresh your self whilst you are drinking and after you feel such sharp prickings that you would think there were an hundred Needles stuck into you all at once the Provencials call that Des Arelles and it is an Inconvenience that lasts almost three Months Arelles In March 1658. after some days of high Winds a certain Distemper broke out
consisted not in Hair and that therefore he should suffer it to be cut off Then he sent for his Wife to Tunis she being with Child but he had much ado to preserve his Servants liberty for the Dey and Aga of the Divan would have had them made Slaves nevertheless they retained both their Liberty and Religion Two years after he would have sent his Wife back again into Christendom but they would not suffer him however after many difficulties she went away attended by a Servant of the Princes leaving a Son behind her and came to Genoa where she put her self into a Nunnery and hath since continued Now Don Philippo having been Disinherited by his Father had nothing to Live on but what he had from his Mother who is very fond of him Nor is he put into any Place because they still believe him to be a Christian there being none great nor small in Tunis but knew him by the name of Don Philippo for my part the first time I went to his House when I was at Tunis having asked for the House of Don Philippo every body told me the way to it Now to dispossess them of the belief they have that he is still a Christian at Heart he resolved some years after his return to undertake the Pilgrimage of Mecha and so wheadled a Brother of his own that he engaged him in the Journey who bore Don Philippo's Charges and his Sons whom he took with him So soon as he came to Caire he made acquaintance with the Franks and then hired a House in the quarter of the French where he came two or three times a week to drink Wine and make merry with the Franks and the time being come that the Caravan parts for Mecha he travelled thither in company of the Megrebins and upon his return the occasion of this English Ship presenting he resolved to return by Sea to Tunis This Prince is a tall and handsome well shaped Man and was not then above thirty years of Age he has a great deal of wit and speaks Italian and Spanish naturally well He is a lover of Musick and therefore has several Slaves who played some on the Harp others on the Flute and Lute His Son was then a little Boy about seven years old handsome and witty like his Father This same Don Philippo for all he is so poor makes his Brothers so stand in fear of him that there is none of them dares to look him in the Face CHAP. LXXXIV Our Voyage from Caire to Alexandria What the Hhouames are FRiday the third of January 1659. I parted from Caire and embarking at the Gissiere which is a pleasant place upon the side of the Nile where many go to divert themselves and where our Boat stayed for us with a fair wind we sailed as far as Tono which is half way from Caire to Rossetto Some hours after we parted from Caire we met the Boat of Don Philippo which we Saluted with some Volleys of our Fowling-pieces We arrived at Tono Saturday the fourth of January after Midnight Tono but there the Wind turned contrary which put us to a great deal of trouble and a main Rope of our Tackle breaking we had almost been cast away Boat and all but having quickly recovered it out of the Water and re-fitted it with all haste we continued our course making still a little way though the wind was full against us at length perceiving that the Wind was like to continue so we put a-shoar at Derout Tuesday morning the seventh of January and went by Land to Rossetto six hours Journey distant from Derout Derout we arrived the same day Tuesday the seventh of January at Rossetto Upon the way from Caire to Rossetto there are some pretty Towns which I had not observed as I went from Rossetto to Caire as Foa Sewdion Derout Foa Sewdion and some others We stayed for our Boat wherein our luggage was at Rossetto where it arrived on Wednesday morning the eighth of January and Thursday the ninth we parted from Rossetto about two a Clock in the Morning Betwixt Rossetto and the Sea-side there are eleven Pillars fixed in the Ground and a Palm-Tree at some hundreds of Paces distant one from another they are put there to mark the way because it is a Desart and besides the ways most commonly are covered with rain-Rain-water and if a Man should miss his way in that Desart it would take him above a day to find it again We followed then these marks by Moon-light and being got to the Sea-side came to Casa Rossa Casa Rossa Media which is half way betwixt Rossetto and Media where we arrived about three hours after day Media is above half way from Rossetto to Alexandria Having rested there about an hour we crossed over in the Ferry-boat paying a Maidin for our House-room and passage and after we had travelled a good way about two a clock in the Afternoon we came to Alexandria twelve hours Journey distant from Rossetto betwixt which two Towns there is no other Inn but Media where you have nothing but Water and House-room so that what you eat and drink you must carry with you From Caire to Alexandria it is about an hundred and fifty miles by Land which is commonly travelled in three days because they travel day and night resting a little in the Morning and Afternoon I saw nothing in Alexandria but what I had seen the time before when I was there only they shewed me a Hhouame Hhouames and told me that these Hhouames are a sort of Vagabond People among the Arabs who lodge as they do under Tents but have a certain particular Law to themselves for every night they perform their Prayers and Ceremonies under a Tent without any Light and then lye with the first they meet whether it be Father Mother Sister or Brother and this is far worse than the Religion of the Adamites These People though sculk and keep private in the City for if they be known to be Hhouames they are Burned Alive CHAP. LXXXV Our arrival at Bouquer a Ship cast away in the Port of Alexandria A description of Bouquer I Stayed at Alexandria till the Ship was ready whereof the Purser having given us notice we sent away our Goods and Provisions which we had prepared before hand for one must not delay those preparations till the Ship be just ready to sail When a man is alone it is no bad way to agree with the Captain for Diet especially with the English who treat well but besides that one must still have some small provision for himself in private For our parts being five in company to wit three Marseillese my self and my man we provided all things for ourselves We took Boat then on Thursday the thirtieth of January to go on board the Ship which was at Bouquer but not before we and our Goods had been searched at the Custome-house where we were encompassed
there are a great many Fountains with lovely Basons of one entire piece of Marble brought from Genoa and as in the House of Don Philippo an open Hall with a great reservatory in the middle and walks all round it roofed over and supported by several Pillars this as also all the Rooms are paved with black and white Marble adorned with Gold and Azure and that kind of Clay or Plaister-work There are several fair appartments in all these Houses which have lovely Gardens full of Orange and several other Fruit-Trees planted in as good order as in Christendom with many neat Beds and borders of Flowers at the ends of Walks all made by Christian slaves These Houses are called Bardes from the Moresco word Berd that signifies Cold because there is a fresh Air about them Near that place there is an Aqueduct built by a Dey which brings Water four or five miles off to Tunis A few steps from that there is another Aqueduct somewhat older yet still modern which is parallel to the former and carries Water also to Tunis Another day I went to see the Cantre which belongs to Schelebi whom I mentioned Cantre the Son of Hisouf Dey and is four leagues from Tunis As you go thither you pass by the old Aqueducts of Carthage which are about half way they are at that place very entire still raised high and built of very great stones From Tunis to the Cantre most of the way is over large Fields planted with Olive-Trees some steps distant from one another but in so streight a line that they look like Walks which would be very pleasant were it not that these ways are always full of Rain-water and mire as all the Countrey about Tunis is because it lyes upon a level We came then to the Cantre so called from a Bridge which Hisouf Dey the Father of Schelebi built over a River called Magerda Magerda for Cantre in Moresco signifies Bridge This River Magerda is neither very broad nor rapid but enough to deserve the name of a fair River it runs near to the House of Schelebi and his Father built a stone Bridge to cross over it the spaces betwixt the Pillars of the seven Arches being built up from the bottom to the surface of the Water with huge pieces of Free-stone so that the water passing through the Arches and finding it lower on the other side makes at every arch a very pleasant Cascade two foot high where the Water falls with a great noise Upon that River there are several Iron-Mills as also for grinding Corn and fulling the Caps called Fez-Caps which are made at Zagouaro by Tagarins All that work in these Mills are the slaves of Schelebi At the end of the Bridge is the House of Schelebi built in form of a Castle it hath one very large Court and other smaller ones the Rooms as in other Houses are beautified with Gold Azure and Plaistering with Fountains every where and all paved with Marble so that they are more magnificent than those I had seen before There are lovely Pictures in those Rooms for formerly this Schelebi was very rich his Father having left him a vast Estate and among other things eighteen hundred Slaves but he hath run out a great deal in his Debaucheries he is a man of a generous Heart and if he were once in Christendom he would never leave it again He keeps open table for all Franks that come to see his House and is so courteous that he never refuses any thing and if he have not what is asked from him he uses means to procure it at any rate that he may freely give it When I went to his House he was not there for he was then at Tabarque a little Island in the Kingdom of Tunis within a Musquet shot of the main Land but three days Journey from Tunis That Island belongs to the Genoese who have a very good Fort and drive a great trade there and among other things in Horses which are called Barbes The Schelebi was gone thither to buy Timber for building of a Galley About three Leagues from the Cantre there is a place called Tabourbe where there are some ancient ruines and chiefly an ancient Temple but I went not to see it because then I must have lain there or at the Cantre and I had not time to spare for our Captain put us in hopes daily that he would sail next day That was the reason also that I went not to Suze neither which is a long days journey from Tunis it is the place where there are more Antiquities than any where else in the Kingdom of Tunis and I believe that thereabouts there are ruines of Churches and other things relating to St Augustin to be seen CHAP. LXXXXI Of Tunis and of the Slaves that are there TVNIS the Capital City of the Kingdom of the same name lyes in a Plain it is pretty big and the Houses are indifferently well built though they make no shew but they are all Marble Gold and Azure within The Suburbs of this City are as big as the City itself which is all paved but dirty as heretofore Paris was so that after rain there is hardly any going in the Streets There is a Castle upon an Eminence within the Town which commands it and it makes a very pretty shew There are some Guns before the Gate and the front of it looks well which is all that I could see of it nor indeed durst I eye it attentively for I had warning given me that it was dangerous for Christians to be curious in viewing that Castle I past by it then but very fast and hard by over against it there is a Burying-place Not far frem the Castle there is Bazar for Drapers it is a long broad street with shops on both sides all which have the fore part supported by four Pillars two on each side none but Drapers keep shop there but there are several other Bazars also for other Commodities Baths for Slaves at Tunis There are thirteen Baths in Tunis where all the Slaveslodge except those that are kept in their Masters Houses and as several Slaves told me there may be there in all ten or twelve thousand Christian Slaves who carry every one a great ring of Iron at their foot Knights of Malta at Tunis but the Knights of Malta have besides that a huge Iron-Chain above five and twenty pound weight which is fastened to the Ring that Chain is very troublesome to them for they must either turn it quite round their Leg and make it fast there which is very heavy when they walk or hang it by a hook that they have by their side which commonly gives them a pain in the side or else must carry it on their Shoulders In these Baths there is a great Hall where they are shut up in the Night-time there they lodge as well as they can some having little Rooms made of wood to which they
we travelled all day long mounting through very good Corn-fields and the rest of the ground by the road that was not sowed was covered over with Daffadils and Furzes in the blossom Daffadils and Furzes with other like shrubs that yielded a very pleasant prospect So soon as we were arrived a Tchorbadgi of Damascus encamping hard by under a Tent being informed of the Moucre that there was a Franck there sent for me and having treated me with Coffee asked me if I had any relation to Monsieur Bermond a Chirurgeon of Marseilles who negotiated some Affairs at Damascus for the Merchants of Saide I told him I was without mentioning in what degree for our Kindred is onely derived from the Patriarch Noah He told me that he was his friend and made me to understand several times that if I had a mind to buy ashes he would be my merchant but all my answer was that I was too poor to be a Merchant and that my business was to go to my Kinsman Labatia is a miserable little Village where we could not find lodging Labatia and the best accommodation we had to lie in was a little place at the end whereof there was a pane of a Wall our Mules were made fast hard by and we posted our selves near the Wall in the open Air. Next day being Wednesday the twenty sixth of March we parted about five in the Morning the ground being frozen with a sharp cold Wind. Our way was bad and still upwards and we soon came in sight of a Castle upon a high hill before us The Castle of Skheip Sefet a Town which is called Skheip and is pretty large and square it depends on Sefet which is but two days Journey from it That Castle is strong by scituation for it is inaccessible but yet was inhabited VVe left it to the right and went a great way to find out a descent into a place from whence we saw a very deep Valley where a River runs which they call Leitani Leitani a River that makes many turnings and windings it is at least five fathom broad and very rapid During a quarter of an hour we descended by a very dangerous way for the least false step was enough to make one tumble down into the River and that from a great height too Being come down we kept along that VVater following the current and a little from thence crossed it upon a stone-Bridge of two Arches about three fathom high which is called Hardala A Caffare at Hardala There Passengers pay a Piastre and a half a head I mean the Christians for Turks do not pay so much Having passed the Bridge we stood off a little from the VVater still ascending and had in view the Hill that we had left on the other side which appeared pleasanter unto us than when we were upon it for it was very high and streight and all covered over with Trees After we had travelled about half an hour in ways where it would have been very dangerous to fall we came just over against the Castle of Skheip which is upon a very high and steep Hill Some time after we came into a Plain and an hour after to another far larger but uncultivated and full of stones as the former was though both looked very green In this Plain we met a Caravan of Camels loaded each with a Mill-stone I was told that these stones came from Oran Oran which is five days Journey from thence and that they carried them to Saide to be transported into Egypt Having past that Plain we came over bad way to a stone Bridge of three Arches lying over a Brook four or five fathom broad when we had crossed it we mounted by a worse way full of stones bad enough to make Mules that were not loaded to break their Necks and that lasted till we came to our Lodging at Banias where we arrived two hours after during all that way besides stones we had a great many torrents and such dirty deep ground that the Mules often stuck Banias This Village of Banias is very inconsiderable nevertheless when heretofore the Christians were Masters of it it was a good Town it lies at the foot of a Hill on the top whereof there is a great Castle uninhabited this place depends on the Basha of Damascus VVe found no better Lodging here than the Night before for having crossed a square Court we entered under a Vault two foot deep of Horse-dung and dust mingled together our Lodging was appointed us in that place and seeing the Court was vaulted all round under which they had put the Mules and a Caravan of Asses we were so incommoded there that so soon as the Beasts began to stir they raised a dust that spoilt all the Victuals we had prepared to eat all the pleasure we had came from a little door that opened towards the side of a River that runs by it and which is at least three fathom broad but very shallow though it be rapid it is called the River of Banias Next morning about five a Clock we left that nasty Lodging and after about an hours mounting upwards turning by very bad ways though the Land about was sowed we found ourselves just opposite to our Lodging having betwixt us and it a very deep Valley agreeable by its verdure and the many Trees it is filled with which are watered by a River that runs through it A little after we saw the Castle of Banias in its full extent which is large and strong VVe still mounted during the space of an hour by ways that were better than the former but we had the lovely Valley always in sight and on the road there were a great many Trees which by their verdure and shade lessened somewhat of the fatigue The truth is there was no false step to be made there because the way being very smooth and slopeing to the very bottom of the Valley one could not stop before he came to the bottom By the way we found many wild Chestnut-trees withered and without leaves and yet bearing their fruit Having descended a little we entered into a large Plain and having passed it and mounted a little amongst Trees we found stony Plains where it behoved us to march on untill about three of the Clock after Noon in the worst way imaginable for they were all great stones amongst which there was no place for a Mule to set his foot After Noon it was a little better but we saw no sowed Land all the ground about being still full of a prodigious number of stones Nevertheless our Monkires would needs have me believe that heretofore Vines had grown there Indeed in several places there are still to be seen some Hovels like to Hen-houses made of stones piled one upon another where it might be thought that they who dressed the Vines retired but since that time some Medusa's head must needs have past over these grounds or
poor Pilgrims of all Religions and when I was there there were a great many Persons who were already come to perform the Pilgrimage of Mecha I went out of that Hospital by the opposite side to that which I entered it and on the left hand I saw the Stables where the Pilgrims Horses are put if they have any Pursuing my way I found to the right hand another Cloyster of the same Architecture as the former and which belongs to the same Hospital it is for poor Scholars and hath also its Mosque Being come out of the Morestan and going streight forwards I went along a street where on each side are little Chambers for poor Pilgrims also and over head Rooms for the Women Pilgrims Then I came to a great House which hath a square Court where they make the Bisket for Mecha and there I saw several hundred Sacks full though it was as yet three Weeks to the time of their setting out upon the Journey They made this Provision because it is the custome that at Damascus two hundred Camels are loaded with Biskets and as many with Water at the Grand Seigniors expences to be distributed in Charity amongst the poor Pilgrims on the way Keeping on my way I crossed the Horse-Market where stands a great stone between four and five foot high about three foot broad and half a foot thick wherein some lines in Arabick are cut but so worn out that they cannot be read but with great difficulty the meaning of them is that when this stone shall be covered with water then Damascus will be taken Nevertheless Monsieur de Bermond who conducted me to these places told me that some years before he had seen so great an inundation that he believed the stone was covered with water at least as far as he could perceive from a high place pretty near from whence he discovered all that Market-place and could not see the stone near to which many Franciscan Friers were here tofore put to death for the faith We came in the next place to the bazar of Horse-saddles it is so called because that is the onely Commodity sold there having advanced a little into it we saw on the left hand the great Bagnio which I shall describe then we entered into the City again by the Gate of Paboutches on both sides of that Gate there is a great Flower-de-luce cut in the Stone A Flower-de-luce We passed by the Gate called Bab-Fardis which was to our left on our way to Bab-Salem with out which but close by it is the conjunction of three Rivers this is an extraordinary pleasant place Keeping still along the side of the Wall we entered the City again by the Gate called Bab-Thoma and returned to our Lodging All the Coffee-houses of Damascus are fair and have much water Coffee-houses of Damascus but the fairest of all are in the Suburbs Amongst the rest that which is in the Sinanie and is called the great Coffee-house because of its vast extent is very delightfull by reason of the many Water-works that are in Basons full of Water there That which is near the Serraglio Gate and is called the Bridge Coffee-house because it is near a Bridge upon the River is so much the more delicious that the River borders it on one side and that there are Trees all along before it under the shade of which they who are upon the Mastabez of the Coffee-house have a pleasant fresh Air and the view of the River running below them The Coffee-house of the two Rivers which is near the Gate of the Paboutches and where the length of the Castle ends is also fair and large two Rivers pass by it which at the end of a great covered Hall makes a little Island full of Rose-bushes and other Plants whereof the verdure and various Colours with the smell of the Flowers delight at the same time several senses and give a great deal of agreeableness to a scituation otherwise so advantageous For you must know that these Rivers which I call little are at least four fathom broad and commonly five or six All know what a Coffee-berry is from which these places take their denomination I have spoken of it in my former Travels and shall onely add in this place what I learned of the qualities of that drink to wit that being drank very hot it clears the head of vapours moderately hot it binds up the body The Effects of Coffee and cold it is laxative At Damascus there are Capucins and Monks of the holy Land whose houses are near to one another in the quarter of the Maronites and just over against their Church where also they say Mass because each of these orders have their Chappel there There are Jesuits also in that City but they live a pretty way from thence in the quarter of the Greeks and celebrate in their own house I stayed four and twenty days in Damascus but could have been willing not to have stayed so long because of the troubles I was threatned with A false report being spread about the Town by the malice of some and perhaps of a Servant whom I had turned away that I had thirty thousand Chequins with me all ways were used to snap some of these pretended Chequins and for that end as I had information the Capicoules or Janissaries lay several times in wait to Arrest me upon some false pretext nay the same Chorbagi whom I met upon the Rode as I came from Saide having sent for Monsieur Bermond a French Merchant who was his friend told him perhaps to pump him that I had told him I was his Kinsman but that in short he knew I was a great and rich Lord and that I should look to my self because several threatened me and that he would serve me for his sake if I stood in need of it This report daily encreasing and I being very well known by face the onely remedy I had was to leave Damascus but seeing there was no opportunity of a Caravan I could not be delivered by that means so soon as I could have wished and I was forced to resolve to keep within Doors or at least not to stir abroad but as little as I could whilst I stayed for the occasion of some Caravan I could not doubt of the danger I was in especially when I knew that they watched the Reverend Father George a Jesuit who amongst other kindnesses he shewed me took the pains to come and teach me the use of the Astrolabe which obliged us for the future to correspond onely by Letters Notwithstanding all these cautions my Quality and Purse augmented daily in the mouths of the people In the mean time as luck would have it the night before my departure I had an express from Monsieur Bertet one of the chief Merchants of Aleppo upon occasion of my writing to him to give me notice when there was a Caravan ready to part for Bagdad In a trice
Hill to the left hand on which there is a Mosque with a Building like to a little Castle called Sultan-Abdullah Sultan-Abdullah heretofore it was inhabited by Dervishes and at present serves for a retreat to Arabian Robbers We saw about a score of them on the water-side with their Horses and Lances who sent three of their company towards us These Blades having stript themselves naked came swimming and asked Bread of us they had it and so returned carrying each two Loaves one upon their head and the other in one hand which they held out of the water swimming only with the other hand We had still Woods to our left and by intervals some Hills and shortly after we had Woods also to the right hand In several places on the same side we saw a great many of the Summer-houses of the Arabs but no body in them Half an hour after five in the evening we saw upon a little Hill on the same hand the ruins of a Castle called Toprac-Calasi Toprac-Calasi There were some Houses of Arabs there and the other Keleck having stopt a few minutes near Land they stole an Abe of Cloth which is a kind of a Vest and no body perceived it till they were gone These Arabs sow Millet thereabouts of which they make their Bread eating no other We stopt that day in the morning and at noon to do the needs of Nature as it was our custom and then continued our way having always Hills on the right hand and about Sun-setting we went a-shoar at a place on the left hand where there is abundance of Lions and where one must have a special care of Arabs for some time ago the Arabs robbed a Keleck in that very place having on board almost fourscore people whom they killed and then over-set the Keleck that it might be thought it over-set of it self Hardly were we arrived when three Arabs came swimming over to us from the other side we gave them Bread and so set them going We parted next morning Monday the eleventh of August at break of day and had Hills still on our right hand About eight a clock we passed near one of these Hills on which the people of the Countrey say there is a Castle named Mekhoul-Calaai by the name of a Franck who built it About nine a clock we saw the ends of these Hills Liquorice-water The Liquorice which I found by the way when we went a-shoar was very useful to me for I infused it in the water which I drank and that pleased me better than common water which not only made me sweat excessively for I voided by the pores as much as I drank but also it raised on me several Blisters that pricked me like so many needles as often as I drank or sate down whereas when I drank liquorice-Liquorice-water Sumack I felt none of these inconveniences I had besides Sumack which is almost like Hemp-seed wherewith I made another sort of Drink by putting a little of that grain into water and after pounding it that yielded me a very red Water but very cooling and wholsom and if a little Salt be added to it it makes it much pleasanter They use a great deal of Sumack and when it is beat and put into Broth it is very wholsom and a good remedy against the Bloody-Flux They suffer no man to make a Tent upon these Kelecks to keep out the Sun nay they would not suffer me to hold a bough of a Tree over my head because of the wind which might over-set the Keleck but I found a way to defend my self against the heat of the Sun by lying half at length so that my head was a little higher almost as if I had been sitting In this posture I fastened one end of my Abe behind my head and covered my self with the rest in manner of a Tent by means of three sticks of which one that I held between my Legs upheld it in the middle and was like the main Pile the other two supported it on the two sides In this manner I had a pretty convenient shade and the wind ever almost on one side or other but notwithstanding all my circumspection I suffered great heats especially some days when there was not a breath of wind About noon the Hills began again and these Mountains run along as far as the Indies they call them Dgebel Hemrin Dgebel Hemrin Montes Cordaci Gioubbar Calai Altun Daghi I believe they are the Mountains called Cordaci by Quintus Curtius in his fourth Book and tenth Chapter Towards two of the clock we passed near to a Castle which is in Mesopotamia called Gioubbar Calai and some time after we saw a little Hill to the left hand called Altun Daghi that 's to say the Hill of Gold because the Arabs digging in it here and there find a little Gold. About four a clock we passed that place where they that go down the Tygris as we did begin to have the Mounts Hebrin to the left which till that place they have always had to the right and on the side of Mesopotamia It is the tradition that the River heretofore divided them and that they go by Ispahan and reach as far as the Indies and in that Countrey they affirm that these Hills which are of a white Rock encompass all the World. At Sun-setting we went a-shoar on the side of Mesopotamia over against Kizil-Han Kizil-Han which is a Han not far from it and the fifth Lodging of the Caravans that come from Mosul We did not take our Lodging on the other side as the nights before because of the Lions that are there and are to be seen in Flocks like Sheep We kept good Guard because our station was pretty near to the Houses of some Arabs besides there were some Lions also on that side Amongst the rest there is one that is in great reputation among the people of the Countrey he is called the Lion of Kizil-Han and is said to be as big as an Ass A Lion of great bigness and of extraordinary strength who never fails to take a man of every Caravan and it was very honourable for ours that we paid him not that Tribute They add that he commonly sets upon those who straggle in the rear and that it may not be thought that it 's for want of courage but only out of cunning that he does so they say he is so bold that if he see no more but two or three men he comes confidently up to them and taking one of them in his Claws lays him upon his Back and carries him away Some Caravanists told me a great many Tales upon that subject which I shall give as cheap as I had them They told me very seriously that the Lion never sets upon a man but when he is very hungry and that he feeds upon him backwards beginning always at his Buttocks because he is afraid of the face of a man. That when
very thieving Beasts not only of what is fit for eating but of any thing else they find carrying away even Turbans sometimes they howl almost like Dogs one making the Treble another the Basse and a third the Counter-Tenor and so soon as one cries the rest cry also so that all together they make a noise which may truly be called Dogs Musick Thursday the fourteenth of August we parted from that place at break of day Aaschouk Maaschouk and a little after saw on our right hand a Village called Aaschouk and to the left another called Maaschouk The people of the Countrey say that these places are so called because in each of those two Villages there was in former times a Tower in one of which lived a Man who was in love with a Woman that lived in the Tower of the other Village and was in like manner beloved of her This place is the seventh Lodging of the Caravans that come from Mosul to Bagdad About half an hour after six we saw to the left hand a Village called Imam-Samerva Imam-Samerva Hedgiadge Elhan Digel About eleven a clock we passed by another Village called Hedgiadge which is in Mesopotamia Three hours after we saw another on the same side named Elhan and besides it some Houses all that Land being called Digel Half an hour past six in the evening we put a-shoar on our left hand where I was told of another-guess prowess of a Lion than what I had been told of that of Kizil-Han They said then that not long before a Caravan passing by that place a Lion came who setting upon a young Boy mounted on an Ass that came after the rest carried away both Boy and Ass in view of the whole Caravan After Supper we went upon the water again about nine of the clock at night and for the space of half an hour heard on our right hand many Chakales very near us which called the Lions and after that we saw no more Woods We began then to make the best of our way by night as well as by day because there are no more Banks and the River is very broad but also so still that it can hardly be discerned which way it runs We past by several Villages most of which were on Mesopotamia-side Next day being Friday the fifteenth of August we saw about noon many Boats near the shoar which have Masts like Saicks and serve to carry Corn to Bagdad from the neighbouring Villages We then discovered several Palm-Trees and many of those Wheels they call Dollab which serve to draw water out of Wells as at Mosul Half an hour after six in the evening we stopt at a Village called Yenghige on the left hand there are many Gardens there where they sold us good Figs Pomegranats and very big long Grapes At that place we were not altogether safe from Lions seeing the people of the Countrey told us that they come often into their Gardens and that one morning a Lion came to the very Suburbs of Bagdad that lies on the Desart-side where it seized a man who had risen too early Nevertheless betwixt Yenghige and Bagdad there are several Villages with a great many Gardens Yenghige We parted about nine a clock at night and next day being Saturday the sixteenth of August at two a clock in the afternoon passed by a Village called Imam-Mousa which is on the right hand It is a place of Pilgrimage Imam-Mousa whither people resort from afar and the Women of Bagdad go thither every Friday it being only an hours march by Land. A little after we saw another Village on our left hand called Imam-Aazem Imam-Aazem which is likewise a place of Pilgrimage and about five of the clock in the evening we arrived at Bagdad In that Voyage they speak every where Turkish The Turkish Language towards Bagdad but it is Persian Turkish which differs somewhat from that of Greece and the nearer Bagdad the more the Turkish Language differs from that of Constantinople CHAP. XIV Of Bagdad and of the Road from Bagdad to Mendeli the last Place the Turks have on the Confines of Persia BAGDAD is a long Town lying upon the River-side Bagdad the first thing one sees in arriving is the Castle on the side of the River to the left hand which on the outside appears to be pretty strong It is built of lovely white Stone but I was told that there was nothing within but Huts Below that Castle upon the water-side also stands the Serraglio of the Basha which hath fair Kiochks from whence they have a good Prospect and fresh Air. Next you find a Bridge of about forty Boats on which they cross into Mesopotamia where there is a Town also or rather a Suburbs of Bagdad but the Houses of it are ill built Every night they undo that Bridge It requires at least two hours to make the round of Bagdad which is not very strong on the Land-side There are fair Bazars and lovely Bagnio's in this Town built by the Persians and generally all that is goodly in it hath been built by them It is but ill peopled considering the bigness of the place and indeed it is not compactly built for there are a great many empty places in it where there 's not one Soul to be found and except the Bazars where there is always a great confluence of people the rest looks like a Desart The Soldiers here are very licentious and commit all imaginable Insolencies their Officers not daring scarcely to punish them Some weeks before I arrived there they had put the Basha to death by poyson because of his Tyrannies and it was said the Aga had a share in it though he kept not his bed but was in a languishing condition Besides the Turkish Militia there are a great many Christians in the Grand-Signior's Pay to fight against the Arabs when they are commanded It is very hot in this Town and that 's the reason the people sleep upon the Terrasses The degrees of heat at Bagdad The eighteenth of August at noon the heat was at the thirty seventh degree by my Thermometre and nevertheless it blew a cool breeze of wind The Capuchins to whom I went as soon as I entred Bagdad very charitably practise Physick there The water of the Tygris Opposite to Bagdad the Tygris is very broad the water whereof they draw and put into great Jars of Clay that is not burnt and through these Jars the water transpires and percolates into an earthen Vessel underneath in the same manner as at Aleppo they call this River Chav-Bagdad that 's to say the River of Bagdad but wanting skill to make Water-mills upon it they are forced to grind all their Corn with Horse-mills or Hand-mills Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is very desart every thing being ruined there by the Tyranny of the Turks but the places that are inhabited are well peopled It bears few or no Trees
us lay by our Swords which we freely did and he drew them one after another We had some thoughts that he intended to be revenged for our offering to fire upon him but after he had look'd upon them be put them up again He told us a second time that his office was to suffer no man to enter into Persia unless he were known least some might come and make their escape there when they had committed Villanies elsewhere I made him answer that many Franks had past that way before without being stopt but he assured me of the contrary and indeed I believe that the ordinary way is somewhat more towards the North than Mendeli In short he protested that he would not let us goe unless those of the Caravan would answer for us wherefore we sent our Muletor with one of the Persians to the Camp which was half an hours walk from thence In the mean time that man complained several times to my Servant that we should have offered to fire at him and give him bad language as if he had been a Rogue Nevertheless he civilly ordered our Dinner to be brought which consisted of a great Bowl full of Bread two Bowls of sower Milk two plates of new made Butter and a wooden Dish wherein there were about two Eggs prepared with a sauce which I think can hardly be found in any Book of Cookery and that was for about a dozen of men We fed a little and drank Water in wooden Cups Then the man must needs see our Trunks he handled the watches of Monsieur Jacob one after another I opened also my Sepet but finding that he had a mind to see all things onely out of Curiosity and to make Tamascha as he called it I told him that he had no right of demanding custom nor by consequence of viewing our goods that it required much time to do them up again and that therefore he might undoe what he thought fit and do them up again himself but that if any thing were lost he should be made accountable for it and that made him suffer me to make all fast again Afterwards the man whom we sent with our Muletor arrived and brought him a Paper signed by several of our Caravan who vouched for us and who indeed threatned that if the least wrong were done unto us they would complain of it and that if we went and complained to the Chan it would certainly bring them into trouble Immediately they dismissed us and we turned to the Caravan Isterkil Rogoura Roudhhouna a River It lay at a place called Isterkil which is a little plain amongst hills through which runs the River Rogoura perhaps a Word corrupted from Roudhhouna which signifies a River that runs for the Persians give that Name to all great Rivers It is hard to describe that Countrey well if one be not perfect in the Language especially because of the Rivers Near to us there were six or seven Huts of Licurdi or Curds who so soon as we had pitched our Tents came and squatted down all round under them like rustical Clowns that had never seen any thing which made a Janissary that was with us stark mad for though he bid them be gone they would not stir but laughed at him and this vexed him the more to see that in that Countrey he had not the Authority which those of that body have in all places of Turkey At length having spoken to them so often they went away in great dudgeon calling him a thousand Names We were now free from keeping guard in the Night-time for there are no Robbers there and we saw no more Palm-trees after we were gone thence We parted from that place next day being Thursday the eight and twentieth of August about one of the Clock in the Morning and presently after we were at a loss no body knowing the way which we sought for up and down it being very dark and the sky overcast with Clouds that now and then sent us some drops of Rain Many of our loads happened to fall also so that we lost above half an hours time At length we made a shift to cross a little Ditch of Runningwater and then scrambled up a very high and steep hill doing nothing all the rest of the Night but climb up and down go backwards and forwards looking for the way which we had lost Once we passed the River Rogoura or Roudhhouna which runs amongst these hills with a great noise because of the Stones its Channel is full of About five of the Clock in the Morning we saw the Ruines of a very high Bridge with two Stories of Arches one over another it was built of rough Stone but one half of it onely remains and that made me think that this Water is sometimes apt to overflow very much A little after we passed it a second time and met a Caravan coming from Hamadan and going to Bagdad We continued our way upwards along the side of that River and about six a Clock in the Morning saw a little Village of Curds that 's to say some Huts made of Canes and Leaves of Trees and then we crossed that River again seven or eight times which at the place where we past it last to wit towards the head is seven or eight fathom over About eight in the Morning we saw the half of another very high Bridge built of the same stuff as the other is over the same River but onely of one Story of Arches About nine a Clock we went near to a Village of Curds called Samsurat where we made account to encamp and indeed a good part of the Caravan encamped there but we who were in the front perceiving that some before us advanced farther on followed them and having sufficiently tired our selves with ups and downs since our departure from Isterkil we stopt at length about half an hour after ten in the Forenoon by a Village of Curds called Nian Nian Turpentine wild Chestnut-trees Agnus Castus Kerbela Imam-Hussein All these hills are covered with Turpentine and wild Chestnut-trees and most of the Waters bordered with Agnus Castus and Rose-Laurels After we had pitched our Tent we saw a Caravan that came from Persia and was going to Bagdad upon a Pilgrimage to a place called Imam-Hussein or Kerbela where there is great devotion payed it is the place where Hussein was killed and where his Tomb is and is about four days Journey from Bagdad towards Mosul in Mesopotamia Towards the Evening that day we had a great shower of Rain but it was presently over and it was so cold in the Night-time that though I was in my Cloaths for I never stript in the Fields I stood in need of my coverlet and that cold encreased daily the farther we advanced on our way We parted from that place on Friday the nine and twentieth of August at two a Clock in the Morning and having marched three hours longer among the hills we came into
better Way though the Mountains still surrounded us but we mounted onely some small Ascents until marching Northwards we began an hour after to have ups and downs again over very high hills and in worse and more dangerous ways than hitherto we had seen but that lasted not an hour and then we came into a Plain encompassed with hills Standing away Eastwards we came by a Village called Chegiafar Chegiafar where there are a great many scattering houses of which part are built of rough Stone and Earth and some of Canes and Reeds covered with green branches those of Earth serve for the Winter and Rainy weather and then no body lived in them and the other of Canes are for the Summer that the Inhabitants may have the fresh Air. Amongst these houses there is also a great Mosque built of rough Stone and Earth We made no stop there but a little beyond it came and encamped near another Village consisting as the former in the Summer and Winter-houses but not in so great Number it is called Seraou Seraou and is distant from Chegiafar about a quarter of an hours march We arrived there a little after seven in the Morning the Village stands upon a rising ground at the foot whereof runs a lovely Spring-water Towards the Evening some of these Curds came to our Tent and bid us take heed to our selves because there were Robbers in the hills who creeping on their Bellies in the Night-time came and carried away what they could find We shew'd them our Arms which they seemed to be much in love with many amongst us believed that they themselves were the onely Thieves and that they came to give us this warning that we might not accuse them if we were robbed and also that they might see our Arms. We parted from thence on Saturday the thirtieth of August half an hour after two in the Morning We went up hill and down hill over exceeding high and troublesome Mountains until eight a Clock after that we marched for two hours in a plain environed with hills where we saw several black Tents and about ten a Clock we encamped under Trees in a place called Rengpereng Rengpereng near which a Brook runs There was close by a Village of Curds who brought us provisions We parted from thence on Sunday the last of August about four of the Clock in the Morning At first we marched Eastward amongst Woods of Chestnut-trees where there is great plenty of liquorice as there is all that Countrey over we kept going upward still but in very good and easie way In the Morning we saw a Field sowed with Rice About seven a Clock we encamped in a Plain where there are some Trees near a Hamlet of three or four Huts of Canes Goaour and this place is called Goaour We parted from thence the same day about seven at Night and by Moon-light marched Eastward in the Plain or Valley till past Midnight that we descended by an ugly way into a very low Plain where having travelled almost an hour we passed a little Water Having marched about another hour we passed a Stone-Bridge of one Arch under which runs a little River that I could not learn the Name of a little after we passed over another Bridge much alike standing upon the same River About half an hour after two in the Morning Munday the first of September we encamped at the end of that Bridge near to a Village called Arnoua Arnoua where there is a good Kervanserai of brick there are also several Stone-houses and as many Huts of Canes These Bridges seem to have been lately built and the River that runs under them has no other Name amongst the People of the Countrey but the Water of Arnoua There are so many Frogs in that Countrey that my Tent was always full of them though they were continually driven out We parted the same day half an hour after ten at Night and marched Eastward in fair way till half an hour after one a Clock in the Morning of Tuesday the second of September when we came to a very uneasie descent and very dangerous too especially being in the dark because the Moon was then set for three hours after we had pretty good way Goumedli a River We crossed several Brooks and a small River called Goumedli and our way lay Northwards About half an hour after four in the Morning having gone down hill a little we went away Eastward in pretty good way having for sometime a large Brook of running Water on our left hand Half an hour after five we descended into a great Plain where we marched about an hour still Eastward Then about half an hour after six we came and encamped near to a Kervanserai built by a Lady A quarter of a league from that Kervanserai Maidescht there is a Village built of stone called Maidescht and a little farther off than that Village Scheik-Hali-Kan-Kervanserai there is another Kervanserai called Scheik-Hali Kan Kervanserai from the Name of a Chan that built it We passed by it after we had dislodged from the other about half an hour after eight at Night We lookt upon it to be very fair and commodious especially because of a little River that runs close by it it is called from the Name of the Village Maidescht Soui We crossed over it upon a Bridge of one Arch which is built very steep and sharp as most of the rest are we then kept on our way Eastward in the same smooth Plain Wednesday the third of September a litttle after Midnight we went over a hill but the way was pleasant enough and then came into the Plain again About three a Clock in the Morning we passed a little River and an hour and a half after came to a Village called Poul Schah Poul-Schah that 's to say the Kings Bridge we put our selves under cover there in a Kervanserai The Kervanserais of Persia are much finer and more commodious than those of Turkey at least such as are on the great Roads The Kervanserais of Persia for I speak not of those in Towns the loveliest in all the Levant being in Bursa These Kervanserais of Persia are large square brick-Buildings above three fathom high the entry into them is by a Portico under which are shops where all things necessary for life are to be had Passing through that Portico one enters into the Court in the middle of this of Poul Schah there is a Fountain which is not to be found in others All round the Court there are great Arches about three fathom wide and one and a half or two fathom deep under which are Mastabez or stone Divans about two foot raised from the ground In the middle of the Front or if you will at the bottom of the Divan there is a door about two foot wide where one enters into a Room of the same bigness as the place under the
Mason at work there for he calls for what he wants as if he were singing and the Labourers who are always attentive to the tone serve him most punctually In Persia commonly they make the Floors of the Rooms of Joists Floros on which they lay planks and over them a Mat or Store and then a lay of Reeds which they cover with Clay half a foot thick But they observe to mingle Salt with the first lay of Earth Salt mingled with Clay that the Worms may not get into the Timber underneath They who will not be at the charge of boards or planks put onely in place of Joists pieces of Timber as thick as ones Arm and over them two Matts and then the Reeds which they cover with Clay salting also the first lay The Persians make their Lime of Stones which they burn as we doe and when they have taken them out of the Kiln they break them into small pieces When they are to use it they prepare it in the manner following The way of preparing Lime They sweep a place very clean to sift the Lime in and when it is sifted they make it up in a heap sharp at the top like a Sugar-Loaf then they sift Ashes upon it and that in almost as great a quantity as the lime that being done they sweep the adjoyning place very clean and water it and over the wet sift a very slight lay of Ashes then with Iron-shovels they throw upon it their Lime mingled with Ashes working and incorporating them well together When they have cast on three or four shovel fulls one of them throws upon it about a quarter of a Bucket full of Water or somewhat less and the rest cast very fast upon the wet Lime other Lime mingled with Ashes so that they give not the Water time to penetrate through that first lime then they throw on a good deal of water more and then another quantity of lime and ashes and they keep this course untill they have put all the lime which they had mingled with Ashes into a heap and the water they throw upon it is so little in regard of the quantity of that matter that it scarcely appears to be wet After this they sweep a neighbouring place and having watered and then covered it with a few Ashes as before they turn over again the mixture that they may well mingle and incorporate the Ashes with the lime and so turn it over from one side to another several times that 's to say nine or ten times But it is to be observed that after the first time they pour no more water upon the mixture but onely from time to time lightly sprinkle with the hand the outside of the heap to keep it a little humid without appearing to be wet but every time they cast the heap from one side to another they are sure first to sweep the place water it and then to scatter a few Ashes upon the same and then with their Iron-shovels they turn the heap I wondered to see these People when they prepared their lime that they were not afraid to burn their feet going bare footed upon that Stuff nor yet to wrong themselves by receiving into their Mouth and Nose the dust of the lime when they sifted it When they have thus well mingled the Ashes with the lime they divide the Stuff into several heaps which they spread a little giving to each about four foot of Diameter and one foot in thickness After that four of them stand round the heap and beat the Stuff with sticks somewhat crooked about two foot and a half long the handle they hold them by being two fingers thick with a little round knob at the end to keep them from slipping through their hands then they grow greater and greater till about the middle where they are as big as ones Arm and round so far and from that place where they bend and make an obtuse Angle with the other half they grow thicker and thicker according as they come nearer the end and are round on the concave side but flat on the convex and about the end are about six fingers broad These Clubs are of Ash They beat this Stuff with one hand two and two over against one another singing Y a allah Y a allah and other attributes of God and keeping time to this tune which seems to be essential to the trade they beat as our Threshers do sometimes in one place sometimes in another stooping at every blow and nothing but the flat side of the Club hits the matter They beat every heap so about half an hour without intermission and then go to another which they beat as much and continue this exercise almost an hour without resting onely now and then shifting their hand after this they take breath a little for the space of half a quarter of an hour or less and then fall to their business again In this manner they beat every heap four or five times and every time they leave it it is all reduced to the thickness of about half a foot in the middle falling thinner towards the edges and then one of the men takes a spade wherewith he breaks the Lumps and turns it all up again into a heap cooling it with a little water that he throws upon it with his hands When every heap is sufficiently beaten they spread it well so that it be alike thick in all places and a little hollow in the middle then they strow chopt Straw upon it such as they give to Horses they 'll spread upon a heap of lime about a sack full such as they give their Horses provender in so that the lime is all covered over with it with that they pour into the middle of it about four Buckets of water and mingle all together stirring it well with their shovels that the materials may be well incorporated and when all is reduced into a kind of soft morter they fall a beating it a new sometimes with their shovels and sometimes with the end of their Clubs Then they open it again in the middle making a round hole a good foot and a half wide so that it looks like a Well raised a good foot above ground they fill this hole with water pouring in about two Buckets full and so leave it after they have smoothed the outside with the back of their shovels so that it looks polished and of a blewish colour that 's to say like blew Fullers-Earth or Clay to take out grease and spots with these holes are always kept full of water till they be ready to use the Stuff When they are to use it they work it with a great deal of water and mingle therewith about half the quantity of Straw that was employed in the first working of it then they beat it well with shovels and leavers pouring on so much water that it is reduced almost into a liquid running mud I have seen it so employed for
covering a great pent-house which was made of sticks or laths laid cross ways and two Stores over them upon which they spread a very thin lay of this lime smoothing it with the Trowel Then they put upon this lay three fingers thick of Earth mingled with Straw and wrought into a morter In this which I saw prepared there were four and twenty Ass loads and four men prepared it They were near eleven hours about it and made it up into five Wells or Heaps which remained so for two days before they were used The greatest use they make of this lime mingled with Ashes and Straw Lime for fish Ponds Basons and Fountains is for Fish-ponds Basons of Fountains and other things that are to hold water When that Stuff is well made it lasts above thirty years and is harder than Stone In whitening of their Walls they use no lime but make use of a white Earth which is in small pieces like plaister and immediately dissolves in water This Earth they call Ghilsefid Ghilsefid that 's to say white Earth they dig it out of certain Pits or Quarries of which there are many about Ispahan As to their morter it is usually made of plaister The making of Morter earth and chopped straw all well wrought and incorporated together At Schiras to spare the charges of Ghilsefid they sometimes make use of plaister for whitening their Walls but they have not that bright whiteness which Ghilsefid giveth They cast their Walls pretty often also with a mixture made of Plaister and Earth which they call Zerdghil Zerdghil that 's to say yellow Earth though in reality it be not yellow but rather of a Musk or Cinnamon colour they get it on the River-side and work it in a great Earthen Vessel but they put so little earth in proportion to water that it remains liquid like muddy water or at most like strained Juice and it is altogether of the Colour of that Earth they make use of it to work the Plaister in another Earthen Vessel where they mingle this water with plaister in such a quantity that it be reduced to the thickness of morter which retains the colour of that Earth With this mixture they cast their Walls which at first look all greyish but according as they dry they grow so white that when they are fully dry they seem almost as if they were plaistered over with pure plaister This mixture is used not onely for saving of plaister but also because it holds better than plaister alone and in my opinion looks as well For making of Terrasses they lay as I have said upon the Stores and reeds almost half a foot thick of Earth The way of making Terrasses but which sinks to far less being trampled and tread upon when it is well dried in the Air they lay on more Earth mingled with a like quantity of Straw which they work well together stirring it often that they may better incorporate the Straw with the Earth And when that is well mixt and reduced to the consistence of kennel-dirt they trample it a long while with their feet and spread it very even all over This second lay is commonly about half a foot thick also but being dry is hardly half so thick when it is dry they lay on a third lay like the former so that all being dry it may be about a foot thick All this is held up by a range of broad burnt Bricks or Tiles which is laid all round the Terrass five or six high and level with the Earth in some places they make a little shelving that the rain-rain-Water may run off into wooden Spouts which jet out for conveying it away In this manner I saw two Terrasses made which had in surface each about a fathom and a half square when they laid on the second lay two men wrought at each about an hours time stirring the Earth with shovels and incorporating it with the Straw whilst another man continually poured water upon it the last lay requires the same labour and pains At Schiras Lar and in other hot Countries they have upon the tops of their Houses an invention for catching the fresh Air An invention for having the fresh Air. It is a Wall one or two fathom high and about the same breadth to which at the intervals of about three foot other Walls about three foot broad and as high as the great Wall joyn in right Angles there are several of such on each side of the great Wall and all together support a Roof that covers them The effect of this is that from whatsoever corner the Wind blows it is straitned betwixt three Walls and the Roof over head and so easily descends into the house below by a hole that is made for it CHAP. VI. A Sequel of the Observations of Ispahan Of ARTS LET us go on in speaking of Arts and Trades Artists of Persia since we are insensibly engaged in it The Artists in Persia and all over the Levant use their Feet in working as much as their hands for their Feet serve them for a Loom hold fast and several other Instruments An imposition upon the companies of traydesmen Every Company of crafts men pays the King a certain Summ of Money which is raised upon all the Artists of the several Trades every one of them being assessed according to his incomes They have no Loom for turning as we have but put that which they have a mind to turn upon a Pivot or Spindle and wrap about it a thong of Leather leaving two ends A Boy holds the two ends of this strap and pulls towards him The way of turning wood sometimes the one and sometimes the other and in that fashion makes the piece to turn whilst the other labours whereas with us a single Person does all The use of the wimble Nor are the Wimbles of Carpenters and Joyners so convenient as with us neither They have a long Iron as thick as two of our Wimbles but square and flat at the end like a slice or Spatula yet drawing into a point with a side and edge which way soever they turn it This Iron is in a wooden handle about a foot long and above an inch thick with a weight of lead on the top with that they have a stick with a strap of Leather like a bow but very slack they turn the strap of this bow once about the handle of the Wimble and then leaning the left hand upon the head of the handle and pulling to and fro the bow with the right hand they turn the Wimble They have a most excellent Varnish for Painters Varnish it is made of Sandarack and lintseed Oyl which they mingle together and reduce all into the consistence of an Unguent when they would make use of it they dissolve it with the Oyl of Naphta but for want of the Oyl of Naphta one may use the Spirit of Wine many times
rectified They have a Glew that holds as well as strong white Glew Scherischoun instead of Glew and the Shoe-makers and other Artisans make use of no other It is a root they call Scherischoun which they grind like corn betwixt Stones when it is ground it looks like Saw dust they steep this powder in water and make use of it in glewing any thing Soap In Persia they make soap of grease or tallow instead of Oyl and that makes it to have a bad scent and with the least sweating to breed lice in their Linnen Rasors The Rasors they make have a very thick back and are very heavy Physicians There are many Physicians in Persia and amongst them some skilfull men When they have visited their Patient they write their Bills upon a little bit of Paper which they give to a Woman who goes to a drugists and buys all the ingredients which she prepares for a Medicine for all over Persia the Women prepare the Medicines Remedy for a Feaver Their most usual Medicine for a Feaver are the cold Seeds which they peel and put into water giving the Patient the whole presently to be drank down China They make great use of China in several distempers They put it in infusion in Brandy and for fifteen days set it in the Sun they take it for the space of a Month observing in the mean time a good diet and especially not to eat any thing that has Salt in it to abstain from Wine and Women and not to stir abroad out of ones Chamber but they use not that Medicine in the Summer-time Bloud-letting They let bloud too and are very dextrous at it I speak by experience they tye a ligature of leather very streight about the Arm and then without rubbing or looking much on the place they take their Lance which is very broad and in a handle like a Rasor and prick very skilfully but they draw a great quantity of bloud when they are let alone In this Countrey of Persia as well as in Turkey they whiten or if you will tinn brass and copper otherwise than with us The Workmen make use of Salt Armoniack which they set over the fire with a little water to purifie and take the grease from it there they leave it till the humidity be evaporated so that it be all reduced into a white Powder Then they wash the Vessel they are to tinn very clean with * Soudegrise grey Saltwort which they have boiled in it after that a Boy setting the Vessel upon the ground puts sand into it and putting his two feet thereon turns to and again untill the Vessel be well scoured and no grease remain Then the Master takes it and setting it upon a clear coal fire with the Mouth downwards leaves it there till it be almost red when it is so he takes hold on it with a pair of Pinsers and with the other hand takes a parcel of Cotton with which he takes a little Salt Armoniack and therewith rubs the Vessel very well then he presses a piece of tin on it which being a little melted he takes a small portion of Salt Armoniack on his Cotton again and applying it upon the melted tinn he therewith rubs the Vessel untill it be all tinned over and so soon as he hath done that he throws it into cold water This they do so fast that in half an hours time they 'll tinn five or six Skillets and that costs but very little nay those that have store of vessels send for them to their houses and they bring their shops along with them which consists in a few coals a little Saltwort a pair of bellows the horn of an Ox full of Salt Armoniack and some small pieces of Tinn They work in any place they would have them whether in the Court Gardens or any where else without any need of a Chimney for they make their fire by a stone against which they lean their Vessel that it may not put out the fire when it is set upon it they cover the nose of their bellows with a little Earth made over it arch-ways and so their shop is prepared and in readiness CHAP. VII The Continuation of the Observations of Ispahan Of Moneys Weights and Measures SInce it happens often in the sequel of this discourse that when I am to speak of things I make use of the terms used in the Countrey without explaining them for avoiding of prolixity I have thought fit to do it in a Chapter by it self where the Reader may be satisfied when he has a mind I shall onely speak here of moneys that are current in Persia and especially of the pieces of the Countrey Moneys and VVeights of Persia The Piastres are commonly worth there thirteen Schais and when they are full weight they are worth thirteen Schais and a Bisti the Bisti consists of four Casbeghis of which ten make a Schai The most current money are the Abassis Mahmoudis Chais and Casbeghis The Abassi is of the value of four Schais which make about eighteen Sols of our money and the Mahmoudi contains two Schais which are nine Sols the Schai is worth about four Sols and a half and the Casbeghi five Deniers and a half or somewhat less The Toman is worth fifteen Piastres or fifty Abassis The Boquelle is worth three Abassis or twelve Schais They have great pieces of silver of the value of five Schais and weigh two Medicals The Mahmoudi is also called Yuz-Alton which is as much as to say an hundred Altons and nevertheless that word Alton which signifies Gold is commonly taken for a Chequin but in a Mahmoudi it is taken for the value of a Denier and in the same manner five Abassis are also called Min-Alton or Bing-alton which signifies a thousand Alton but I could not learn of any a satisfactory reason for that last signification Seeing the Abassis are the pieces that are most current in Persia it is fit one should know that it is the best money in the World. They are of the finest silver and the Officers of the Mint dare not coyn one single piece until they have first refined the Piastres and other pieces of silver that are appointed for the making of Abassis They are stamped as all the rest of their money with the hammer and not milled and there is so great equality in their weight that in great payments they are weighed after this manner They put five and twenty Abassis in one scale of the balance and as many in the other and if the one weigh more or less than the other they conclude for a certain that there are some false Abassis amongst them and fail not to examine them in which they are never out for each Scale ought most exactly to weigh alike They then put the five and twenty of the one Scale into the other which by that means contains fifty and that number makes the Toman
other paints are stamped upon them with a mould besmeared with Colours CHAP. X. The Continuation of the Observations of Ispahan Chiefly of Eating A Persian Chimney ALL over Persia they seldom warm themselves by a Fire in the Chimney which is taken out of the wall but so little that it is hardly to be seen They have an Engine in their Rooms which they call the Coursi Coursi which is more convenient for use and renders a milder heat than that of a Chimney In the Floor of the Room they have a great square hole The way of warming a foot deep and about three foot broad into that they put clear burning Coals and over them a little wooden Table much of the same bigness and a large foot high which hath four feet that rest upon Stones purposely set at the four Corners of the hole They cover this Table with a large pinked Carpet which on all sides trails on the ground so that they see no fire and yet receive a gentle heat through the Carpet Now if they have a mind to have a greater heat to warm them all over of a sudden they sit down on Cushions round the Table and put their feet a-cross the frame of it and then cover themselves with the Carpet up to the Neck so that their whole body is under it and nothing out but the Head which warms them all over without burning their Face or breathing too hot an Air. Neither do they make use of Candle but the most part even the King himself The Persians use Lamps use Lamps whereinto they put tallow by bits for they employ not the Oil of Naphta which is got in a place near the Caspian Sea but onely in varnishing of Pictures As to their feeding the Persians are no greater husbands Their eating than in their Cloaths and Attendants Nevertheless they eat boiled meat but once a day which is commonly at Night and they wonder that the Franks eat twice In the King's House they boil Victuals twice a day though they eat of them but once The Persians eat boiled meat but once a day but every one is left to their humour to eat in the Morning or Evening according to their Appetite though most commonly they eat in the Evening and the King observes usually that rule As for the women they ask them every Morning if they have a mind to boiled meat which they call the Hazir in the Morning or at Night and they who have it in the Morning have none at Night Their other meal is of Fruit Cheese and Sweet-meats Their boiled meat consists in Pilao or Schilao Schilao which is boiled Rice without Butter but onely Water and Salt till it be as thick as Pilao which is instead of a Pottage to the Turks as the Schilao is in Persia and all over the Indies I have spoken of Pilao in my former travels When they serve in the Schilao at the same time they set upon the Table another dish of meat or fish with a great deal of broth of which they take several spoonfulls that they put upon their Plates with the Schilao And that with Salt-fish makes their most delicious Food They make also another kind of broth with Rice which they call Cangi Cangi When the Rice is boiled they strain it and take the water and mingle it with a little Flower as if they were to make broth and if it be the Flower of Barley it is the wholsomer they put to it also two Yelks of an Egg with Sugar and boil all like a thin broth when it is almost fully boiled they put Rose-water into it This is very good food especially for the sick to whom they commonly give it being of easie digestion nourishing and pleasant and in that Countrey they are allowed no other food A great many who are in health take a mess of broth every Morning but it is made after another way They put into a Skillet two or three handfulls of Rice and boil that with a good deal of water untill the substance of the Rice be incorporated into the water then they strain it and drink it fasting which is very refreshing Much after this manner they give it commonly to the sick both in Persia and the Indies nor indeed do they take so much pains about it but onely bruise a handfull of Rice and boil it very clear with Water and Salt The meat most commonly used in Persia is Mutton and Lamb as also Pullets and Capons when they are in season And indeed it is but of late that they have had the use of Capons they usually have them boiled for it is not their custom to roast meat on the Spit The Persians Roast-meat and if sometimes they do it it is onely by little pieces but they bake in the Oven whole Sheep and Lambs in this manner After they have well heated the Oven which hath the Mouth in the top they put into it the meat and hang it there with an Earthen Dripping-pan underneath to receive the fat It roasts alike on all sides and when it is enough they cut it into pieces There are many shops where they sell all sorts of it and in what quantity one pleases and to say the truth they dress it very well The Armenians way of roasting a Lamb. The Armenians have another way of roasting a whole Sheep for having flead it they cover it again with the skin and put it into an Oven upon the quick Coals covering it also with a good many of the same Coals that it may have fire under and over to roast it well on all sides and the skin keeps it from being burnt The Persians have also a great many Ragoes which though singly they cost but little yet by the number of them are very expensive wherein they differ much from the Turks who spend little on their Belly The frugality of the Turks as in other things to wit their women and servants of whom they keep no more than they can conveniently entertain Above all things the Persians are immoderate in the excessive eating of fruits and I have been assured that some of them in a frolick will eat three nay four Man 's of Melons to eat a Man is a very usual thing The Persians eat too much fruit and nevertheless the Man of Ispahan is no less than twelve pound Weight as I have said already And indeed many of them die through their excessive eating of fruit Persian Bread. Their bread is commonly sprinkled over with Poppy-seed and for the rest is very good They make it into large Cakes half a finger thick some they make also so thin that it looks like fine Paper and they are obliged to lay twelve or fifteen of them together which they fold into two or four pleats and some of that fashion is very good But in some places it is but half baked very brown and all full of
of a Cherry and is very hard and round so that there is hardly any thing but a skin over the stone The Fruit being ripe is wrinkly and inclining to an Orange-colour it is pretty sweet but woolly I believe it grows in Italy by the name of Azzarole and is perhaps the Rhamnus Azzarole Rhamnus Folio sub rotundo Livas an Herb. folio sub rotundo fructu compresso Jonston Amongst Plants there is a certain Herb in Persia called Livas which hath a very curled Leaf somewhat like a Beet or like curled Coleworts but it is much more curled the stalk of it is like the stalk of an Artichoak and is very sharp they Eat of it in the Spring as a delicious food many will have it to be the Rhuebarb but it is not The End of the Second Book TRAVELS INTO THE LEVANT PART II. BOOK III. Of the Country of Schiras and other places under the Dominion of the King of Persia CHAP. I. Of the Road from Ispahan to Schiras AFTER almost five Months stay at Ispahan Departure from Ispahan I made ready to continue my Travels forwards and parted from thence the four and twentieth day of February 1664 / 5. with a Caravan wherein there were about fifty Mules a great part of them belonging to Monsieur Tavernier and the rest to Armenians who took the occasion of our going We took Mules for our Goods at the rate of five Abassis for an hundred Man 's of Tauris for our selves we had Horses for the Muletors scrupuled to let us have Mules to Ride on however they were obliged to spare one for my Servant who carried part of my things with him for they reckon a man but for thirty Man 's comprehending therein four or five Mans of Bagage We set out then from Giolfa Tuesday at Noon and past by Hezar Dgirib taking our way streight East at One of the Clock we Encamped by a Kervanseray called Tahhtpoulad and Babaruk which is near the burying place of the Mahometans We parted from that place the same day Tahhtpoulad Babaruk half an hour after Nine of the Clock at Night and held our way streight South-East over a Plain which at the entry is streightned a little by Hills on both sides and then opens into a pretty large Champain there grows not one Pile of Grass in it and in some places there are great pieces of white Earth of Natural Salt. This Salt is made of Rain-water Natural Salt. which incorporating with that Salinous Earth produces a Salt that works out of the Surface of it We marched in that Plain till about Four a Clock in the Morning Wednesday the five and twentieth of February and then ascended a little Hill called Ortschin Ortschin a little Hill. that is to say Stairs it is not high but yet very difficult to get up being all steps in a very slippery Rock which hath given it that name we were a full half hour in that passage not only because it behoved us to goe one by one but also because several Mules fell and threw their burdens which we must load again and all this by Star-light which in Persia commonly shine so clear that one may Travel by them even when there is no Moon-shine we afterwards continued Travelling amongst Hills till it was day that we entered into a great Plain as barren as the former wherein we marched on till half an hour after Eight when being arrived at a Village called Mayar we Lodged in a Kervanseray this place is eight long Agatsch from Babaruk Mayar is a ruinated Village which was formerly of note and had many Gardens about it that produced plenty of Fruit but some years since an Eatmad Doulet cut off their water to bring it all into a Garden which he had in those Quarters so that since that time nothing Grows there and they bring what they want from other Villages nor have they any other water to drink but what they get out of a great Pool hard by Mayar is the beginning of the Country of Fars or real Persia Schairza at that Village begins the Country which is properly Persia We parted from thence next day being Thursday the six and twentieth of February about Three a Clock in the Morning and continued our way over the same Plain about Five in the Morning we crossed a small running water Half an hour after Nine we passed through a little Village called Schairza where there is much Sowed Land and many Gardens in one of those Gardens there is a Pond of spring-Spring-water which falls down from the Hills that are over it it is so full of Fish that from thence the Garden hath taken the name of Hhaouz-Mahi which signifies a Fish-Pond but there is a Dervish that hinders people from catching them Keeping on our way about half an hour after Ten in the Morning we came near to a Town called Komschah Komschah five Agatsch from Mayar there is Wine there and several Kervanserays in one of which we Lodged out of the Town We parted from thence next day being Friday the seven and twentieth of February at Three a Clock in the Morning but no sooner were we gone but we were forced to turn back again because there was a Chan upon the Road going to Schiras with his Haram The meeting of a Chan with his Haram that is to say his women and therefore we could not goe on for the jealous Persians fuffer no man to come near the Road where there women are So then we came back and having fetched many compasses about another way three quarters of an hour after we fell into the High-way again which was still a Plain and we kept on marching still almost South wards but with a piercing cold Wind we found several Brooks on our way and the ground being pretty good in that Country so soon as it was day we saw some Villages on our Right Hand and about Nine of the Clock arrived near to a Village called Maksoud Beghi Maksoud Beghi five Agatsch distant from Komschah we Lodged in a new Kervanseray that of the Village being demolished Next Morning about a quarter after Two of the Clock we set forward on our Journey again over the same Plain we had the day before at break of day we passed by a little Castle built of Stone with some round Towers where there is a Village hard by with Gardens and a Kervanseray Amnebad that place is called Amnebad it is distant from Maksoud-Beghi three Agatsch and as far from Yez-de-Kast This Castle was built by Imam-Couli-Chan who was Chan of Schiras in time of the great Schah-Abbas Keeping on our way about Eleven of the Clock we arrived at Yez-de-Kast a little Town or Burrough three Agatsch distant from Amnebad and six from Maksoud-Beghi we went and Lodged in a Kervanseray a little beyond it Tez-de-Kast Yez-de Kast is very little having but only one Street it is
built upon a narrow Rock which stretches out in length from North-East to South-West this Rock is very steep so that it is almost as broad on the top as at the bottom especially on the North-West side it is in some places above seven or eight Fathom high particularly on the South-East side at the Foot of this Rock on the same South-East side there are some Gardens and some steps farther runs a little River near to which is the Kervanseray built of burnt Bricks and over the Gate there is a pretty convenient Lodging-House it stands at the Foot of a high Rock that is to the South of it from which sometimes great pieces fall and are to be seen below most of them being as big as Houses The Village of Yez-de-Kast takes up the whole Surface of the Rock on which it stands as well in length as in breadth it hath no other Walls but the Walls of the Houses which are three or four Stories high and some higher all built of Stone This Town is in manifest danger sometime or other of falling down topsie turvy all at once being so high and having nothing to support it and indeed the Inhabitants mistrust it for about ten years since they began to build another Town at some distance from the Rock and to the Northward of it and when I passed by it on my return in the Year one thousand six hundred sixty and seven a great many Houses were already finished and new ones going up all forsaking the other Seat whereas when I past it first in the Year one thousand six hundred sixty five there was not so much as one House begun The Gate of Yez-de-Kast is on the South-West side where the ground about is as high as the Rock it is but little so that not having observed it at first coming I went from the Kervanseray to the Town climbing up the Rock on the South-East side betwixt the Gardens and after much climbing up I entered by a little Gate and went on above a hundred steps in a covered way that receives no light but by ugly holes and is by consequence so dark that one must groap along as they go in it I durst proceed no farther for fear of losing my self or entering into some House by mistake and so for that time I was obliged to turn back again by the same way I came but it is not so when one enters the Town by the other Gate The Land about Yez-de-Kast bears the best Corn in Persia and indeed they make most excellent Bread there the Inhabitants as they say mingling dry Pease with the Corn which makes the Bread so good There are several fair Tombs here built in Fashion of Domes Sunday the first of March we parted from that place half an hour after midnight and took the upper way for there are two ways the one on the Left Hand East-wards which is called the lower way and the other on the Right Hand to the West side which they call the upper way because it lies among Hills in the Winter-time when this way is filled up with Snow they are obliged to go the lower way which is the longer by a days Journy but being assured that the upper way was open we took it and for that end when we set out from the Kervanseray we held Westward for some time till we came to a place where the way leads up that Hill at the Foot whereof the Kervanseray stands being got up we marched in a Plain betwixt little Hills covered with Snow streight South-East until about Three a Clock we mounted up a Hill where the ascent is not long and the descent shorter but the way very bad and therefore it is called Chotali-Naar-Schekeni Chotali-Naar-Schekeni that is to say the Hill that pulls off the Horses shoes we came afterward into a pretty good way betwixt little Hills all white with Snow at day break we passed by a little Castle called Gombez-Cala where there is a Village also but ruined Gombez-Cala Half an hour after Nine we entered into a Plain in which we Travelled on till after Eleven that we came to a Village where we Lodged in a Kervanseray This Village is called Dehi ghirdon that is to say Village of Nuts Dehi ghirdon not that it abounds in that Fruit for having informed my self I learnt that the Nuts they eat there come from Lar however I took the pains to ask the reason why it was so called but all the answer I could get was that that was the name of it it is seven Agatsch distant from Yez-de-Kast We parted from Dehi-ghirdon Monday the second of March about midnight and after two hours and a halfs Journey past by a ruinous Kervanserai beyond which we marched on in a Plain covered over with Snow where there was but one Path open and that all Frozen about seven of the Clock we crossed over a little Bridge of five Arches under which runs a River two Fathom broad and travelling on still in that white Plain we arrived about Noon at a Village called Keuschkzer that is to say the Silver-Pavillion there are two Kervanserais there Keuschkzer the one old and the other all new well built of Free-Stone and burnt Bricks with many embellishments and very commodious Lodgings and Stables near which also there are Appartments for the Winter and in these we Lodged Keuschkzer is seven long Agatsch distance from Dehi-ghirdon the Land about is very good being Sowed with Corn there are about it also a great many Meadows where the Kings Horses are sent to Grass in the Season It is always cold there and the Snow lyes all the year round upon the neighbouring Hills The Inhabitants of that Village are Circassians they make Wine and sell it but they have the Grapes from Maain of which we shall Treat in its proper place Next Morning about half an hour after Four we went on our Journey and Travelled in a way covered with Snow and full of holes but we found it worse when the Sun was up and the ground began to Thaw especially about Eleven of the Clock when we entered amongst the Hills which being full of Dirt and Stones made the way as bad as it could be This passage makes that they goe not that way in the Winter-time for in the Summer all these ways are good we kept on always ascending a little till about One a Clock that we went down Hill a good way at the the bottom of that descent a great Brook rises out of the Ground a good Fathom in breadth the water whereof is very clear this Brook runs by a Village called Asoupas Asoupas where we arrived half an hour after two in the afternoon and there we were very ill Lodged in a nasty Kervanserai this Village is five Agatsch distant from Keuschkzer and has a sorry old ruinous Castle upon a little Hill the Inhabitants are Circassians who were Transported thither
that was a building a Rich man of Schiras having left by Will money for that purpose That place is called Abgherm which signifies hot water Abgherm because the water there is a little warm it gave some of our Company a looseness but has plenty of Fish in it This place which is but four Agatsch from Main was but half of our usual days Journey however our Beasts being tired we stayed there till next day the seventh of March when we parted half an hour after Two in the Morning and put on before the Caravan that we might get to Schiras the same day There are several ways that lead to it but we kept still to the Left crossing over many Brooks about half an hour after six we came to a Causey above two Fathom broad and two thousand Paces long all well Paved with Arches in several places and chiefly in the middle where there is a Bridge an hundred Paces in length under which runs a small branch of the River of Main Poligorgh that Causey is called Poligorgh Half an hour after Seven we saw a sorry Kervanserai but a little beyond it there is a very good one which is extraordinary large and well built with many embellishments at each corner there is a little Tower the Gate is fair and high adorned with many pieces of Marble on which there are Inscriptions The Appartments of this Kervanserai are very commodious but it is so infested with Gnats that there is no being in it It was built by a Chan of Sciras who to take off the Gnats built but to no purpose a large Garden by it it is called Agassef Agassef and is three Agatsch from Abgherm its common name is Poligourg that is to say the Woolfs Bridge or Poligord We went on The way that leads to Tchebelminar Badgega and an hour after left a broad way on the left Hand which goes streight to Tchebelminar and that is the way to it from Schiras About half an hour after Two we came to a Kervanserai called Badgega three Agatsch from Agassef there we found several Horses Camels and Mules which the Vizir of Schiras sent as a present to the King for the Neurouz for it is the custom as we have already observed that all the Grandees make great Presents to the King Present for the Neurouz or a New-Years-Gift the day of the Neurouz or Spring which is the two and twentieth of March just so as New-Years Gifts are given in France on the first of January We rested in that place till Three in the Afternoon when we parted to goe to Schiras two great Agatsch distant At first we went up a great Hill and then saw to our Left hand a Dome somewhat ruinous under which there are some Tombs close by runs a very clear Brook shaded by several great Planes and many little Pomegranate-Trees which render that place extraordinarily pleasant Having Travelled near two hours in very stony way and crossed several lovely Brooks about Five a Clock at night we came to a place from whence there is a very pleasant prospect of the City for two Hills there drawing near together at the end make a narrow passage beyond which are Gardens full of lovely Cypresses and then the Town which lyes in a Plain from North to South so that it yields a most delightful prospect After we had a little advanced betwixt those two Hills we saw a great Reservatory of water which is pretty ruinous the water is stopt by a thick Wall almost two Fathom broad supported by two spurs of the same thickness which with the Wall from the bottom of the Ditch are almost three Fathom high the Reservatory was formerly much of the same depth but is at present almost filled up with the Earth that the water has brought into it the Wall hath been made to serve for a Bank to stop the waters that in Winter fall from the Hills and running too violently through that streight beat down all that stood in their way but it is dry in the Summer-time Arrival at Schiras at length we came to the City-Gate which is fair and well built CHAP. II. Of Schiras THE first thing we found upon our entry into Schiras was a great broad Street on each side bordered by Gardens with little pretty neat Houses over the Gates of them having advanced in that Street about a quarter of an hour we came to a large Stone-Bason full of water and of an Oblong Figure being about twenty or twenty five Fathom in length and more than fifteen in breadth Continuing in the same Street you see a lovely Mosque whose Dome is covered with blew Varnished Tiles Joyning to this Mosque there is a burying-place Planted with fair Trees with a round Stone-Bason full of water which renders the place very pleasant so that there are always people taking the Air in it with their Pipes of Tobacco a little farther there is a Bridge of five Arches under which runs a small River and onward in the same Street you come to a covered Bazar that puts an end to it this Street is but as a Suburbs to the City which at that place begins We struck off to the Left and alighted at the little House of the Reverend Fathers Carmelites where all the Francks goe The City of Schiras heretofore Schirsaz and which many will have to be Cyropolis is properly the Metropolis of the Province of Persia it lyes in a most pleasant and fertile Plain that yields the best Wine in Persia On the East it is at the Foot of a Hill covered with several sorts of Fruit-Trees amongst which are many Orange and Limon-Trees intermingled with Cypresses it is about two hours walk in Circumference The Circumference of Schiras and lyes from North to South it hath no Walls but only a scurvy Ditch and that is all it needs having no Enemies to be afraid of it is watered by a River which is but little and yet subject to overflowings when that happens the Inhabitants hinder it from breaking into their Gardens and carrying away their Walls by casting up Dykes to stop it they make them with Couffes Couffes that is to say great Panniers made of bruised Canes like Palm-Tree-Leaves which they fill with Earth and Stone and that hinders the passage of the water very well The Streets of Schiras are for the most part somewhat narrow though there be some fair ones having in the middle lovely Canals bordered with Stone through which a very clear Rivulet runs There are a great many fair covered Bazars long and broad with great Shops on each side well furnished with all sorts both of Indian and Turkish Commodities and every Commodity hath its particular Bazar It hath many large well built Kervanserays as to the Palaces they make no shew on the outside no more than in the rest of the Levant but all their beauty is within the Palace of the Chan himself
a Dome three or four Fathom in Diametre wherein there are three Doors and as many Windows the other has a steep Roof this place is called Tschai-telhh Tschai-telhh that is to say bitter Well because of a Well not far from that Kervanseray whose water is bitter There is besides another Well behind the Kervanseray but it is dry and this place is six Agatsch from Dgiaroun Heretofore they went not by this Hill but struck off to the East and went round it and the Camel-drivers still take that way but because of five days Journey of Desart Horse-men and Muletors chuse rather to suffer the fatigue of a worse way but shorter over the Hill. Next Morning Tuesday about half an hour after four we set forward again directing our march Southwards about seven a Clock we descended into a very low place by very bad way that Hill is called Chotali Hasani Chotali Hasani or Chotali Mahhmaseni or Chotali Mahhmaseni it goes by both names towards the bottom of that descent we found a little Brook that runs out of the Ground and discharges it self into a square Bason at some few paces from the source being come down we Travelled through a very stony Plain about half an hour after Nine we came to a fair Kerva-seray standing alone by it self and called Momzir having a great square Bason before the Gate Momzir which is always filled full by a Brook that runs into it this Kervanseray is four Agatsch from Tschai-telhh we made no stop there because we found no body to sell us Provisions either for Men or Beasts so we continued our march in the stony Plain till about an hour after having found a little Brook on our Left Hand we entered about Noon into a great smooth Plain where we suffered much heat we Travelled on South-Eastward until about two of the Clock that we found a little Kervanseray close by a Village called Dehidombe Dehidombe that is to say the Village of the tail where there are some Palms and Tamarisk-Trees They drink no water there but out of a Cistern near the Kervanseray which is three or four Fathom in Diametre and covered by a Dome with six Doors this place is three long Agatsch from Momzir and is the last of the Government of Schiras after which we enter into that of Lar. We parted from thence on Wednesday the five and twentieth of March about half an hour after four in the Morning and marched over a very even Plain till half an hour after seven when we arrived at a Kervanseray at the end of a large Village called Benaru lying at the foot of the Hill that is to the right of it Benaru upon which on the other side of the Kervanseray are the ruins of many folid Buildings that reach from the top to the bottom of the Hill and seem to have been some considerable place in this Village there is plenty of Palms and Tamarisk-Trees and a great many Cisterns it is two Agatsch distant from Dehidombe We left it next day being Thursday at one a Clock in the Morning and Travelled in stony way until half an hour after two that we came into a fair fmooth way where having Travelled on till five we arrived at an ugly little Kervanseray called Dehra where there are some Rhadars we paid nothing there because of an order which Monsieur Tavernier had to pay nothing in Persia Without stopping at that place we continued our Journey but by very stony way about six of the Clock we were got amongst the Hills where having gone up Hill and down Hill until eight a Clock we came into a Plain which lasted till near nine Bihri that we arrived at a great Village called Bihri where many Palms and Tamarisk-Trees grow there are several Cisterns there but the water of them is full of Worms and therefore one must be careful to strain it through a Cloath We Lodged in a fair new built Kervanseray in that Village this is one of the lovliest Kervanserays in all Persia The fair Kervanseray of Aivaz Chan. not only for the solidity of the Fabrick being built of rough Stone and hard Flint but also for its neat Portal large square Court many spacious Rooms with several conveniences for securing Goods and fair Terrasses to which they go up by great and broad Stair-Cases In fine every thing in it is magnificent very neat and commodious even to the Houses of Office which are in each corner of the Kervanseray and on one side there is a lovely Garden full of Tulips Roses and abundance of other Flowers of all kinds it is well Planted also with Fruit-Trees and Vines and all kept in very good order the Walks very neat and covered with Artificial Arbours all round before this Garden there is a fair watering place for Horses which is always kept full of water from a Well hard by this Kervanseray was built by the Chan of Lar called Aivaz Chan and is six Agatsch from Benaru Friday the seven and twentieth of March after four a Clock in the Morning we parted from this place and Travelled Southward in a pretty good way though stony in some places about day we found a Cistern with a steep Roof and about half an hour after six we saw upon the Road a limit of stone about a Fathom high built upon a Paving of Free-stone that serves it for a Basis we were told that a man was shut up in it A man shut up in a stone according to the custom of the Country in times past when they used that particular punishment for Robbers on the High-ways others said that it was only a mark in the way which divides at that place about seven a Clock we passed by a Village called De-hi-Kourd De-hi-Kourd where there is a Kervanseray in that place are many Tamarisks some Palm-Trees and several Cisterns We left that Village on our Left Hand and continuing our way over an even Plain betwixt Corn-fields Pai Chotali about nine a Clock we came to a Kervanseray called Pai Chotali that is to say the foot of the Hill because it is near the Hills The same night I saw a Blazing Star Blazing-Star like to that which I had seen at Ispahan it was near the Dolphin and its Tail reached from East to West I saw it again all the nights following so long as our Journey lasted It rose always much about the same place of the Horizon and about the same hour or a quarter in or over On one side of this Kervanseray there is a Cistern and a Well on the other both covered with a Dome the Well is exceeding deep and it is a considerable time before the biggest stone that may be thrown into it reaches the bottom the water is drawn with a great Wheel and poured into a square Bason near to it from whence it passes through a hole into
there are so great numbers of Sparrows in Persia that they destroy all things and scare-Crows are so far from frightning them that they will Pearch upon them At eight a Clock we passed by a little covered Kervanseray called Tscherchab Tscherchab which puts an end to the Corn-Fields for beyond that there is hardly any thing to be found but Desarts sowed with stones about two hours after we passed by another Kervanseray Tenghinoun like to the former called Tenghinoun and a little further to the Left Hand we saw a small Forrest of Palm-Trees We afterwards marched on for the space of about two hours through very stony Ground and then came to good even Sandy way Half an hour after one in the Afternoon we passed by a covered Kervanseray called Ouasili Ouasili and keeping on our way over little Sandy Hills we came at three a Clock to another which is also covered Schemzenghi and called Schemzenghi where we stopt and this place is seven Agatsch from Lar. These Kervanserays are not built as others are but are little covered buildings about six Fathom long and as many broad on the outside and about a Fathom and a half high in the middle of each Front there is a Gate and you enter by these Gates under so many Vaulted Walks which run cross-ways within and have each about two Fathom in length they leave in the middle or Centre of the cross they make a little Square about two Fathom every way covered with a Dome In some of them there is in each Vault a half pace of stone two foot high and about a Fathom broad in the outside is the House of the House-keeper or Condar as they call him it stands along one of the sides of the Kervanseray and instead of Walls is only enclosed with a little Hedge in the mean time all the Provisions you are to expect must be had out of these wretched Hovels When there is no body in the Kervanseray these House-keepers retire to their Village or Huts which is out of the way a quarter or half a French League from thence and sometimes Travellers must go look for them when they have had no notice of their coming In the Angles of these Kervanserays there are commonly little Chambers which have the Doors on the outside and the rest of the place is for the Horses there is no other water but what is drawn out of Cisterns of which there are many in the Fields a little way from the Kervanseray We parted from that wretched Lodging Friday the third of April about four a Clock in the Evening and Travelled through a large very even Plain where we saw in many places the Ground whitened over with Salt which is made by the Rain Bahadini Tschektschek about half an hour after five we passed by a covered Kervanseray called Bahadini and about seven by another called Tschektschek by this last there is a Hut where Rhadars Lodge about eight a Clock we entered in amongst Hills and had up Hill and down Hill in very bad stony way where having turned to and again till nine of the Clock we came into a fair large Plain and there marched on till about half an hour after eleven at Night when we passed along a great Village where grow many Palm-Trees from which it hath taken the name of Hhormont Hhormont and a little beyond it there is a covered Kervanseray where we Lodged this place is five Agatsch from Schemzenghi We parted from thence on Saturday half an hour after a eleven a Clock at Night and took our way full South by a very bad and stony Road. Sunday about four a Clock in the Morning we passed by a little covered Kervanseray called Serten then taking our way Eastward Serten Bedgi-Paria after an hours Travelling we found another called Bedgi-Paria a little after we came to a running water the clearness whereof tempted us to fill our Mataras or leathern Bottles but it was good luck that I bid one of the Company who alighted purposely from his Horse to taste it first for he found it to be as Salt as Salt it self Our way continued still bad till about seven of the Clock in the Morning that we came to a Kervanseray called Tengbidalan this Kervanseray is covered as many others are Tengbidalan but it is much finer It is a Square about eight Fathom in the middle of each Face there is a great Arch by which one enters into Vaults which make a Cross as in the others but they are higher and it is not under these Vaults that Travellers Lodge for the Chambers are in the four Corners about three Fathom square two or three foot raised from the Ground and open on the two sides within where there are great Arches from the Floor up to the Vault each Chamber hath its Chimny and other small conveniences the Place in the middle is covered with a Dome in which there is a great round opening in the top By one of the Gates of this Kervanseray there runs a very clear Brook about a good Foot broad which falls into an oblong square Bason in the middle and keeps it always full then it passes farther in such another Canal as brought it and runs out at the opposite Gate this Brook comes from a Hill two Muskets shot from the Kervanseray it falls down from it impetuously in a Channel above a Foot broad and about half as deep and is received on the first Pillar of a broken Arch which is shaped like a Well there are a great many of these broken Arches in a row with some ruins of the Pillars and I believe they have been beaten down by the force of the water which in time of Rain is very great at that place nay some of it too ran then betwixt the Pillars perhaps it was because they were afraid of that accident that they brought not the water upon these Arches which in all appearance were only made for Ornament The water falling down into this Well runs under Ground about twenty Fathom length and comes up again by the Pillar of the first of the Arches that remain entire to the number of eleven this Pillar being also like a well and rising to a height it glides away in a Channel like to that which comes from the Hill save that it is carried along these Arches that are about a Fathom and a half high till coming to a higher Ground the Canal is not above two Foot high and a little farther runs level with the Ground where making several turnings and windings it waters the Roots of a great deal of Liquorice growing by the sides of it until it come to the Kervanseray The truth is that water is not good to drink and it is only necessity that makes men use it when there is none in a Cistern close by but it serves at least to cool the Kervanseray and to wash any thing in
always to be seen about the many holes that are amongst the ruins they are to be seen sometimes also at Schiras but that is only in the time of Mulberries of which at least of the white they are very greedy these Birds in bulk and shape are much like Starlings CHAP. VIII The Road to Bender-Rik I Bargained with a Muletor at Schiras to go to Bender-Rik at the rate of a Toman for five Mules for that Road is not proper for Horses which comes to ten Abassis apiece for the Mules Departure from Schiras to Bender-Rik and he obliged himself to carry us to Bender-Rik in seven days I went in the Company of the Reverend Father Denys a Polander Provincial of the bare-footed Carmelites who had two with him and I my servant We parted from Schiras Munday the eight and twentieth of September a little after midnight and went out of the Town by the West Gate which is called the Gate of Bassora because that is the way to it though there be neither Gate nor Walls at the place We took our way streight West Travelling in a Plain more fruitful in Bushes than any thing else about three a Clock in the Morning we past by a little wretched Kervanseray where there are Rahdars who demanded Toll of us but we answered that we were Franks and had an Order from the King not to pay any thing only we made them a Present of five Casbeghis This Kervanseray is two Parasanges from Schiras and is called Tschenar Rahdar that is to say the Rahdars Maple though there be no Maple-Trees there Near to it there is a new built Bridge of three Arches as I take it under which runs a little water but which in the Winter-time must be impetuous for near to that Bridge I saw the ruins of another which in all appearance hath been beat down by the water This water is called Abtschenar-Rahdar We past over that Bridge Abtschenar-Rahdar and half an hour after crossed another new one also of two Arches over the same River near to which are also the ruins of another Bridge These Bridges are called Poul-Hhadgikol that is to say the Bridge of Hhadgikol which perhaps Poul-Hhadgikol was the name of him that built them A quarter of an hour after we passed by the ruins of a Kervanseray that had been very spacious and seated upon the side of the same River which in appearance beat it down also though it stood upon a pretty high Bank the Chanel of the River being very deep at that place A quarter of an hour after we foarded over that River and began to ascend in a way that was pretty good except in some passes About half an hour after five we crossed a little Canal About six a Clock we were got into a Plain all full of Heath as the Hills about were and had very good way Half an hour after nine we came to lovely running streams The River of Preskiaft that come from a River called Preskiaft which waters the Country thereabout About ten of the Clock we met with two ways the one pretty narrow on a very steep Hill which has the same River running by the foot of it that is very deep there and if the Mules made a false step in this way which is high above the River they would not fail to fall into it and be in danger either of breaking their Necks or drowning The other way is on the other side of the River which may be crossed in several places where the water is shallow this was the way I took because it pleased my Mule so to do to whom I freely gave the Reins being persuaded that it was better acquainted with the Road than I was one of our Company who followed the other way had almost tumbled into the River Mule and all together perhaps the way that I took is covered with water in Winter and so there is a necessity of going the Hill way About half an hour after ten we came to a wretched Kervanseray which is no more but some sorry Vaults all black with Soot and full of Horse and Pullets dung however we had shelter there There are some Rahdars that live in that place to whom we gave a few Casbeghis The River of Preskiaft runs in a bottom at the back of this Kervanseray where there are four Arches remaining of a Bridge that has been in that place which are mightily decayed the water runs not under these Arches but at the side of them where the ruins of the rest of the Bridge may still be seen which seems to have been of eight Arches The River is not very deep at that place but very broad and one may see that in Winter it swells very high and overflows a great part of the Country about Hadgi-Zenon This Kervanseray is named Hadgi-Zenon and is eight Parasanges or Agatsch from Schiras We parted from Hadgi-Zenon Tuesday the nine and twentieth of September at two a Clock in the Morning and continued our way Westward We had not gone an hundred paces when we past over a new Bridge of four Arches under which runs the River Preskat afterwards we found a great many lovely waters that fall down from the Hill and I believe that in the Winter-time they overflow all the Land thereabouts which is very barren and stony bearing nothing but Heath wild Chess-Nuts and such like Trees Half an hour after three we came to a Hill called Estou Asbi Estou-Asbi and having a good way to go up an hour after we came to the top of it where there is a Lodge for Rahdars whom we satisfied with a Present of a few Cosbeghis then we had a little down Hill till about six a Clock we came into a large Plain full of water in the middle that makes a Marish which made us fetch a compass about for the space of two hours and above to gain a very high Mountain called Andgira Mount Andgira covered with Turpentine and other wild Trees about a quarter after eight we were got there and having passed by a Kervanseray Chadgeghi called Chadgeghi at the foot of it we mounted up a very stony way for the space of a long hour and then went down on the other side till about eleven a Clock when finding good water we rested at half way down the Hill under a Tree there being no Lodging but a kind of Cottage where commonly lives a man that sell Victuals and who was not there at that time it is six Parasanges from Hadgi-Zenon to this Menzil for so they call a Lodging place in those Quarters We parted from thence on Wednesday the last of September about two of the Clock in the Morning and having kept going down Hill still about an hours time we then Travelled on two hours Westward in a great Plain where there are a great many Oaks and other wild Trees which made the way that was of it self
to the Mules Belly for five or six and in some places more than seven Fathom in breadth it is so broad and deep in Winter that it can no ways be Foarded over and then they must go by a very narrow way cut out in the Hill on the Left Hand which is very dangerous for if the Mule make one false step it is lost for good and all About three quarters after ten we began to go up Hill in very bad way and that during an hour and a quarter we sometimes also went down Hill but not much and always in very bad way having the River on our Right Hand certainly I never saw worse way than what we had during that whole day At Noon we arrived at a Kervanseray called Kervanseray Narghisi Narghisi which stands on the top of the Hill it is seven Parasanges from Kameredge and was so full of people that came from Bender Rik that hardly could we have shelter you find nothing to eat there because it hath no Dukondar the River runs by the foot of the Hill on which it stands We parted from thence Sunday the fourth of October half an hour after one in the Morning and Travelled on Westward in bad enough way Three quarters after two we went down a very rugged way but the worst is at first the rest being pretty good but that it is narrow and upon the edge of an exceeding deep Precipice so that the Mules are in the same danger as in those we past which made us alight and lead down that descent we got down about half an hour past three and a little after came into a very even Plain and all Sowed Land we Travelled on there Southward until seven a Clock when to the Right Hand we again found the River of Bouschavir which we Foarded over and stopt on the other side of the water There is no Habitation there and yet the place has a name being called Sefid Rou Sefid Rou. it is four long Agatsch from Kervanseray Narghisi We parted from thence Munday the fifth of October half an hour after four a Clock in the Morning and holding streight West we Travelled in a Plain until eight a Clock that we arrived at a pitiful Kervanseray which consists in three nasty Chambers and all black with Soot it is called Tschah-Ghonbez that is to say the Well of the Vault the water that is drank there is drawn out of a Well hard by some hundred of paces distant there is a Village called Dehkone that is to say Old Village which is distant from Sefid-Rou three Agatsch and Sefid-Rou is not properly a Menzil Tschah-Ghonbez but commonly they come from Kervanseray Narghisi to Tschah-Ghonbez in a day our Muletor made us make two of it that he might keep Company with his Brother who was at Sefid-Rou and Travelled but small Journies We parted from Tschah-Ghonbez Tuesday the sixth of October at one a Clock in the Morning and continued our way over a very even Plain due West About half an hour after six we Foarded over a Salt water that was but shallow from that we had all along a Plain covered with Sand to Bender Regh where we arrived about half an hour after nine it is seven Agatsch from Tschah-Ghonbez Bender-Regh The Bender Regh that is to say sandy Port or Harbour is a little Town built along the Sea-side at a place where it runs into a long narrow Channel that turns and winds but is not deep Most of the Houses of this Town are made of Mats laid upon a Trellis or Lettice of Poles interlaced nay the Walls that encompass the Houses are of no better stuff so that there is neither Iron nor Masons work in them There are some however made of Brick baked in the Sun Cemented with morter made of Clay and Straw Most of the Inhabitants of that place are Arabs and all speak both Arabick and Persian the Governour is an Arab and depends on the Governour of Schiras The Soil about it is all Sand and the water they drink is fetched from a Well a good Agatsch from the Town nevertheless there is a great deal of Corn from the neighbouring Villages loaded at this Port to be Transported to the Isle of Bahrem and Bassora from whence they bring them Dates The Sea-Ports of Persia are Bender-Abassi Berder-Congo Sea-Ports Bender-Abassi Bender-Congo Bender-Rischer Bender-Regh Bender-Delem three days Sailing from Bender-Abassi Bender-Rischer ten days Sailing from Bender-Congo Then the Mouth of the River of Boschavir below which is Bender-Regh or Bender-Rik a days Sailing from Bender-Rischer and three days Journy by Land beyond that is Bender-Delem a days Sailing and two day Journy by Land from Bender-Rik CHAP. IX Of the Voyage from Bender-Rik to Bassora THE day we arrived at Bender-Rik a Bark put out from thence in the Morning for Bassora and the same day two Barks came from Bassora Letters from the Basha of Bassora which brought Letters to the Governour from the Basha of that place wherein he prayed him to send him twelve Barks to fit out with Soldiers for his defence against seven Bashas who by orders from the Grand Signior were preparing to attack him because he had not obeyed some Orders from the Port. This was very unpleasant News to us nevertheless being resolved to go to Bassora whatever might happen we agreed with the Patron of a Bark to pay him fifteen Abassis for the passage of the Reverend Father Provincial my self and three servants but I must first describe the fashion of these Barks They are great Boats built much like the Germes of Egypt which have no Deck Barks of Bender-Regh and are round in the inside the Bark we went on Board of was above six Fathom long two Fathom broad and no less in depth there were two little Decks in the Stern which made two small Cabins one over another he that stood by the Helm was placed on the second the other which was the lower was no more but a Hurdle of Palm-Tree Branches laid upon sticks that went cross-ways and there was a Deck also in the Stem or Head the stern was higher than the Head but was made sharp as well as it the Mast was high and big the Yard uniform with a great Sail and on each side there were four Oars that is to say so many Poles with a board a Foot and a half long and half a Foot broad fastened with three Ropes to the end of each of them but it is chiefly to be observed that there is not a bit of Iron in these Barks the truth is They have not a bit of Iron ours had an Anchor of Iron but it was a thing extraordinary because commonly they are only of Wood. The Planks of the Barks are fastened together by small Cords that go through holes made in them and that they may hold sure and the Cords keep streight they drive little pegs of Wood into the
midnight we had a fresh Gale from North-West Monday Morning the twelfth of October the Wind slackned very much but changed not and therefore we weighed Anchor at half an hour after eight and standing away South-West we were soon after becalmed Towards Noon we Rowed a little and half an hour after had a breeze from South-West with which we bore away North-West till three in the Afternoon when we entered into the River Caron that comes from the Hills above the Town Souster Caron Souster Khusistan Susa Ahasuerus Coaspes Choasp Tiripari Zeimare which is the Capital Town of Khusistan and was in ancient times the Town of Susa where Ahasuerus held his Court. This River of Caron must be the Coaspes of the Ancients nay they assured me that there is still at present near to the Town of Souster a Hill called Choasp where the River of Caron which Sanson calls Tiripari Tiritiri and Zeimare hath its source but what reason he has for these names I cannot tell since no body could give me any account of them though I have enquired of many who all told me they knew of no such thing On the Right Hand to the West there is an Isle called Dorghestan and on the Left or towards the East Dorghestan Gheban is the Island of Gheban the point whereof is called Mouele and Gheban because all that Country is called Gheban and is the limits of the Kingdom of Bassora on that side In that place to the Left Hand there is a piece of of Palm-Tree-Wood fixed in the Ground to serve for a signal when it his high water not to go beyond it and they call that signal Dgioudoh The Land here on both sides depends on the Basha of Bassora The usual way to Bassora is by Sea to the mouth of Schat-el-Aarab The way to Bassora which they enter and go by water to Bassora but we put in to the River because our Sea-men who had nothing to do at Bassora being only come to take in Dates imposed upon us telling us that we must go to Gheban to take in fresh water and wood which we wanted and that it was also the shortest cut to Bassora but that great Barks went not that way because it was not deep enough which we too easily believed So soon as we were got into the River we came to Anchor in a Fathom water At low water the River at that place is but very little salt and a little higher it is fresh even when it is Flood Being Flood about midnight our men fell to their Oars but Rowed not above an hour and then came to an Anchor The Country about seems to be very good Land it is low even and green on all Hands and we saw many Cows there feeding in the Meadows which look much like the Meadows of Holland Tuesday the thirteenth of October about ten a Clock in the Morning our Sea-men went a shoar and Towed us up till one of the Clock when being over against a Village where there are a great many Palm-Trees we hoisted Sail with a North-West Wind that lasted not long and so came to an Anchor again Our men went a shoar to hear News as they said of Bassora and coming back in the Evening told us that all things were in confusion at Bassora that the Basha was marched with his whole Army towards Bagdad and that all Barks were taken up for Transporting of Soldiers and that therefore they durst go no farther but were resolved to return empty to Bender-Rik This was all false A cheat of the Sea-men and the truth was they had no mind to go any farther designing to take in their Cargoe at the place we were at where there is plenty of Dates and that was the reason they had brought us that way Nevertheless we must pretend to believe all the Knaves told us and try to find another Bark to carry us to Bassora We sent then a servant next day to look for one and he brought us a small thing wherein the men promised in four and twenty hours to carry us to the Town for six Abassis which we gave them These Barks are flat bottomed about a Fathom high one and a half broad and about five Fathom long The Stern is very low but the Head is as high again and draws into a sharp point as the Gondolos of Venice Barks on the River of Caron These Barks are not Caulked but only Pitched over on the outside which they do in the manner following When they are to Pitch a Daneg for so they call that sort of Bark in Arabick ten or twelve paces from the Daneg they make a Furnace of Earth the upper part whereof is made like a Cauldron into that they put the Pitch and the fire underneath and when the Pitch is almost melted but not altogether liquid a man comes with a little wet Shovel in his Hand and another lays some of this Pitch upon it The Pitching of a Daneg and then puts water upon the Pitch which the first carrying to the Daneg and stirring the Pitch with a piece of Wood to which it does not stick he that is working at the Daneg takes the Pitch in his Hand and dawbs it as one would do Plaster upon the Daneg and then with a Rowler which is not altogether round he spreads it upon the Vessel and in that manner Pitches it all over on the outside These Barks are made very strong the sides being about a Foot thick and all the Planks are Nailed with great Nails such as are driven into Gates in France they have likewise a Mast of an indifferent bigness Indeed these Barks make but heavy way especially in the middle of the water where they cannot use a Sail if they have not the Wind in Poop and nevertheless they load them so deep that they are not above half a Foot above water We embarked in one of these Boats about half an hour after three in the Afternoon it was full of a kind of very long green Rushes that have a great point at the end whereof they make very fine mats Our Crew consisted of two Sea-men and a Master the two men Towed us on Land till half an hour after six that we came before a Village to the Left Hand there we cast Anchor our Men unloaded all the Rushes and going afterwards to the Village we we saw no more of them till next day This is a great Village and has a square Castle with eight Towers to wit one at each corner and one in the middle of each side but they are all of Earth and so thin that a double Musket could batter them all down This place is called Koutmian Koutmian that is to say Castle Mian and they make many Danegs there The Country of Gheban reaches from thence to the mouth of the River of Caron and in all that space the Land on both sides the River is called Gheban it
is very good Soil and if Cultivated would produce any thing but is is neglected through the Laziness of the Inhabitants who content themselves with their Dates there being in that Country vast Woods of Palm-Trees We parted from Koutmian Thursday the fifteenth of October half an hour after eight in the Morning and at first put over to the other side of the River where our Men went a shoar to Towe us our course being due North-West At that place the River grows pretty broad and I think is as broad as the River of Seine at Paris and yet is very deep and makes many Islands About Eleven a Clock we stopt at a Village to the Left Hand on the water side from whence we parted at one of the Clock About half an hour after nine at night we saw to our Right Hand the end of the Isle Dorghestan Dorghestan Koutschemal which from thence reaches to the Sea. We stopped before a Castle called Koutschemal which stands on the main Land near the end of that Island and on the same Hand This is a very large Castle and the Basha of Bassora has a Palace in it which as I was told is very beautiful and as some say he keeps his Treasure there Over against this Castle but a little higher on the other side of the water there is another square Castle with a Tower at each Angle We parted from that place Friday the sixteenth of October at six of the Clock and having the Wind at South we made Sail and stood away North-West A quarter after eleven Kout-Muethel we passed by a square Castle called Kout-Muethel which was on our Left Hand and is flanked with eight Towers one at every corner and one in the middle of each side and near to it there is a little Canal A little farther we saw a Straw-House where Officers of the Customs live who did not visit us but only ordered our Master to carry us to the Custom House of Bassora Leaving then the River of Caron we entered into a Canal called Haffar Haffar which was to our Left Hand or to the South-West of us at that place it is not two Fathom over in other places it is less but towards the middle is very broad it hath been made for a Communication betwixt the River of Schat-El-Aarab and the Caron there is good Land on each side of that Canal but it is not Cultivated and bears only plenty of Date-Trees The Canal makes many turnings it is very deep and our Men shoved the Bark forwards with Poles Three quarters of an hour after Noon we saw a Canal to the Right Hand which loses it self in the Fields and a little after another to the Left that runs into the Caron near to Kout-Mnuethel as I said before and then our Men went on shoar to Towe us There the Canal of Haffar grows very broad and at the end is above seven or eight Fathom over About four a Clock we saw a Canal that spends it self in the Fields Half an hour after we passed betwixt two square Castles each of which have a Tower at every Angle and one in the middle of each side they are called Kout-Haffar Kout-Haffar because they lye at the end of the Canal Haffar that has its mouth to the South it is about six French Leagues from thence to Bassora and about twelve to the Sea. We then entered into the River made up of the Tygris and Euphrates joyned into one the Arabs call it Schat-El Aarab that is to say the River of Aarabs We turned then to the Right Hand and stood away North-West having to our Left the Isle Dgezirak-Chader Dgezirak-Chader and seeing we had a breeze of Wind from the South we spread our Sail. Half an hour after five in the Evening we saw to our Left the end of the Isle called Dgezirak-Chader which reaches from the Canal by which they go to Bahrem to the mouth of Schat-El-Aarab there are Palm-Trees yet their Soil is not good but from the Canal of Bahrem till over against or a little above the Canal Haffar for from thence to the Sea the Land is barren perhaps because it being very low the Sea overflows it at high water Next to the Islle Chader we saw on our Left Hand the Canal by which they go to Port Calif and Bahrem it runs towards the South and passes betwixt the Isle Chader and the main Land of Bassora it is very broad and has above eight Fathom water but there are great stones in some places of it From thence to Bassora the River is above twice and a half as broad as the Seine is at Paris and yet is very deep all over Three quarters after six we saw on our Right Hand the beginning of a long Island called Dgezirat-el-Bouarin and a little after we had on the same hand the Isle El-Bochasi Dgezirat-el-Bouarin El-Bochasi El-Fayadi and not long after the Isle El-Fayadi to the Left Hand These are all great Islands full of Palm-Trees and nevertheless the Channel is every where very deep and broad The Wind slackened so at this place that we scarcely made any way at all however we drew near to the shoar on the Left Hand or West side and about half an hour after eight our Men took their Oars and Rowed till three quarters after ten at night when we stopt close by the shoar before a Castle of the Bashas that seems to be very lovely it has many Pavillions all made into Windows and Porticos for taking the fresh Air in the Summer-time and indeed these Castles are only for pleasure for they could make no great defence We parted from that place Saturday the seventeenth of October at six a Clock in the Morning half an hour after we entered into a Canal to the Left Hand which runs South-West we had on our Left Hand a very spacious Castle pretty entire on the side of the Canal but all ruinous towards the Sea-side This Canal at high water is as broad as one half of the Seine but when the Tide is out it is but a sorry Brook full of Mud. The Town of Bassora lies on the two sides of this Canal though along the sides of it there be nothing to be seen but Gardens the Houses being backwards We came along that Canal till eight a Clock in the Morning when we arrived at the Custom-House which is almost at the bottom of it and having had our Goods viewed we went to Lodge with the Reverend Fathers the bare-footed Carmelites which is not far distant at that time there was but one Religious Italian there Arrival at Bassora called Father Severin With a good Wind they come often from Bender-Rik to Bassora in a days time From Bender-Rik to Bassora in a day though sometimes it makes a Voyage of three weeks We found no preparations for War at Bassora only the Basha of the place finding that the Basha of Bagdad suffered
no Bark to come to Bassora laid an Embargo also upon all Vessels that were at Bassora loaded with Goods for Bagdad They had other false News at that time at Bassora to wit that the King of Persia was coming to Besiege it False News from Persia and some people of Fashion asked me the News at the Custom House but I put them out of trouble as to that assuring them that in Persia there was no appearance that the King had any thoughts of making War which was true enough They then told me how much they were troubled at the News they had of twenty French Corsairs being at Sea False News of the French raised by the Dutch. which very much terrified all the Merchants This report was raised by the Dutch who purposely broached it that all the Merchants might put their mony on board of Dutch Ships and not in Mahometan and this News was the more easily believed that it was known every where now that the French were coming to settle a Trade in the Indies and they were persuaded that all our Vessels were Pirats French Corsairs because three Years before two French Corsairs came to Moca just about the time that the Vessels put out from the Port of Moca carrying nothing but mony to Surrat from whence they bring Goods which is at the end of August The French took all these Vessels and went off If they had had a little more skill in those Seas they might have done more for they might have come into the Gulf of Persia about the end of October and there waited for the Ships of Bassora at which time they carry a great deal of mony for Trafficking in the Indies and they might easily have made themselves Masters of them and therein of several millions in ready mony there being none but Indians on Board of all these Vessels who make no resistance and that being done they might as easily have got away but they did not do it in short they left such a terrible consternation on all these Seas Fear of the French. that to name but the French to them is enough to make them all shake for fear CHAP. X. Of Bassora The situation of Bassora BAssora the Capital Town of the Kingdom or Bashaship of that name lies at the farther end of Arabia the Desart which is to the West of it and near Arabia the Happy that lies to the South two days Journy below the place where the two Rivers Euphrates and Tygris joyn upon the Banks of Schat-El-Aarab which is no other than Euphrates and Tygris joyned into one it is eighteen Leagues from the Sea The Latitude of Bassora The variation of the Loadstone The distance of Bagdad from Bassora and in the thirtieth or one and thirtieth Degree ten Minutes North Latitude The Needle declines there about thirteen Degrees and a half from North to West and from thence to the Indies it always declines about eleven Degrees and a third some say a half from North to West It is two days Journy by Land from Bagdad and by water they come from Bagdad to Bassora in great Barks in fifteen or sixteen days time and most commonly in eighteen but the Barks that go from Bassora to Bagdad are commonly fifty sixty and sometimes fourscore days in the Voyage The Circuit of Bassora because they are only drawn by men This is a great Town encompassed with Walls of Earth that are about six hours march in Circuit but they contain a great many void spaces where there are neither Houses nor Gardens It hath two Gates The Gates of Bassora the one called the East Gate and the other the West and the Gate of Bagdad because by it they go out of the Town when they are bound for Bagdad The situation of Bassora advantageous This Town in my Opinion is so advantageously seated that it might be made one of the richest and most lovely Cities in the World It would certainly be very pleasant if it were a little better built and Gardens made all along the sides of the Canal that comes from Schat-El-Aarab and runs through the whole Town For the Land about if they would Manure it and Plant Trees therein I believe it would bear any thing for the Climate is hot and the Soil of a greyish colour which seems to me to be very fertile being twice a day moistened by the River-water which the Tide carries up four days Journy and a half from Bassora the water rising at the Town a Fathom and a half but yet not salt some have told me that the Ground is too salt to bear any thing but Palm-Trees which thrive much in salt Ground Abundance of Palm-Trees and grow in greater numbers in the Country about Bassora than in any other Country in the World and to shew that it is really salt they say that if one dig two Fathom deep in the Earth they will find salt-water but perhaps it is not so in all places However it be it is certain that from November forwards that Country produces a great many Herbs as Succory Spinage Herbs and Fruits at Bassora and other Pot-Herbs and in several Gardens there are very good Apricots which last all June and July and in July and August also many Grapes as in October Melons water-Melons Pomegranats and Limons the truth is none of these Fruits will keep because of the South-East Wind that reigns during that time and is hot and moist There are pretty enough publick places in Bassora and amongst others the Meidan which is before the Bashas Palace and is very large The Meidan of Bassora there are in it twelve pieces of Cannon or Culverines mounted on their Carriages near that Palace and there are also several very fair Bazars in the Town I said that this might be made one of the richest Cities in the World The Port. of Bassora commodious for all Countries because of the Commerce that might be settled there with all parts almost of the Habitable World. Its Port is good and very safe being twelve Leagues from the Sea in the fresh water of Schat-El-Aarab and it is so broad and deep that the greatest Vessels may come to it without danger all the Goods of Europe might be brought thither by the Mediteranean because being once come to Aleppo it would not be difficult to Transport them to Bi r which is but four days Journy from Aleppo and there they might be embarked on the Euphrates on which they might in ten days time come to Rousvania from whence there is but a days Journy to Bagdad where they might embark them on the Tygris and in fifteen or sixteen days time they would come to Bassora nay and with a very little pains and industry the River Euphrates might be made Navigable for great Vessels only by clearing the Channel in some places where it is choaked up with great stones and that is the reason
made himself Master of Dgezire Besides that the Basha of Bassora holds in Arabia Foelix the Port El-Catif El-Catif Lehhsa and the Town of Lehhsa which formerly belonged to a Basha Tributary also to the Grand Seignior but twelve years since he took the Port Catif and since that having a mind also to Lehhsa he sent thither an Arab Scheik with many Arabs at whose approach the Basha of Lehhsa fled leaving them a free entry into that Town which they plundered but afterwards the Arab Scheik slighted the Basha of Bassora saying that he had not taken that Town for him but for himself and recalled the Basha of Lehhsa to whom he delivered back the Town in consideration of a sum of mony which that Basha paid him In fine last year one thousand six hundred sixty and four the Basha of Bassora finding the Grand Signior engaged in a War with the Emperour and thinking that the War would be of long continuance in the month of November put on Shipboard an Army which The Basha makes War. as I was assured consisted not of above five or six thousand Men with some Cannon though the News flew into all places that they were seven or eight times so many This Army having Landed at Port Catif and marched from thence to Lehhsa which is but three days Journy distant they presently made themselves Masters of it without any resistance the Basha of Lehhsa being upon their approach fled to Constantinople where he made his complaints to the Grand Signior who presently thereupon ordered the Bashas of Aleppo Orfa Diarbeck Mosul Bagdad and some others to the number of eight to joyn and restore the Basha of Lehhsa to his Government and turn the Basha of Bassora out of all This Basha was not daunted for all that but making a shew as if he intended to be upon his defence and indeed putting himself in a posture to do so he fortified Lehhsa sending thither a great deal of Artillery whilst on the other Hand he sent to the Port to inform the Grand Signior that he ought not to concern himself in his Conquest because he was ready to pay him for his new acquisitions the same Tribute that he formerly received It is certain that if the Turk had not made Peace with the Emperour so soon this Basha would have carried his Conquests farther on thinking of nothing less than to have made himself Master of Mascat Now though this State of Lehhsa comprehend no more but the two Towns Catif and Lehhsa it is nevertheless very considerable and of great extent having a great many good Villages but the principal Riches of that Country consists in the the Traffick of Indian Commodities which are Transported from Mascat to Port Catif from whence they come to Lehhsa Indian Commodities at Mascat and thence are dispersed all over Arabia Foelix and chiefly at Mecha where they sell very well when the Caravans come from all Parts to perform their Devotions there Port Catif is on the main Land in Arabia Foelix over against the Isle of Bahrin by corruption called Bahrem which is only seven Leagues distant from it Catif The Isle of Bahrem though it belong not to the Turk being under the Dominion of the King of Persia This Island is very famous for the Fishing of Pearls there in the months of June July August and September It must needs be great if one may judge of it by the great number of Barks that are employed therein which amount to two or three thousand In the Isle of Bahrin there is a Town and a Fort distant from it a large League and a half Though there be good water in that Town yet the Fishermen take not in fresh water there they find it more commodious to draw it out of the bottom of the Sea Three Springs of fresh water in the Sea. where there are three Springs of good water yet not all in one place but here and there and all above two Leagues distant from the Town Signor Emanuel Mendez Henriquez Agent for the King of Portugal at Congo hath often told me the way how they draw this water which is thus An extraordinary way of drawing fresh water out of the bottom of the Sea. The Barks go near to the place where the Springs are which they know by the bearing of the Island at high water there is two Fathom water in those places but when the Sea is out they have not above three Foot water and many times they are on dry Ground for Bahrem is encompassed with Banks of Sand that run out a great way where there are such flats that Vessels cannot pass them but amongst these Banks there are deep Channels which the Vessels keep and whatsoever storm may blow at Sea the Vessels that are in these Channels are safe and secure When these Barks are come near the Wells they stay till low water and then they plant two Oars in the Sand one on each side of the Well where they intend to water at then they strain a Rope under water from one Oar to the other We must know that upon every one of these Wells the Arabs have always the half of a Jarr to wit the upper half where the mouth is which may be called an Earthen Pipe they put the wider end upon the mouth of the Spring and thrust it down above four inches in the Sand they dawb it besides all round with Plaster and Bitumen that the Salt water may not get in when these half Jars break or are worn out they take care to put another in the place of them after that the Fishermen then have planted the Oars and fastened the Rope a Man goes down into the Sea with a Borrachio stopt and Diving down his Head puts himself under the strained Rope that so the force of the fresh water that gushes out of the Jarr may not raise him up again for it gushes out with great impetuosity and then he claps the mouth of his Borrachio to the mouth of the Jarr which being narrow and opened is immediatly filled with fresh water when it is full he he stops it again and brings it up to the Bark where he empties his fresh water and then goes down again for more till the Bark be supplied This Portuguese Gentleman told me that it was very easie to be done and that he himself had been so curious as to go and fill a Borrachio there Now I am speaking of Bahrem The way of Fishing for Pearls I will here relate the manner of the Pearl Fishing as the same Emanuel Mendez Henriquez who hath been at it told me This Fishing begins about the end of June and lasts till the end of September During this time there are to be seen about Bahrem above two or three thousand Fishermens Barks all Arabs who pay severally a due to the Prince whose Subjects they are for their permission to Fish and besides each Bark pays to
Channel Haffar which was to our Larboard and there begins the Isle of Gban Isle of Gban which reaches from that place to the Sea. Tuesday the tenth of November the Tide of Ebb beginning an hour before day we weighed Anchor and continued our course betwixt the Isle Chader and the Isle Gban and there we found the water brackish At this place the Palm-Trees end and the Land on both sides is only level and barren Plains and so low that at high water they are almost all overflown about two hours after day the water cast us so much upon the Land on the South side that our Poop raked the shoar and that is in a manner unavoidable in this place where all Ships are forced a shoar nevertheless though we were so near we had two Fathom water a Stern and three a Head and the current of the water drove us forward at a great rate in the mean time our men did what they could to get out again into the Channel and at length with the help of our Boat that Towed us they accomplished it We found three Mahometan Ships which set out the same day that we did from Bassora and all three had had the same luck having been by the force of the stream cast a shoar as well as we The Course we stood from Bassora till we came to the Sea was in the beginning whilst we had the Wind at South-East South South West and after we had it at North-West we Steered always East South-East or South South-East About nine a Clock in the morning we had a pretty brisk Gale from North-West which made us spread our Mizan and Mizan-Top-Sail the Main and Main-Top-Sail and the Fore-Sail and Fore-Top-Sail and then we steered away South South-West making the more way as the Wind grew fresher the water is very broad at this place About half an hour after three a Clock in the Afternoon we came to an Anchor near the Mouth of the River because our Men would not venture out to Sea in the night-time for fear of being stranded for in the mouth of this River there is but two Fathom water when the Tide is out and the other Ships did as we did the Wind in the mean time ceased about midnight Next day we weighed Anchor about half an hour after six in the Morning and having spread the Fore-Top-Sail we Steered away South South-East but seeing it was little better than a calm we made but very little way nevertheless we began to lose sight of Land on all hands and had betwixt five and six Fathom water About nine a Clock we came to an Anchor to stay for the Tide because then we had but little water about eleven a Clock it being flood we weighed and a North-West Wind rising at the same time we clapt on all our Sails Steering our Course sometimes South-East sometimes South and sometimes South-West according to the water we found which was sometimes but three and sometimes four Fathom Half an hour after one of the Clock we had four Fathom and a half water and at two a Clock five but at the same time the Wind chopping about to South we were forced to furl our Sails and come to an Anchor It is very dangerous putting out of that River after the first days of November The season of Sailing for commonly the South Winds begin to blow at that time and last all November whereby many Ships that put out too late are cast away Thursday the twelfth of November the Sun rose with a stiff Wind from South and at the same time the Sky was on all hands over-cast with such a thick Fog that we could hardly see the other Ships which yet weighed Anchor and were Towed by their Boats we did the same though it was against the Captains mind who feared a storm and would have kept still at Anchor We got our Boat then to Tow us the Ships Head standing East South-East in five Fathom water About half an hour after eight we unfurled the Fore-Top-Sail and stood away East North-East and a little after North North-East About nine a Clock we spread the Mizan-Sail whilst our Boat still Towed us About half an hour after nine the Wind shifting about to East we presently furled our Sails and turning our Ships Head South-East came to an Anchor a quarter of an hour after in three Fathom water That day they began to allow every one but two measures of water by day one to boil the Kettle and the other to drink each measure is about three Pints About a quarter after ten a Clock we weighed Anchor and were Towed by our Boat spreading our Mizan Main-Top-Sail and Fore-Top-Sail though we had no settled Wind but sometimes one way and sometimes another and we turned the Ships Head North-East A little after the Wind getting in to South-East we bore away East and presently it shifted to South so that three quarters after ten we came to an Anchor Friday the thirteenth of November the Pilot of Carek and the Merchants prevailed so far with the Captain that he gave way to the weighing of Anchor at three quarters of an hour after seven though he was of a contrary Opinion and the truth is there was no reason to weigh because it blew a strong Wind from South-East and we had but little water on all hands We had indeed four Fathom at that time but seeing it was a Tide of Ebb we had reason to fear running a ground and to put out to Sea which was the thing the Merchants desired was to run into the storm In fine notwithstanding all these Reasons our men Towed us and we spread the Fore-Top-Sail but we held no certain Course the other Ships did as we did and perceiving us to cast Anchor three quarters of an hour after they did the like This is the inconvenience where many Ships are together that if one weigh or come to an Anchor the rest must do the same for if they should fail to do it and any misfortune happened the blame would be laid at the Masters door in that he did not do as the rest did who are all supposed to understand their Trade Saturday morning the fourteenth of November we made a Mahometan Ship coming from Bassora where we had left her for all the strong South-East Wind which had constantly blown since the day before we weighed Anchor at nine of the Clock in the morning and made Sail with our Mizan Main-Top and Fore-Top-Sails Steering our Course East North-East Half an hour after nine the Wind getting about to South-West we let fly the Mizan Top-Sail and Fore-Sail and stood away East South-East At ten a Clock we tackt about and bore away West North-West and so kept beating to and again every half hour until three quarters of an hour after eleven that the Wind chopping in to South we came to an Anchor in three Fathom water we made short Tacks because of the little water we
had in all places not finding above three or four Fathom at most The Wind continued in that corner all day blowing fresher and fresher still and in the evening though the Wind was high yet the Clouds raked contrary to it from North-West to South-East from eight till ten a Clock at night we had several small showers of Rain at length after midnight the Wind changed into the so much desired North-West Wind and blew very hard Sunday the fifteenth of November the other Ships made Sail about break of day and we lay still at Anchor which extremely vexed the Merchants who thereupon came to words with the Captain but he told them that the other Ships were bound for Congo and that his must put into the Isle Carek which was near so that it would be time enough to weigh at noon that we might not run in too near the Land in danger to be cast away by so high a Wind nevertheless to please them he commanded to weigh about seven a Clock in the morning but he made Sail only with Fore-Sail Fore-Top-Sail and Sprit-Sail we Steered our Course South-East and the Ship run about four Miles and a half an hour About six a Clock at night we stood away East and about seven a Clock North-East and then furled all our Sails except the Sprit-Sail and Fore-Top-Sail having then fifteen Fathom water About ten a Clock we furled all our Sails but the Sprit-Sail Monday the sixth of November the Wind ceased about two a Clock in the morning and began to blow again about six but not so strong as the day before that we might not lose it about half an hour after we spread all our Sails and Steered away South-East It was not long before we made the main Land of Bender-Regh to the Larboard About half an hour after nine we made the Isle Carek on Head Cargou and about noon we Sailed near to the Isle Cargou which was to our Larboard This Isle reaches in length from North to South it is but small and all of white Sand which is the reason it is not inhabited it is close by and almost over against the Isle Carek but a little lower towards Bender Regh Then we furled our Mizan and Main-Sail and Steered away South At one of the Clock we found thirteen Fathom water About half an hour after we began to have the Isle Carek on our Starboard and bore away South South-East having then six Fathom water Half an hour after two we had eight Fathom water and turned the Ships Head Head South-West Three quarters after two we came to an Anchor to the East of the Island towards the point of it that looks to the South-East in ten Fathom water There we found one of the three Ships that had left us at Anchor having some Goods to unload but the other two kept out at Sea. The Isle of Carek reaches in length from South-East to North-West Carek it is very narrow and about three or four Leagues in compass it is about twelve Leagues from Bender-Regh and fifty from Bassora This Island is partly hilly and partly plain it produces Wheat Barley Dates and good Grapes there is very good water upon it also which comes from a Hill that has many ancient Wells ten or twelve Fathoms deep dug in the Rock on the top of it and as I was told there are steps in them to go down to the bottom and the people of the Island go thither to take the fresh Air in the Summer-time The water passes at the bottom of these Wells and from thence runs under ground into the Plain near to these Wells there is a Mosque upon the Hill. There may be at least an hundred and fifty Houses in all the Island as I was told but they are scattered up and down and to speak properly they are no more but pitiful Huts nevertheless every one of them has a Well of Spring-water Near to that Isle they Fish for Pearl Pearl-Fishing at the same time they do at Bahrem and I was told that during the season of Fishing which is in May June July and August there are to be seen about this Island above an hundred Taranquins or Fisher-Boats The King of Persia is Lord of it and has a Governour there who depends on the Governour of Bender Regh The people of this Island are all Fishermen and live only on Salt Fish and Dates The Ships that are bound for Bassora commonly touch at this place to take in a Pilot who conducts them to Bassora and brings them back again at four months end to the same Island where they leave him There we left ours Arrival at the Isle of Carek who had been taken in four months before But it was not only to set him a shoar that we touched at that Island our chief business was to unload Goods belonging to Codgiaminas which were Indigo Cloaths and other Indian Commodities brought in the same Ship and which not being disposed of at Bassora through the bad Conduct of the Vikil he was necessitated to reimbark and send them to Carek to be conveyed from thence to Bender-Regh and so to Ispahan Besides they made account to take on Board several Armenian Merchants and their mony who waited on this Island for a passage to the Indies for within these late years the Armenians that they may not pay Custom at Congo have taken the Course to go streight from Schiras to Bender-Regh where there is no Custom-House and from thence pass over to Carek where they wait for the opportunity of some Ships coming that way which may carry them and their mony However the Mouson before some Armenians upon their return from the Indies having put a shoar at Bender-Regh to avoid the Customs of Congo the Customer went to Law with them about it at Ispahan pretending that they ought to pay him the Custom and it was thought that it would cost them at least a good part of the mony which they must have paid at Congo and that for the future there would be a Custom-House established at Bender-Regh The Ships that touch at Carek keep out at Sea to the Westward of it to shun the danger of being cast away in that narrow streight which is betwixt Carek and Cargou As soon as we were come to an Anchor five or six small Taranquins which are those sowed Boats I described before came a Board of us to take in all the Goods that were for Persia which lasted from five till half an hour after seven a Clock at night Our Company were much deceived as to the Armenian Merchants for contrary to their expectation they found not one which was occasioned by a trick of a Dutchman Captain of the Ship called the Masulipatan The trick of a Dutch man. who had given them a cast of his Trade This Ship being gone from Bassora a day before we put out was come to Carek two days sooner than we did the
men attempted to hall her out of the water by one side that she might be emptied by the other but the weight of the water bulged one of her sides and then she overset so that despairing to recover her unless with much labour and the loss of a great deal of time and fearing besides that she might dash against the Hold of the Ship because it was then a very rough Sea they cut the Ropes and let her go though it was near a hundred Piastres loss to the Owner of the Ship This made us lose a whole hours time and in the mean while one of the Ships which the day before was to our Starboard got a Head of us About half an hour after seven in the morning we made Sail with a North Wind. About half an hour after nine we were off of an Island to our Larboard which we took to be Audarvia but we were mistaken About ten a Clock the violence of the Wind began to abate and we Steered away East South-East About two a Clock after-noon we made a little Island to the Larboard very near the main Land and knew it be Audarvia and that the other which we past about half an hour after nine in the morning and took for Audarvia was Lara This Isle of Lara is a little Desart very low place Lara close by the main Land which is the reason that it is not easily discovered it bears nothing unless it be some wild Trees and that too only at one end of it which lyes to the West North-West and was to us the beginning of the Isle as our Course lay it may be known by these Trees It lyes in length from West North-West to East South-East and is threescore and ten Leagues from Carek Audarvia The Isle of Audarvia is in like manner little low and very near the main Land and lyes in length as Lara does from West North-West to East South-East there is good water in this Island and in the middle of it some wild Trees and the Cottages of some Fishermen who come from the main Land to Fish there it being seven or eight Leagues from Lara It is worth the observing that though these two Isles be very near the Land as I have been saying yet they leave a passage betwixt them and the main Land which may admit of Ships because it is very deep water and Ships sometimes shoot that passage The Wind freshning in the afternoon at three quarters of an hour after two a Clock we were got to the farther end of the Island and an hour after made the Isle of Keis to the South-East About half an hour after four we got on Head of the Ship that was before us in the morning and at the same time we were off and on with the hithermost end of the Isle of Keis Keis which was to our Starboard side This Island is about two Leagues and a half from the main Land or three at most and about five Leagues from Audarvia though they reckon it fifteen Leagues from Lara to Keis it reaches in length from West South-West to East North-East and is about five Leagues in Circuit it is very low and flat like the two former but it is inhabited by several people who have Houses dispersed here and there upon it I was told that heretofore the Inhabitants of that Island having killed a Portuguese who had gone a shoar there for some insolence which he had committed sometime after other Portuguese Ships coming thither the Admiral called Roui-Fereyra-Andrada went a shoar upon the Island and taking a Sucking-Child put it into a Mortar and by an unparalelled piece of cruelty A horrid piece of cruelty of a Portuguese made the Father and Mother of the innocent Babe pound it themselves in the Mortar This General was a Devil incarnate and it was his usual way so to revenge himself on the Inhabitants of those Coasts when they had done him any displeasure his name is to this day so terrible unto them that they use it to still their little Children when they cry threatning them with Lowis de Fereyra In the mean time that inhumanity made many forsake the Island that they might not be exposed to such cruel usage nevertheless some abode still and have Cattel there I was told that heretofore there were all sorts of Fruits on this Island but that since the Portuguese have left off to go thither there are no more to be found I was likewise assured that there is excellent water in the North-West and East ends of the Isle About five a Clock in the evening we furled our Mizan Mizan-Top Main-Top and Fore-Top-Sails that we might not make so much way because on this Coast there are places where the water is very shallow About seven a Clock at night we were got off of the other end of the Isle of Keis and then the Wind slackened much half an hour after we came off and on a place of the main Land where the shoar opens towards the East and forms a Gulf in shape of a half Circle and the outmost point of that half Circle is called Gherd All that day we had kept very near the main Land which to that Gulf bears West North-West and East South-East When we were just off the beginning of this Gulf a gentle Gale blowing from East North-East made us to Steer our Course South-East and we made the Land called Gherd to the East South East About ten a Clock at night we stood away South South-East and heaving out the Lead found seventeen Fathom water within a quarter of an hour after the Wind turning North-West we bore away South but because it instantly blew too hard we furled the Main-Sail and Steered South South-East About three quarters after ten we Steered South-East and casting the Lead found fifteen Fathom water Sunday the two and twentieth of November at two a Clock after midnight we were got off of the Isle of Paloro to our Starboard Paloro our Course was then East South-East and having sounded we found thirteen Fathom water whereupon we turned the Ships Head South South-East A quarter after two we heaved the Lead several times and found betwixt six and seven Fathom water Three quarters after two we bore away East South-East and casting the Lead found first fifteen then ten and a little farther only eight Fathom water we had then to the Larboard a Mountain on the main Land Mount Sannas called Sannas Half an hour after five in the morning we had but five Fathom water At six a Clock we found twelve and then we Steered East North-East and at eight a Clock in the morning came before Congo distant from Keis fifteen Leagues by Land and thirty by Sea an hundred from Carek and an hundred and fifty from Bassora from Congo to Comoron it is twenty Leagues by Land and thirty by Sea. We came to an Anchor in the Road a long half League
hour after eight we had seven Fathom water About ten a Clock seven Fathom a Foot less About half an hour after eleven seven Fathom and then we set the Ships Head East South East but at midnight held our Course South Next morning half an hour after five we had thirteen Fathom water and were almost at an equal distance from the Isle of Queschimo which was to the North-East of us the Isle of Nabdgion or Pitombo South South-West of us and the Isle of Tonbo South East from us and we bore away East Queschimo is a great Isle but low Land though it hath several Hillocks Queschimo yet they are all so low that Sailing along this Island on any side you may see the Mountains of the main Land over it It lyes in length East and West is not very broad but twenty Leagues long it is to the East of Congo and West South-West from Comoron it is a fruitful and well inhabited Island the West end of it not being above a good League and a half from Congo and the East end about a League from Bender-Abassi On the East part of this Island there is a Fort before which Ships may come to an Anchor in six Fathom water to take in fresh water which is very good in this place The Portuguese formerly held this Fort and it may be worth the observing that though the Island be very near the main Land yet Barks and Galliots pass betwixt the two Nabdgion or Pitombo is a little low Desart Island lying South Nabgion or Pitombo Tonbo South-East from Queschimo Tonbo is another little low flat Island and Desart affoarding only a great many Antelopes and Conys It lyes to the East of Nabdgion or Pitombo and South from Congo from which it is but four Leagues distant Manuel Mendez who had much experience in those Seas being very young when he came into that Country where he hath during the space of many years made several Voyages made me observe that if any one should build a Fort on that Island and keep some Men of War there he might easily raise a Toll upon all the Ships that Trade in those Seas for they must of necessity Sail near to that Island on the one side or other Towards the South-East it has fifteen or twenty Wells of good water but especially one that is excellent and a good Road before it When the Portuguese were possessed of Mascate they came every year with some Galliots to the Isle of Tonbo to receive the Tribute that was paid them in all the Ports of those Seas and brought thither by those who were obliged to pay it The yearly Tribute they had from the Isle of Queschimo consisted of five Persian Horses and two Falcons Congo payed four hundred Tomans Bahrem sixteen thousand Abassis and Catif the half of the yearly profits of its Customs as for Bassora there was a Portuguese Agent that resided there who received a Chequin a day of the Basha and as often as the General came to that Town the Basha made him a Present This Island is encompassed all round with Banks under water nevertheless there is almost every where four six eight nay in some places nine Fathom water About half an hour after seven the Wind slackened much and we Steered South South East about eleven a Clock we found nine Fathom water and seeing we were almost becalmed and the Tide cast us to the Westward we were obliged to drop an Anchor half an hour after one a Clock at noon We were some three Leagues off of Sannas which was to the West North-West of us to the North-West and by West it makes a Peak but the Hill is higher than the Peak we went thither to take in water for the water is very good there though it be about two Leagues from the West point of Queschimo which was to the North-West of us About four a Clock we had a Breeze from South South-West which made us Steer our Course South-East About six a Clock we had twenty Fathom water Half an hour after seven the Wind turned North-West and we bore away East at eight a Clock we found eighteen Fathom water half an hour after that eighteen and a half and we stood away East and by North. About nine a Clock the Wind freshened a little and we had twenty Fathom water at ten a Clock we had one and twenty and about half an hour after ten we Steered our Course East Wednesday the ninth of December about day break the Wind ceased and we Steered still East the Isle of Angom was to the North-East of us and not far off and on the other side to the South-East we had a Port of Arabia Foelix called Julfar which is a good Harbour where many Indian Barks carrying mony come to buy Dates Julfar Pearl-Fishing and Pearls which are Fished all along that Coast from Mascat to Bahrem there is a good Castle at Julfar From that Port to the Cape of Mosandon the Coast of Arabia the Happy is all Mountanous bearing South-West and North-East and runs so near the Persian shoar that there is but five Leagues betwixt the main Land of Mosandon and the Isle of Lareca which is close by Comoron Betwixt Julfar and Mosandon Good Ports in the Gulf which are not set down in the Maps there are a great many good Ports that are not set down in the Maps where notwithstanding several Ships may safely Winter secure from all Winds and there is every where very good water About half an hour after seven in the morning the Wind turned North-East and we Steered our Course East South-East We were then off and on with the Point of Angom which bears West North-West Angom Angom is a little low Island to the South of Queschimo and reaches along Queschimo from West North-West to East South-East no body lives in it but two or three Fishermen who keep some Goats which they sell to Ships that come there to take in fresh water where it is very good Though this Island be very near to Queschimo yet Ships may pass betwixt them and all that take in water there shoot the Streight About noon we bore away South-East and at one a Clock having cast the Lead we had eight and thirty Fathom water we were then becalmed and made no way but by the Tide of Ebb which cast us upon Arabia so that we were obliged to stand off of it as far as we could to turn the Ships Head East North-East nevertheless towards the evening we were got very near the Mountains of Arabia wherefore to keep off of that shoar as much we could we Steered away North-East and by East and the Tide of floud did us some service About seven a Clock the Wind seemed as if it would get in to North but it blew so gentlely that it hardly curled the water Thursday the tenth of December about half an hour after four in the morning we
those Spouts not that I thought the danger so very great being they were to the Leeward of us and in reality they wrought more admiration than fear in me Nevertheless there was a great consternation amongst our Company all Hands were at work and our Franks kept a heavy stir calling and asking whether any one had the Gospel of St. John they addressed themselves to me and I told them that I was a saying it and whilst they prayed me to continue one of them brought a Knife with a black handle asking if any body knew how to cut the Spouts I made answer that I had been informed of the way that some used to cut them but that I would not put it in practise because it was a bad and unlawful superstition he objected that the Spouts were so near that they would quickly fall upon the Ship and infallibly sink her and that if he knew the secret he would do it I endeavoured to reassure him and the rest from the fear which made him speak so telling them that the Spouts being to the Leeward there was not so much danger as they imagined And in short to put that thought quite out of their Heads I plainly told them that I neither would do that superstitious Art my self nor teach any body else how to do it and that for the Gospel of St. John I should willingly persist in saying it because it was a good and lawful means to procure protection from God Almighty And indeed I forbore not to say it till all the Spouts were dispersed which was not before one a Clock after noon or thereabouts A B C D E F G H I At length seeing the Air on all Hands full of tempestuous Clouds he ordered the Ships Head to be turned North-West which was very hard to be done for the Sea hindered the Ship from coming about though the Wind was then at East and we stood in to Quesomo near which about a quarter after two we came to an Anchor in seven and twenty Fathom water to the South of that Island so that we put back again above a League Then the Pilot was for bringing the Yards by the Board and lowering the Main-Top and Fore-Top-Masts fearing they might be damaged by the storm but the Captain would not give way to it During the rest of the day we had many flurries with continual showers of Rain but whilst these are blowing over I will enlarge a little in the description of the Spouts which I have only occasionally mentioned I am apt to believe that few have considered Spouts with so much attention A description of Spouts as I did those I have been speaking of and perhaps no man hath made the Observations which chance gave me the occasion of making I shall here give an account of them with that plainness I profess in the Relation of all my Travels thereby to render things mere sensible and easie to be comprehended The first we saw was to the Northward betwixt us and the Isle of Quesomo about a Musket shot from the Ship we were then Steering North-East The first thing we perceived in that place was the water boyling up about a Foot high above the surface of the Sea it looked whitish and over it there appeared somewhat like a blackish smoak but not very thick so that the whole looked very like a bundle of straw set on fire but only as yet smoaking see the Figure A this made a dull noise like to a Torrent running impetuously in a deep Valley but it was mingled with another somewhat more distinct noise resembling the loud hissing of Serpents or Geese A little after we saw as it were a dark puff of steam much like to a smoak which turning very fast tapers up to the Clouds and this puff seemed to be a Pipe as big as ones Finger see the Figure B the same noise still continuing Then the light put it out of our sight and we knew that that Spout was spent because the water boyled no more up so that it lasted not above half a quarter of an hour This being spent we saw another Southward of us which began in the same manner as the former did presently after there appeared another by the side of this Westward and then a third by the side of the second The most remote of the three might have been somewhat more than a Musket shot distant from us and all the three appeared like so many bundles of Straw a Foot and a half or two Foot high that yielded a great deal of smoak see the Figure A and made the very same noise that the first did Afterward we saw so many Pipes reaching down from the Clouds upon the places where the water bubbled and every one of these Pipes at the end which joyned to the Cloud was as large as the wide end of a Trumpet and resembled that I may explain my self intelligibly the Teat or Dug of a Beast streatched perpendicularly downwards by some weight see the Figure C. These Channels or Pipes seemed to be of a paleish white and I believe it was the water in these transparent Pipes which made them look white for in all appearance they were already formed before the water was suckt up in them as may be judged by what follows and when they were empty they appeared not in the same manner as a Glass-Pipe that is very clear being set in the light at some distance from our Eyes appears not unless it be full of some coloured liquor These Pipes were not streight but in some places crooked see the Figure D neither were they perpendicular on the contrary from the Clouds into which they seemed to be inserted to the places where they drew up the water they sloaped very Obliquely as you may see by the Figure D and what is more singular the Cloud to which the second of these three was fastened having been driven by the Wind the Pipe followed it without breaking or leaving the place where it drew up the water and passing behind the Pipe of the first they made for sometime a Saltier or the Figure of St. Andrews Cross see the Figure E in the beginning they were all three as big as ones Finger as I have already observed but in the progress the first of the three swelled to a considerable bigness I can say nothing of the other two for the last that was formed was almost as soon spent that to the South continued about a quarter of an hour but the first on the same side lasted somewhat longer and was that which put us into the greatest fear and whereof I have still somewhat more to say at first the Pipe of it was as big as ones Finger then it swelled as big as a mans Arm after that as big as ones Leg and at length as big as the Trunk of a good Tree as much as a Man can Fathom about see the Figure F. We could plainly see through that
they would be in danger of committing great errours at Sea because of the Tides and Currents that either drive the Log forwards or backwards and to be assured of the exactness of that account the Log must be fixed and immoveable But the English are not mistaken for besides that invention of Miles they dayly take an observation of the Suns height besides they heave out the Log at every change encrease or decrease of the Wind. The English reckon their Miles at five hundred Geometrical paces only that is five Foot to the pace Cape of Jasques Carpella The distance of Ormus from Cape Jasques About half an hour after six we were off of the Cape of Jasques anciently called Carpella it lyes in five and twenty degrees and a half North Latitude and in thirty Leagues from Ormus From that Cape the Land bears East and by South to the River of Indus At Cape Jasques about half a Mile or a Mile up on Land there is a kind of a sorry Fort with about forty Houses inhabited by a sort of very poor people who live on Barley and drink nothing but water and that very brackish too they have two Barks or Taranquins wherein they carry Wood to sell at Mascat That wretched place is called Jasques and depends on the Governour of Comron who sends whom he pleases to Command in it Thursday the seventeenth of December about six a Clock in the morning we clapt on our Main-Top-Galant-Sail and stood away East keeping in sight of the Land of Persia least the Wind might force us too far out to Sea which about eleven a Clock turned North-East At noon we found that from Sun setting the day before we had run threescore and one Miles or twenty Leagues and a third at the rate of three Miles a League At one of the Clock we bore away East and by South About four a Clock the Wind chopping about to West we bore away South-East and by East About half an hour after five we had East North-East of us a little low Isle close by the Persian shoar which in that place is very low About six a Clock we were off and on with that little Isle Friday the eighteenth of December in the morning we Steered our Course East and by South and at noon we found that from that time the day before we had made eight and thirty Leagues then the Wind got into North-West and we bore away South-East and by East that we might not run within Land which we obscurely made on Head a little to the Larboard Next morning the Wind abated and therefore we stood away East and by South At noon we found by our reckoning that we had in the last four and twenty hours made five and twenty Leagues and a half Then the Captain Mate and Gunner took an Observation of the Sums height with a Quadrant as well as they could for none of the three had much skill in it and the Maâ—e least of all all three agreed that we were in twenty four degrees thirty minutes Latitude About evening the Wind shifted into South-West but it was so easie that scarcely did it curl the water yet we Steered away South-East and by East that we might not be cast a shoar Sunday the twentieth of December it continued still calm weather so that at noon we found we had made but five Leagues way and our Men having taken their Observation found that we were still in the Latitude of twenty four degrees thirty minutes as we were the day before and that day every one was stinted to a measure and a half of water by day Towards the evening we made the Land of Persia and were but about five Leagues off of it which made us Steer away South-East and by South and stand out to Sea contrary to the opinion of the Mate who would have kept in by the Shoar giving this reason for it that we needed not fear to be cast too far to the Leeward as the Captain said because at that time the East Wind blows along the Coast of Sindy and besides being near Land in case it proved bad weather we might come to an Anchor and take in water which we were affraid we might come to want But the chief reason why he would have stood in to shoar and which he kept to himself was that he might know the place where he was for these are such an ignorant sort of Men that so soon as they lose sight of Land they know no more where they are The Captain made answer to all his reasons that it was bad advice to make us double our way without any necessity and that we had no reason to go look for East Winds having the Wind at South-West which though it was easie still kept us going on in our Course and would if it freshened bring us in a short time whither we were bound and in that case we needed not go look for water whereof as yet we had no want besides that by standing in to shoar we run a risk of meeting the Zinganes those Pirats I mentioned before whom no body desired to see and we put our selves also in danger of not being able to get out to Sea again for a long time if the Wind which we had lasted because we must wait for another Wind which perhaps might not offer in some weeks time In fine it behoved the Pilot to acquiesce to this judgment which was approved by all of us nay the Gunner was for having us steer our Course more to the Southward and he was not out in that for the Coast of Cape Jasques bears West and by North and East and by South and we Steered South-East and by East from which substracting a Point and a half which is the variation of the Needle and then our Course would prove to be East a Point and a half towards South and so we were but half a Point to the Windward of the Land of Persia and this Course carried us streight to the Gulf which is to the Northward of the Isle of Diu but the Captain would not change his Course fearing to meet with an East Wind which would have driven him too far above the place whither we were bound and therefore he would not bear away South till he was near the Isle of Diu. Monday the one and twentieth of December our Observers found at noon that we were in twenty four degrees twenty five minutes Latitude and that we had run ten Leagues Next day they found twenty four degrees five minutes Latitude and that we had run fourteen Leagues the last twenty four hours About four a Clock in the afternoon the Heaven was on all Hands overcast with thick black Clouds and at the same time there arose a small Gale from West North-West which presently drove the Clouds upon us we expected a strong Gust of Wind but we were excused for a shower of Rain which was indeed violent but lasted not without
any flurry of Wind or rough water for the Sea was not at all moved At the same time these Storms began to appear in the Air others began to work in our Captains Head which caused a real Tempest in the Ship. He had drunk several Cups of Brandy which began to heat his Brains however he ordered the Sails to be taken in as it is usual when they see a Storm a comeing but presently after a fancy taking him in the Head that they accused him of timorousness and saying that he had heard some say he was affraid though no body had spoken a word he fell into a sudden rage and to shew that he was a Man of Courage commanded all the Sails high and low to be set again though the Mate prayed him not to do it and that the Sea-men stayed two or three Orders before they obeyed him which incensing him the more he swore that the Sails should stand whatsoever weather blew that he might make those dy for fear that had said he was affraid adding a thousand more impertinent raveings Never did Captain on a Stage shew so many Rodomontadoes and that for several hours during which he tried all the Ships patience without the least word of answer from any Man. At four a Clock the Wind turning West we stood away East South-East Half an hour after four we had a great shower of Rain which soon was over and immediately after the Wind fell a shifting into all the Points till at length it settled at North-East and we bore away East South-East In the mean time all our Sails were abroad except the Main-Top-Galant-Sail which he had likewise caused to be put on but was immediately after taken in About six a Clock the Wind veering about to East we Steered away South South-East At seven a Clock we were more becalmed than before and we turned the Ships Head East and by South Wednesday morning the three and twentieth of December one of our Sea-men took with a Hook a Fish called a Dorado Dorado a Fish which was about two Foot long and four Inches broad from the middle of the Back to the middle of the Belly but not very thick the Skin a long the Back and half way the Sides of it was of a Violet blue and the Belly of a yellowish white but full of little round Violet coloured specks it had along the Back a blue Skin streatched as it were upon little bones or prickles which made it bristle up about an inch and a half high the Eyes of it were large and round under the Gills it had on each side a Fin three Fingers breadth long which stood out very streight and two others under the Throat near one another and another at the Roots and then widening by degrees to the points it had two more of the same fashion near the Tail but it had no Teeth It was very brisk and lively when it was pulled out of the water but as the force of it spent that Skin which before was streatched like a piece of Cloath upright upon the Back of it flagged and fell flat to the Body as well as its Fins They told me that there were some of those Fish a Fathom and a half long that they call them Doradoes that is to say gilt because the ground of their Skin is in some manner of the colour of Gold the English call them Dolphins It is good meat and of easie digestion the Flesh of it is firm and delicate and it feeds on a kind of small flying Fish which being pursued rise out of the water and fly above a Ships length falling sometimes into Ships as one did into ours On Sunday the seven and twentieth of December I handled and considered it at leisure it was shaped like a Herring and seven inches long the Back of it was of a very dark blue and the Belly white on each side it had a Wing almost five inches long and about four inches broad these Wings are only a thin Skin of a very obscure blue colour streatched upon little Nerves or Bones which reach from the side of the Fish to the extremity of the Skin When it is pursued by the Doradoes it leaps out of the Water and flies in the Air so long as the Wings of it are moist and when they dry it falls again into the water When these Wings are dry they fold together like a Fan and that Fishes Wings which I Handled were folded in that manner it is very good to eat We could have no Observation at noon because the Sun was over Clouded and must then be satisfied with our dead reckoning according to which we had made but nine Leagues from noon to noon At eight a Clock at night a Coal of fire fell out of a Tobacco-Pipe into the Gun-Room through the hole of the Whip-staff and by good fortune the two Women slaves of Manuel Mendez who lodged in that place soon perceived it and put it out and then being all in a fright they cried out for help they who had done this were enquired after but in vain for it was impossible to find out the Authors had not God in his great mercy preserved us from the danger of that accident we must all have unfortunately perished Thursday the four and twentieth of December at four of the Clock in the morning there fell a great deal of Rain and it continued showring by intervals with great Thunder-Claps till half an hour after six when the Rain was quite over we had a good Wind from North-West which made us run a League and a half an hour but it was close weather and the Captain ordered to Steer away East whereby we altered our Course and stood in to Land when I asked him the reason of it he told me he was affraid he might find the Wind at East North-East which would force us out from the place to which we were bound but the truth was he had a mind to make the Land that he might know where we were for neither he the mate nor Gunner could tell it At eight a Clock the Wind turned Easterly and we stood away South South-East At nine a Clock it shifted to South-East and we Steered South which was a very bad Course for following it we must have run far below the place whither we were bound About ten a Clock the Wind being got into the South South-East we bore away East but all of a sudden the Wind slackened At noon we had the Wind at South and we Steered away East South-East We could have no Observation this day neither because of Cloudy weather and they found by their dead Reckoning that we had made nine Leagues most of this way we had made since six a Clock in the morning for the eighteen hours before we had advanced but little or nothing at all A quarter after twelve the Wind turned South-West and we Steered our Course North-East but we were presently after becalmed
At two a Clock we had a breeze from North-West and we bore away South-East and by East About six a Clock the Wind slackened much About seven a Clock our Ships Head stood South-East Friday the five and twentieth of December at six a Clock in the morning it blew a West North-West Wind and we steered on our Course still South-East About seven a Clock the Sky was overcast with Clouds which brought Rain with them and we saw some more Spouts at a pretty good distance and a Weather-Gall this Weather-Gall was like a Segment of a Rain-Bow rising from the Horizon about three degrees or if you will it seemed to be three Foot high Sometimes they appear over a Ship and that is commonly a presage of a Tempest and the Portuguese call this Phenomenon an Oxes Eye About eight a Clock it blew a pretty fresh Gale from North but immediately it veered about to North-East and became very weak At noon we were by our Observations in three and twenty degrees two and fifty minutes Latitude and had made from noon to noon thirteen Leagues Then the Captain and Mate made account that we were eight or ten Leagues off of the Land of Sindy and about five and twenty Leagues from Jaquelte for my part by what I could make out by my Map we were twenty Leagues off Malan and to the Southward of Malan and forty Leagues from Sindy and near threescore Leagues from Jaquelte and this agreed with the Gunners Observation but he durst not say any thing for fear of quarelling with the Captain who thought every body ignorant in respect of himself and nevertheless it was found afterwards that he and the Mate were in the mistake About four a Clock the Wind turned East South-East and we Steered North-East About five a Clock we had a great shower of Rain from a thick Cloud over head which being past we had the Wind at South-East and bore away North-East Half an hour after six we had Rain again with Lightning but we were becalmed and turned the Ships Head North-East At seven a Clock the Wind turned South and by East and we bore away East and by South Half an hour after ten we were becalmed but about eleven a Clock had a great flurry which made much noise at first and this made us furl all our Sails but a great shower of Rain soon carried it off and the Sea being smooth we Steered away South-East and by South At midnight we cast the Lead but though they veered out sixty Fathom of Rope yet we had no ground which was like to have made the Captain mad for shame for he believed us to be very near Land and he fell into a Passion with the Mate saying that he had not left importuning him for two days to heave out the Lead We were all night becalmed though at times we had several showers of Rain Saturday the six and twentieth of December about seven a Clock there blew a gentle Gale from East North-East which made us Steer away South-East and by South About half an hour after nine the Wind being all Easterly we stood away South-East then master Manuel Mendez who perceived very well that no body knew where we were advised the Captain to stand in to Land and gratifie the Pilot which highly offended him saying that since they took him for an ignorant blockhead for the future he would only sleep and take his rest and let the Ship go which way she pleased and that to content us he would put back and make the Land at Jasques however this went no farther About ten a Clock the Wind turned East North-East and we stood away South-East At noon the Gunner found by his Observations that we were in twenty three degrees forty five minutes the Captain in twenty three degrees five minutes and the Mate in twenty three fifteen minutes and in four and twenty hours we had only made about six Leagues That day we began to see of those Birds which the Portuguese call Rabo de Junco Rabo de Junco a Fowl. and are a kind of Sea-Mews only they are bigger and have the Tail all of a piece and pointed like a Rush wherefore they are called Rush Tails and they keep upon the water as the Sea-Mews do At one a Clock the Wind slackened and chopped into the East and we Steered South and by East About four a Clock we tackt and stood away North. About half an hour after five the Wind having veered about to East North-East we Steered South-East About half an hour after seven the Wind turned North-East and by East About ten a Clock it was full North-East and we bore away East South-East Sunday morning the seven and twentieth of December at five of the Clock the Wind turned East and by North and we Steered our Course South-East and by South About nine a Clock we bore away South-East because the Wind was at East North-East and blew pretty fresh Our Officers took an Observation at noon and were again of different opinions the Captain had two and twenty degrees fifty two minutes the Mate twenty three and the Gunner three and twenty degrees and two minutes and in twenty four hours we had made fourteen Leagues In the Evening a flying Fish leaped into our Ship. The Wind freshened so much in the night-time that we were obliged to furl our Top Sails Monday noon the twenty eighth of December the Captain found out by his Observation that we were in the Latitude of twenty two degrees eight minutes and the Gunner in twenty two degrees eighteen minutes in four and twenty hours we had made fourteen Leagues That day we saw a great many Weeds or Herbs floating upon the water which the Portuguese call Sargaso Herb Sargaso and that is one sign of being near the Land of the Indies many such are also to be seen towards Brasil The stalk of that Herb is small blackish and as supple as a hair the Leaves of it are long and narrow and a little jagged besides the Leaves it hath a great many small clear and transparent Berries as soft as little Goosberries that stick to the stalk This Herb grows upon the Rocks in the Sea and being torn off by storm it floats upon the water till it be cast a shoar About two in the afternoon the Wind slackened much and therefore we spread our Main-Top and Fore-Top-Sails the Sea which had been very high before growing calm and smooth within a few hours Tuesday morning the nine and twentieth of December about seven a Clock the Wind was at North North-East and we Steered our Course East At noon the Gunner found that we were in one and twenty degrees forty four minutes Latitude and that in the space of twenty four hours we had made thirteen Leagues and a half at midnight we Steered East and by South that we might keep off of the Banks that are towards Diu our Company thinking themselves nearer to
it than indeed they were Next morning we saw two Snakes upon the water Snakes upon the water are a sign of the nearness of Land. which occasioned great joy in the Ship for when they begin to see Snakes it is an infallible mark that they are not above forty Leagues off the Land of the Indies wherefore one may boldly come to sounding and indeed when at nine a Clock we heaved out the Lead we found fifty three Fathom water At noon by the Gunners Observation we were in one and twenty degrees thirty three minutes Latitude having in the last twenty four hours run five and twenty Leagues and a half we sounded a second time and had forty Fathom water whereupon we stood away South-East and by East that we might not run upon the Land of Diu where we had nothing to do and which is the Rendez-vous of the Malabar Corsairs and the Zinganes Half an hour after five in the evening we had but thirty five Fathom water and then we saw upon the water a great many little yellow Snakes a Foot long and as big as ones little Finger which made us know that we were near the Coast of Diu along which the Snakes are small for from thence forwards along the Coast of the Indies they are big That we might not then run within Land we stood away South-East About six a Clock we began to see some Excrements of the Sea which the Provensals call Carnasse the Italians Potta-Marina Carnasse or Potta Marina or Alfareca and the Portuguese call Alfareca I fancy that I have seen the figure and description of them by the name of Potta-Marina in a Treatise of Fabius Columna de Conchis which is at the end of the Treatise de Plantis of the same Author Our Ships Company told me it was like a frothy Flesh which the Fish eat and when it touches a Mans Flesh it sticks to it like Glew and puts him to hot stinging pains This puts me in mind that heretofore being at Calais a Gentleman of Honour told me that in the Sea of Calais there were some certain Sea-Excrements which stung and occasioned such burning pains when they touched a Mans Flesh that he had seen some Soldiers of the Garison run about the streets roaring and crying out like Mad-men through the violence of the pain they suffered by these Excrements which had touched their Flesh when they washed themselves in the Harbour and that this pain lasted two or three days In all probability those Excrements he spoke to me of were Carnasses If the Translatour be not mistaken the English call that Excrement a Carvel We saw so great a quantity of them all the evening that sometimes they made the Sea look all white and they lay as it were in veins so that to judge by the sight one would have taken them for great Banks of Sand but of a very white Sand or else for Rivers of Milk and certainly a Man that had never seen them nor been told what they were would think himself to be upon a Bank of Sand. No sooner was one of these veins past but we saw another a coming and each of them was above five hundred paces in length and proportionably broad Those that floated along the Ships side lookt like so many very clear Stars and at first I took them for sparks that are many times seen to flash out of the Sea when the water is very rough but having observed that they lost not their splendour as commonly that sort of sparks does which disappear as soon as they are seen I took notice of them to the Captain and the rest that were upon the Quarter Deck and asked them what they were they all told me they were Carnasses and they knew by that that we were near Land for these Excrements are not commonly seen but very near the shoar and are the fore runners of a Gale of Wind but when the Captain considered them and saw them coming in so great a quantity he acknowledged to me that he had never seen so many of them together and about eight a Clock the Lead being heaved out we found thirty Fathom water After eight a Clock we saw no more Carnasses A little after eight the Wind blew very fresh which made us take in the Main-Top-Sail At the same time we perceived to the Windward at East North-East a great light which all presently knew to be some great fire a shoar and we saw many such until midnight which confirmed us in the opinion that we were very near the Land of Diu. Wherefore we Steered on our Course South-East bearing rather to South than East About eleven a Clock the Wind slackened much Thursday the last day of the year one thousand six hundred sixty five about three a Clock in the morning the Wind turned North-East and we still Steered our Course South-East About break of day we made to the Leeward South of us a great Ship with all Sails abroad even their Top-Gallant-Sails though it was no good weather for carrying such Sails which made us conclude it was the Masulipatan which put out from Congo the same day that we did in the morning and which we thought had been at Comoron In all appearance he took our Ship for an English man for the Captain of the Masulipatan was a Hollander and therefore he had put out his Top-Gallant-Sails to run for it and the truth is he made so good way that in an hours time he was got almost out of fight Half an hour after six we cast out the Lead and had thirty five Fathom water According to the Gunners Observation at noon we were in twenty degrees forty minutes Latitude and in four and twenty hours time we had made seven and twenty Leagues and a half We were then becalmed and half an hour after five we had thirty three Fathom water At eight of the Clock at night we had a small Gale from North-East which made us Steer away East South-East At midnight having sounded we found still thirty three Fathom water Friday New-years-day one thousand six hundred sixty and six at five a Clock in the morning we had twenty six Fathom water At break of day we made to the Leeward South South-East of us the same Ship which we saw the day before but somewhat nearer to us We also made Land which was known to be the Point of main Land Point of Diu. The Isle of Diu belonging to the Portuguese Alambater called the Point of Diu and immediately after we made the Island which bears the same name and is near the main Land of the Country of Cambaya This Island was anciently called I think Alambater lyes in the Latitude of twenty degrees forty minutes or one and twenty degrees the Portuguese are masters of it and have a Town there of the same name with the Island and a Fort which is thought to be impregnable being surrounded with two Ditches filled with the
water of the Sea and the first big enough to admit of Ships being besides defended by several stone-Bastions built very high upon a Rock which are mounted with many great Guns that play on all Hands so that it will be no easie task to take it unless being unprovided of Victuals an Enemy might attempt to starve it it hath no water but Cistern-water yet every House has its Cistern There is a good Port in Diu and heretofore all the Trade of the Indies was managed there and at Chaoul Chaoul belonging to the Portuguese which is another place belonging to the Portuguese but the Dutch so ordered matters that it was wholly removed to Surrat where it is at present About seven a Clock we found by observing the Land that we had made eight Leagues since the day before at noon for you must know that so soon as they make Land they heave the Log no more to know the Ships running because it is well enough known by the Land. At eight a Clock the Wind turned East and by North and we stood away South-East and by South About eleven a Clock it turned East South-East and we Steered away South That day we took no Observation because the Land interposed betwixt us and the Horizon nevertheless we lost sight of it immediately after noon and about six a Clock we tackt about and stood North-East and by East About seven a Clock we tackt again About eight a Clock we were becalmed Half an hour after nine we tackt again a third time and at ten a Clock having cast the Lead we had thirty eight Fathom water About eleven a Clock we had a good Wind at North North-East which made us bear away East Next day the second of January about five a Clock in the morning the Wind having veered about to North-East we Steered our Course East South East At break of day having furled our Main-Top-Sail we put out our Colours and waited for the Masulipatan which was close up with us he presently also shewed his Colours and within a quarter of an hour after sheered a long on head of us we hailed one another but could have no discourse together because he had stood too much on head and in a trice fell off from us This was the Hollanders fault for he was vexed that Master Manuel Mendez would not Sail with him though he had invited him and besides he was angry that we should have come up with him which was the reason he would have no Conversation with us though ever since the day before he might many times have born up near enough to have Discoursed with us when we were upon our tacks Half an hour after six we sounded and found six and twenty Fathom water About seven a Clock the Wind came in to East North-East and we Steered South-East About eight a Clock it blew much fresher from East and by North which convincing us that we were off of the mouth of the Bay of Cambaya The mouth of the Bay of Cambaya we steered away South-East and by South and about nine a Clock the Wind turning due East we stood away South South East We could have no Observation that day because of the motion of the Ship and must rest satisfied to know that from noon to noon we had made fifteen Leagues About five a Clock the Captain of the Musulipatan being in a better humour bore up with us and after the Selam and three or four Cups drunk to our good Voyage he asked us if we would go in Consort and we agreed to it About six a Clock the Wind ceased and left us becalmed About half an hour after ten we had a small Gale from North North East which made us bear away East At midnight the Wind veering in to North-East we steered away East South-East Then we heaved the Lead and found forty Fathom water Sunday morning the third of January we perceived several peices of Wood floating upon the water and some Snakes bigger than ones Thumb four or five Foot long and of a blackish colour and about noon we saw the Sea water look whitish these were so many signs that we were near the Indian shoar At noon the Gunner took an Observation but how right I cannot tell because of the Ships great Travel and he found that we were in the Latitude of nineteen degrees fifty four minutes but we could not tell how much we had run for in twenty four hours time we had not heaved the Log knowing that we were near Land we only cast the Lead and found thirty three Fathom water having cast it out again at three a Clock in the afternoon we had no more but thirty Fathom About five a Clock the Wind turned East North East and we stood away South-East Half an hour after five we had again thirty three Fathom water About eight a Clock the Wind was got into East and by North and we steered South-East and by South and had still thirty three Fathom water About half an hour after ten the Wind turned North and by East a brisk Gale and we bore away East and by North. At midnight we had twenty five Fathom water Monday the fourth of January half an hour after five in the morning we had the Wind at North-East and steered away East South-East but this hot Wind blew so fresh that we were obliged to furl our Main-Top-Sail and then we had twenty five Fathom water A North-East Wind blows commonly on that Coast all the Moon of December and the beginning of the Moon of January and after it comes the North-West Wind. About eleven a Clock the Wind flackning a little we unfurled our Main-Top-Sail again At noon the Gunner found that we were in the Latitude of nineteen degrees twenty four minutes and having cast the Lead we had two and twenty Fathom water and at five a Clock the same Half an hour after five the Wind turning North North-East we steered away East At nine a Clock we had only twenty Fathom water and at midnight but eighteen Tuesday the fifth of January after midnight the Wind was at North-East and by East but a very easie Gale and we bore away South-East and by East At five a Clock in the morning we had but four Fathom water At break of day we made the Land of Bassaim on Head which was very near us and we had made it the day before if it had not been hazy upon the Land. Bassaim Bassaim is a Town held by the Portuguese lying about the nineteenth degree and a half of North Latitude There are very high Mountains at this place At six a Clock we tacked and stood away North and by East At two a Clock in the afternoon we came to an Anchor in fourteen Fathom water because it began to Ebb and it is the custom for Ships that put into the Bay of Cambaya when they are near shoar to Tide it only up unless they have the
of Marble The Sepulchre of the Governour of the King of Guzerat which a King of Guzerat raised in Honour of his Governour whom he loved exceedingly but it is kept in bad repair It contains three Courts in one of which are several Pillars of Porphyrie that still remain of a greater number There are many Sepulchres of Princes there also An Hospital for sick Beasts Heretofore there was in Combaye an Hospital for Sick Beasts but it hath been neglected and is now fallen to ruin The Suburbs are almost as big as the Town and they make Indigo there Indigo at Cambaye The Sea is half a League distant from it though heretofore it came up to the Town and that has lessened the trade of the place because great Ships can come no nearer than three or four Leagues The Tides are so swift to the North of the Gulph that a Man on Horse-back at full speed cannot keep pace with the first Waves and this violence of the Sea is one reason also why great Ships go but seldom thither The Dutch come not there but about the end of September because along the Coast of India that looks to Arabia and especially in this Gulf of Cambaye it is so bad for Ships in the beginning of this Month by reason of a violent West-wind that blows then and which is always accompanied with thick Clouds which they call Elephants because of their shape that it is almost impossible to avoid being cast away Having satisfied my curiosity as to what is remarkable in Cambaye Ways to return to Surrat I took leave of my Friends and there being several ways to go from thence to Surrat I advised which I had best to take One may go by Sea in four and twenty hours Almedie in an Almadie which is a kind of Brigantine used by the Portuguese for Trading along that Coast But these Vessels go not commonly but in the night-time that they might not be discovered by the Malabars The Gulf of Cambaye dangerous In the day-time they keep in Harbours and in the evening the Master goes up to some height to discover if there be any Malabar Barks at Sea. The Almadies Sail so fast that the Malabars cannot come up with them but they endeavour to surprise them and when they discover any one in a Harbour Malabar Gorsars they skulk behind some Rock and fall upon it in its passage Many of these Almadies are lost in the Gulf of Cambaye where the Tides are troublesome and the Banks numerous and that 's one reason why Men venture not to go to Surrat this way by Sea unless extraordinary business press them There is another way still by Sea which is to pass through the bottom of the Gulf in a Chariot over against Cambaye at low Water and one must go three Leagues and a half in Water which then is betwixt two and three foot deep But I was told that the Waves beat so rudely sometimes against the Chariot that it required a great many hands to keep it from falling and that some mischance always happened which hindred me from undertaking that course though I knew very well that when I was past it I had no more but eight and twenty Leagues to Surrat And therefore I chose rather to go by Land what danger soever there might be of Robbers as I was assured there was When my Friends found I was resolved to go that way they advised me for my security to take a Tcheron with a Woman of his Caste or tribe Tcheron to wait upon me till I were out of danger but I refused to do it and found by the success that I had reason to do as I did These Tcherons are a Caste of Gentiles who are highly esteemed amongst the Idolaters They live for most part at Baroche Cambaye and Amedabad If one have any of these with him he thinks himself safe because the Man acquaints the Robbers they meet that the Traveller is under his guard and that if they come near him he will cut his own Throat and the Woman threatens them that she 'l cut off one of her Breasts with a Razor which she shews them and all the Heathen of those places look upon it to be a great misfortune to be the cause of the death of a Tcheran because ever after the guilty person is an eye-sore to the whole tribe he is turned out of it and for his whole life-time after upbraided with the death of that Gentil Heretofore some Tcherons both Men and Women have killed themselves upon such occasions but that has not been seen of a long time and at present they say they compound with the Robbers for a certain Sum which the Traveller gives them and that many times they divide it with them The Banians make use of these People and I was told that if I would employ them I might be served for two Roupies a day Nevertheless I would not do it as looking upon it to be too low a kind of Protection So then I ordered my Coach-man to drive me the same way I came and to return to Souzentra that I might go to Surrat by the ordinary way though the compass he fetched made my Journey longer by seven Leagues and a half For all the caution I could use my men lost their way beyond Petnad and we found our selves at the Village of Bilpar the inhabitants wherof who are called Gratiates Gratiates are for the most part all Robbers I met with one of them towards a little Town named Selly he was a fellow in very bad cloaths carrying a Sword upon his Shoulder he called to the Coach-man to stop and a Boy about Nine or Ten years old that was with him ran before the Oxen My Men presently offered them a Pecha which is worth about ten French Deniers and prayed the little Boy to be gone but he would not till the Coach-man growing more obstinate obliged the Man to accept of the Pecha These Blades go sometimes in whole troops and one of them being satisfied others come after upon the same Road who must also be contented though they seldom use violence for fear of offending their Raja I wondered how that Gratiate being alone durst venture to set upon so many but the Coach-man told me that if the least injury had been offered to him he would have given the alarm by knocking with his Fingers upon his Mouth and that presently he would have been assisted by his Neighbours In the mean time this small rancounter convinced me that there was not so great danger upon the Roads as some would have made me believe We found our way again shortly after We then crossed the River of Mahy Mahy a River The Raja of the Gratiates makes good Robberies and coming out of it I gave half a Roupie to the same Gratiates whom I payed as I went to Amedabad The role belongs to the Raja of the Country who
with Tiles made half round and half an Inch thick but ill burnt so that they look still white when they are used and do not last and it is for that reason that the Bricklayers lay them double and make them to keep whole Canes which they call Bambous serve for Laths to fasten the Tiles to Bambous and the Carpenters work which supports all this is only made of pieces of round Timber Such Houses as these are for the Rich but those the meaner sort of People live in are made of Canes and covered with the branches of Palm-trees The time to Build in Now it is better building in the Indies in the time of Rain than in fair weather because the heat is so great and the force of the Sun so violent when the Heavens are clear that every thing dries before it be consolidate and cracks and chinks in a trice whereas Rain tempers that heat and hindering the Operation of the Sun the Mason-work has time to dry When it rains the Work-men have no more to do but to cover their Work with Wax-cloath but in dry weather there is no remedy all that can be done is to lay wet Tiles upon the Work as fast as they have made an end of it but they dry so soon The Streets of Surrat that they give but little help The Streets of Surrat are large and even but they are not paved and there is no considerable publick Building within the Precinct of the Town The Meat at Surrat The Christians and Mahometans there eat commonly Cow-beef not only because it is better than the Flesh of Oxen but also because the Oxen are employed in Plowing the Land and carrying all Loads The Mutton that is eaten there is pretty good but besides that they have Pullets Chickens Pidgeons Pigs and all sorts of wild Fowl. They make use of the Oyl of Cnicus silvestris Oyles at Surrat or wild Saffron with their Food it is the best in the Indies and that of Sesamum which is common also is not so good Grapes at Surrat They eat Graps in Surrat from the beginning of February to the end of April but they have no very good taste Some think that the reason of that is because they suffer them not to ripen enough Nevertheless the Dutch who let them hang on the Vine as long as they can make a Wine of them which is so eager that it cannot be drunk without Sugar The white Grapes are big and fair to the Eye and they are brought to Surrat from a little Town called Naapoura Naapoura a Town in the Province of Balagate and four days Journey from Surrat The strong-Strong-water of this Country is no better than the Wine that which is commonly drunk is made of Jagre or black Sugar put into Water with the bark of the tree Baboul to give it some force and then all are Distilled together They make a Strong-water also of Tary which they Distil But these Strong-waters are nothing so good as our Brandy no more than those they draw from Rice Vinegar at Surrat Sugar and Dates The Vinegar they use is also made of Jagre infused in Water There are some that put Spoilt-raisins in it when they have any but to make it better they mingle Tary with it and set it for several days in the Sun. CHAP. VIII Of Tary TAry is a liquor that they drink with pleasure in the Indies Tary It is drawn from two sorts of Palm-trees to wit from that which they call Cadgiour and from that which bears the Coco the best is got from the Cadgiour Cadgiour They who draw it gird their Loyns with a thick Leather-girdle wherewith they embrace the trunk of the Tree that they may climb up without a Ladder and when they are come to that part of the Tree from which they would draw the Tary they make an incision one Inch deep and three Inches wide with a pretty heavy Iron-Chizel so that the hole enters in to the pith of the Cadgiour which is white At the same time they fasten an earthen Pitcher half a Foot below the hole and this Pot having the back part a little raised receives the Liquor which continually drops into it whil'st they cover it with Briars or Palm branches least the birds should come and drink it Then they come down and climb not up the Tree again till they perceive that the Pitcher is full and then they empty the Tary into another Pot fastened to their girdle That kind of Palm-tree bears no Dates when they draw Tary from it but when they draw none it yields wild Dates They take another course in drawing that Liquor from the Coco-tree The Coco-tree They make no hole but only cut the lower branches to a Foot length They fasten Pots to the end of them and the Tary Distils into the Vessels Seeing the Operation I have been speaking of is but once a year performed on these Palm-trees they whose Trade it is to fell Tary have a prodigious number of these Trees and there are a great many Merchants that Farm them The best Tary is drawn in the Night-time and they who would use it with pleasure ought to drink of that because not being heated by the Sun it is of an acide sweetness which leaves in the Mouth the flavour of a Chestnut which is very agreable That which is drawn in the day-time is eager and most commonly made Vinegar of because it easily corrupts and decays That kind of Palm or Coco-tree is fit for many other uses Coco for of its trunk they make Masts and Anchors nay and the hulks of Ships also and of its bark Sails and Cables The Fruit that springs from its feathered branches is as big as an ordinary Melon and contains a very wholesome Juice which hath the colour and taste of Whitewine The Dutch have a great many of these Coco-trees in Batavia which turn to great profit to them The Revenue alone of those which belong to the Company near the Town with the imposition on every Stand of those who sell any thing in the Market-place is sufficient to pay their Garison But they are so rigorous in exacting it that if any one leave his Stand to take a minutes refreshment in the Rain or for any other necessary occasion though he immediately come back yet must he pay a second time if he will challenge the same Stand. At Surrat are sold all sorts of Stuffs and Cotton-cloaths that are made in the Indies all the Commodities of Europe nay and of China also Commodities of Surrat as Purceline Cabinets and Coffers adorned with Torqueises Agats Cornelians Ivory and other sorts of embellishments There are Diamonds Rubies Pearls and all the other pretious Stones which are found in the East to be sold there also Musk Amber Myrrh Incense Manna Sal-Armoniac Quick-Silver Lac Indigo the Root Roenas for dying Red and all sorts of Spices
had carried with her a great deal of Money Jewels and rich Stuffs to make Presents at Mecha Medina Grand Cheik and other places resolving to be very magnificent In fine Hugo having sufficiently tortured the Master Carpenter and the Carpenters Son whom he threatned to kill in his Fathers presence made them bring out what was in the Sea and seized it as he did the rest of the Cargoe This Action had made so much noise in the Indies that Hugo who was there taken for a French-man was abominated and by consequenee all French-men for his sake The Governour talked high of that Corsar to Father Ambrose who had much adoe to perswade him that he was not a French-man because he came with French Colours and for certain had a great many Frenchmen on Board However after much Discourse he believed him but for all that excused not the French from the Action wherein they had assisted him and still maintained that nothing but a design of Robbing had brought them into that Countrey The Father denied that it was their design but that they only came with Lambert Hugo to revenge an affront done to some French in Aden a Town of Arabia the Happy Aden lying in the eleventh Degree of Latitude and thereupon he told him what was done in that Town to the French some years before How that a Pinnace of Monsieur de la Meilleraye being obliged in a storm to separate from her Man of War and to put into Aden The Sunnis by force and unparalell'd impietie had caused all those that came ashore to be Circumcised though at first they received them well and promised to treat them as Friends That notwithstanding that the King of France as well as the Indians had disapproved the Action of the Corsar and French who were on Board of him because they had put his Subjects into bad Reputation by the Artifice of the Enemies of France but that he was resolved to dispell that bad Reputation by settling a Company to trade to the Indies with express Orders to exercise no Acts of Hostility there The French justified by Father Ambrose The Governour being satisfied with the Answer of Father Ambrose prayed him to write down in the Persian Language all that he had told him and so soon as he had done so he sent it to Court. The Great Mogul having had it read to him in the Divan was fully satisfied therewith as well as his Ministers of State and then all desired the coming of the French Ships The truth is that Governour shewed extrordinary kindness to the Sieurs de la Boullaye and Beber Envoys from the French Company the Companies Envoys and told them that on the Testimony of Father Ambrose he would do them all the service he could The English President an old Friend of that Fathers shewed them also all the Honour he could having sent his Coach and Servants to receive them and he assured the Father that they might command any thing he had Thus the Capucin by the Credit that he had acquired in the Indies dispersed the bad reports which the Enemies of France had raised against the French. CHAP. XII Of the Marriage of the Governour of the Town 's Daughter The marriage of a great Lord at Surrat WHil'st I was at Surrat the Governour of the Town married his Daughter to the Son of an Omra who came thither for that end That young Lord made his Trumpets Tymbals and Drums play publickly during the space of twelve or fourteen days to entertain the People and publish his Marriage upon a Wednesday which was appointed for the Ceremony of the Wedding The Ceremonies of the Wedding he made the usual Cavalcade about eight of the Clock at Night first marched his Standards which were followed by several hundreds of Men carrying Torches and these Torches were made of Bambous or Canes at the end whereof there was an Iron Candlestick containing Rolls of oyled Cloath made like Sausages Amongst these Torch-lights there were two hundred Men and Women little Boys and little Girls who had each of them upon their Head a little Hurdle of Ozier-Twigs The Cavalcade of the Wedding on which were five little Earthen Cruces that served for Candlesticks to so many Wax-Candles and all these People were accompanied with a great many others some carrying in Baskets Rolls of Cloath and Oyl to supply the Flamboys and others Candles The Trumpets came after the Flamboy-carriers and these were followed by publick Dancing-women sitting in two Machins made like Bedstids without Posts in the manner of Palanquins which several Men carried on their Shoulders They sung and play'd on their Cymbals intermingled with Plates and flat thin pieces of Copper which they struck one against another and made a very clear sound but unpleasant if compared with the sound of our Instruments Next came six pretty handsome led Horses with Cloath-Saddles wrought with Gold-thread The Bridegroom having his Face covered with a Gold-Fringe which hung down from a kind of Mitre that he wore on his Head followed on Horse-back and after came twelve Horse-men who had behind them two great Elephants and two Camels which carried each two Men playing on Tymbals and besides these Men each Elephant had his Guide sitting upon his Neck This Cavalcade having for the space of two hours marched through the Town passed at length before the Governours House where they continued as they had done all along the Streets where the Cavalcade went to throw Fire-works for some time and then the Bridegroom retired Sometime after Bonefires Bonefires prepared on the River-side before the Governours House were kindled and on the Water before the Castle there were six Barks full of Lamps burning in tires about half an hour after ten these Barks drew near the House the better to light the River And at the same time on the side of Renelle Renelle a Town there were Men that put Candles upon the Water which floating gently without going out were by an Ebbing-Tide carried towards the Sea. Renelle is an old Town about a quarter of a League distant from Surrat It stands on the other side of the Tapty and though it daily fall into ruin yet the Dutch have a very good Magazin there There were five little artificial Towers upon the Water-side full of Fire-lances and Squibs which were set on fire one after another but seeing the Indian Squibs make no noise no more than their Fire-lances all they did was to turn violently about and dart a great many streaks of Fire into the Air some streight up like Water-works and others obliquely representing the branches of a Tree of Fire They put fire next to a Machine which seemed to be a blew Tree when it was on fire because there was a great deal of Brimstone in the Fire-work After that upon a long Bar of Iron fixed in the ground they placed a great many artificial Wheels which play'd one after
richer Their other offensive Arms are the Bow and Arrow the Javelin or Zagaye and sometimes the Pistol The Foot carry a Musket or a Pike twelve Foot long They have Cannon also in their Towns The Moguls Cannon good for nothing but since they melt the Metal in diverse Furnaces so that some of it must needs be better melted than others when they mingle all together their Cannon commonly is good for nothing Defensive Arms. The Moguls Buckler The defensive Arms of the Indians are a round Buckler about two foot in diametre It is made of Buff varnished over with Black and hath a great many Nails the heads whereof are above an inch over with it they defend themselves against Arrows and Swords Coat of Mail. The Moguls Vambrace They have likewise the Coat of Mail the Cuirats the Head-piece and a Vambrace fastened to the Sword this Vambrace is is a piece of Iron covering the Handle almost round and growing broader as it reaches from the Guard of the Sword to the upper part of the Pummel and sometimes higher It is four or five inches in diametre at that place and is lined with Velvet or some such like thing in the inside that it may not hurt the Hand So that by means of that Engine both hand and handle are wholly covered from the Enemies blows CHAP. XXIV Of the Beasts at Dehly Beasts at Dehly AT Dehly are all sorts of Beasts that are known The King hath many and private Men who are Rich have some also They have Hawks there of all kinds Elks. Rhinoceros Buffles all kinds of Camels Dromedaries Mules Asses and Elephants They have also Elks and Rhinoceroses which are as big as the largest Oxen. The ordinary Oxen there are less than ours Buffles they have also and those of Bengala are the dearest because they are very stout and are not at all afraid of Lions Dogs of Maurenahar Nor do they want Dogs of all sorts but those which are brought from Maurenahar or Transoxiane are most esteemed for Hunting though they be small However the Indian Dogs are better for the Hare They have also Stags Lions and Leopards Horses There is abundance of all sorts of Horses there Besides the Country breed which the Moguls make use of and which are very good Horses they have others also from the Country of the Ulbecks Arabia and Persia those of Arabia being most esteemed and the loveliest of all are constantly reserved for the King. The way of dressing and feeding the Horses They have neither Oats nor Barley given them in the Indies so that Foreign Horses when they are brought thither can hardly feed The way they treat them is thus Every Horse has a Groom he curries and dresses him an hour before day and so soon as it is day makes him drink at seven of the Clock in the Morning he gives him five or six balls of a composition called Donna made of three Pounds of Flower the weight of five Pechas of Butter and of four Pechas of Jagre these Balls are at first forced down his Throat and so by degrees he is accustomed to that way of feeding which in some Months after he grows very fond of An hour after the Groom gives the Horse Grass and continues to do so at certain times every hour of the day after and about four of the Clock after noon he gives him three Pound of dried Pease bruised he mingles Water with them and sometimes a little Sugar according to the disposition the Horse is in Litter of dry Horse-dung and when Night is drawing on he carefully prepares his Horses litter which is of dry Dung laid very thick which he is very careful to provide For that end he gathers all that his Horse hath made and when that is not sufficient he buys from others who are not so much concerned for the convenience of their Horses Flying tassels of white Hair taken out of the tails of some Oxen. At Dehly as elsewhere they take care to adorn their Horses The great Lords have Saddles and Housses Embroadered and set sometimes with Pretious Stones proportionably to the charge they intend to be at But the finest Ornament though of less cost is made of six large flying tassels of long white Hair taken out of the Tails of wild Oxen that are to be found in some places of the Indies Four of these large tassels fastened before and behind to the Saddle hang down to the ground and the other two are upon the Horses head so that when the Rider spurs on his Horse to a full speed or if there be any wind these tassels flying in the Air seem to be so many wings to the Horse and yield a most pleasant prospect There are several sorts of Elephants at Dehly Elephants as well as in the rest of the Indies but those of Ceilan are preferred before all others because they are the stoutest though they be the least and the Indians say that all other Elephants stand in awe of them They go commonly in Troops Elephants Robbers on the High-ways and then they offer violence to no body but when they straggle from the rest they are dangerous There are always some of them that have the cunning and inclination to do mischief and in the Country these are called Robbers on the High-ways because if they meet a Man alone they 'll kill and eat him Strong Elephants can carry forty Mans An Elephants Load at fourscore Pound weight the Man. Those of the Country of Golconda Siam Cochin and Sumatra are indeed less esteemed than the Elephants of Ceilan The choice of Elephants but they are much stronger and surer footed in the Mountains and that is the reason why the great Men when they are to Travel provide themselves of those rather than of the Elephants of Ceilan However it may be said in general that Elephants of what Country or kind soever they be are the surest footed of all Beasts of Carriage because it is very rare to see them make a trip But seeing it is chargeable to feed them The food that is given to an Elephant and that besides the Flesh they give them to eat and the strong-Strong-waters they drink it costs at least half a Pistol a day for the Paste of Flower Sugar and Butter that must be given to a single one there are but few that keep them Nay the great Lords themselves entertain no great number of them and the Great Mogul has not above five hundred for the use of his houshold in carrying the Women in their Mickdembers with grates which are a sort of Cages and the Baggage Mickdembers and I have been assured that he hath not above two hundred for the Wars of which some are employed in carrying small Field-pieces upon their Carriages When an Elephant is in his ordinary disposition Elephants docile his Governour can make him do what he pleases
Fire in their House for fear some Flie may burn it self therein when they have got Charity enough they return to the Convent and there mingle all the Rice Lentils Milk Cheese and other Provisions they have got together Then an Officer distributes all equally among the Vartias who eat their Portions severally cold or hot as it is given them and drink nothing but water They make their meal about noon which serves them for the whole day The Vartias eat but once a day let hunger or thirst press them never so much they must wait till the same hour next day before they either eat or drink The rest of the day they employ in Prayers and reading of Books The Vartias Dormitory and when the Sun sets they go to sleep and never light a Candle They all lie in the same Chamber and have no other Bed but the Ground They cannot of themselves leave the orders after they have once taken the Vows yet if they commit any fault contrary to their Vows and especially against that of Chastity they are expelled not only the order but also their tribe The General Provincials The Officers of the Vartias and all the Officers change their Convent every four Months their Office is for Life and when any of them dies he Names to the Religous him whom he thinks fittest to succeed and they follow his choice These Vartias have above ten thousand Monasteries in the Indies and some of them are more Austere than others Nay their are some who think it enough to worship God in Spirit and these have no Idols and will have no Pagod near them Gentile Nuns There are also Religious Nuns in some places who live very exemplarily CHAP. XXXVII Of the Provinces of Ayoud or Haoud Varad or Varal The Province of Ayoud THe two Provinces of Ayoud and Varal are so little frequented by the Moguls that they from whom I asked an account of them could give me none though they were pretty well acquainted with the rest of Mogulistan and therefore I cannot say much of them in particular The Province of Ayoud as far as I could learn contains the most Northern Countries that belong to the Mogul The Province of Varal as Caucares Bankich Nagarcut Siba and others And that of Varal consists of those which are most North-East ward to wit Gor Pitan Canduana and some others These two Provinces being every where almost watered with the Rivers which run into the Ganges are very fertile notwithstanding the Mountains that are in them The yearly Revenue of Ayoud and Varal which makes them exceeding Rich. The Province of Ayoud yields the Great Mogul above ten Millions and that of Varal more than seven and twenty a year The great gains that these two Provinces and that which is next them make from the Strangers of the North and East are the cause of such considerable Revenues as the Mogul draws out of them and they are so much the greater that these Countries being remote from the Sea no Europeans share with them therein Rajas not Subjected The Pagod of Nagarcut The Idol Matta The Pagod of Calamac There are many Rajas in both who for the most part own not the Authority of the Great Mogul There are two Pagods of great reputation in Ayoud the one at Nagarcut and the other at Calamac but that of Nagarcut is far more famous than the other because of the Idol Matta to which it is Dedicated and they say that there are some Gentiles that come not out of that Pagod without Sacrificing part of their Body The Devotion which the Gentiles make shew of at the Pagod of Calamac proceeds from this that they look upon it as a great Miracle that the Water of the Town which is very cold springs out of a Rock that continually belches out Flames That Rock of Calamac is of the Mountain of Balaguate and the Bramens who Govern the Pagod make great profit of it CHAP. XXXVIII Of the Province of Becar and of the Castes or Tribes of the Indies THe Province of Becar which comprehends the Countries of Douab The Province of Becar Douah Jesuat Udesse Jesuat and Udesse is also watered by the Rivers that discharge themselves into the Ganges It lies not only to the East of Dehly but is also the most Eastern Province of Mogolistan by the Countrey of Udesse which shuts it in with its Mountains And that great Province being rich by reason of the fertility thereof yields to the Great Mogul yearly above fourteen Millions The Towns of Becar Sambal Menapour Rageapour Jehanac Becaner Towns. It contains several good Towns but the best are Sambal Menapour Rageapour Jehanac and above all Becaner which at present is the Capital standing to the West of the Ganges In this Province of Becar and in the two former there are of all the Castes and Tribes of the Indians which are reckoned in all to be fourscore and four in number Though all of them profess the same Religion Castes or Tribes of Gentiles 84. yet the Ceremonies of every one of these Castes nay and of the private Persons of each Caste are so different that they make an infinite number of Sects The People of every one of these Tribes follow a Trade and none of their Off-spring can quit it without being reckoned infamous in his Tribe For Example Bramens The Bramens who make the first Tribe profess Doctrine and so do their Children without ever forsaking that Profession The second is the Tribe of the Catry or Raspoutes Catry or Raspoutes who make profession of Arms Their Children profess the same or ought to do it because they all pretend to be descended of Princes of the Gentiles Not but some of them are Merchants nay and Weavers in the Provinces of Multan Lahors and Sinde but they are despised in the Tribe and pass for base Fellows void of honour The third is the Tribe of the Soudr or Courmy Soudr or Courmy and these are the Labourers of the Ground some of them carry Arms and since that is an honourable Trade and of a superiour Caste it do's not reflect upon them but because they love not to serve on Horse-back they serve commonly for the Garisons of Places and this Caste or Tribe is the greatest of all The fourth is the Tribe of the Ouens or Banians Banians and they are all Merchants Bankers or Brokers and the expertest People in the World for making Money of any thing Anciently there were no more Tribes but these four but in succession of time all those who applied themselves to the same Profession composed a Tribe or Caste and that 's the reason they are so numerous Colis The Colis or Cotton-dressers have made a distinct Caste Tcherons The Tcherons or Travellers Guards have theirs The Palanquin-bearers have also made one and they are called Covillis Bow-makers and Fletchers have also made another
is full of pleasant Islands covered with lovely Indian Trees and for five days Sailing on that River Passengers are delighted with the beauty of them In these Isles and some other places of Bengala there is a kind of bird called Meina Meina a bird which is much esteemed it is of the colour of a Black-bird and almost as big as a Raven having just such another Beak but that it is yellow and red on each side of the neck it hath a yellow streak which covers the whole Cheek till below the eye and its Feet are yellow they teach it to speak like a Starling and it hath the tone and voice much like but besides its ordinary Voice it hath a strong deep Tone which seems to come from a distance it imitates the neighing of a Horse exactly and feeds on dryed Pease which it breaks I have seen some of them upon the Road from Masulipatan to Bagnagar The Water of the Ganges The Heathen Indians esteem the water of the Ganges to be sacred they have Pagods near it which are the fairest of all the Indies and it is in that Countrey especially where Idolatry is triumphant Pagods of Jaganat The two chief Pagods are that of Jaganat which is at one of the mouths of the Ganges and the other of the Town of Benarous which is also upon the Ganges Pagod of Banarous Nothing can be more magnificent than these Pagods by reason of the quantity of Gold and many Jewels wherewith they are adorned Festivals are kept there for many days together and millions of People repair thither from the other Countreys of the Indies they carry their Idols in triumph and act all sorts of Superstitions they are entertained by the Bramens who are numerous there and who therein find their Profit The Great Mogul drinks commonly of the Water of the Ganges The Great Mogul drinks of the Water of the Ganges because it is much lighter than other Waters and yet I have met with those who affirm that it causes Fluxes and that the Europeans who are forced to drink it boil it first This River having received an infinite number of Brooks and Rivers from the North East and West discharges it self by several mouths into the Gulf of Bengala at the height of three and twenty degrees The Gulf of Bengala or thereabouts and that Gulf reaches from the eighth degree of Latitude to the two and twentieth it being eight hundred Leagues over On the sides thereof to the East and West The Coasts of the Gulf of Bengala there are many Towns belonging to several Sovereigns who permit the Traffick of other Nations because of the profit they get thereby My Indian reckons the yearly Revenue of the Mogul in this Province The Moguls Revenue from Bengala to amount to Ten millions but I learnt from other hands that it hardly makes Nine though it be far richer than other Provinces that yield him more The reason given for that is that it lies in the extremity of his Empire and is Inhabited by a capricious sort of People who must be gently used because of the Neighbourhood of Kings that are enemies who might debauch them if they were vexed The Mogul sends the Traitors thither Traitors whom he hath condemned to perpetual Imprisonment and the Castle where they are kept is strictly guarded CHAP. XLI Of the Province of Malva MAlva is to the West of Bengala and Halabas The Province of Malva Raja-Ranas Gualear Mando Towns. Cha-Selim King of Dehly therein are comprehended the Countries of Raja-Ranas Gualear and Chitor The Town of Mando is one of the fairest Ornaments of the Province The Mahometans took it from the Indians above Four hundred years before the Moguls came there and when they attacked it it was in the possession of Cha-Selim King of Dehly The first of the Moguls that took it was King Humayon who lost it again but he afterwards made himself Master of it This Town is of a moderate bigness and hath several Gates which are esteemed for their structure and height Most of the Houses are of Stone and it hath lovely Mosques whereof the chief is much beautified a Palace that is not far from that Mosque and which depends upon it serves as a Mausoleum to four Kings who are interred in it and have each of them a Monument and close by there is a Building in form of a Tower with Portico's and several Pillars Though this Town lying at the foot of a Hill be naturally strong by its Situation it is nevertheless fortified with Walls and Towers and has a Castle on the top of the Hill which is steep The Castle of Mando and encompassed with Walls six or seven Leagues in circuit It is a very neat Town at present but nothing to what it hath been heretofore It appears by the Ruins all about The Ruins of Mando shew that it hath been magnificent that it hath been much greater than it is that it hath had two fair Temples and many stately Palaces and the sixteen large Tanquies or Reservatories which are to be seen still for keeping of Water shew that in former times it hath been a place of great consequence This Province is very fertile and produces all that grows in the other places of the Indies Ratispor the Capital of Malva Traitors condemned to die Ratispor is the Capital of the Province and at present the Town of greatest Traffick it stands also upon a Mountain and thither the Grand Signior sends the Traitors whom he hath condemned to die For a certain time they are kept Prisoners and always one or other in the room with them and the day they are to die they make them drink a great quantity of Milk and throw them down from the top of the Castle upon the declining side of the Hill which is full of sharp pointed craggy Stones that tear the Bodies of the wretches before they can reach the bottom of the Precipice Chitor Raja-Ranas of the Race of Porus. The Town of Chitor is very famous also but it is almost ruined it long belonged to Raja-Ranas who deduced his Genealogie from King Porus though that Raja had considerable Territories and strong by reason of the Mountains that almost encompassed them yet could he not avoid the misfortune of other Princes but fell as they did under the power of the Moguls in the Reign of King Echar At present there are but few Inhabitants in Chitor the Walls of it are low and of a great many stately publick Buildings An hundred Temples in Chitor Antique Statues nothing remains but the ruins The hundred Temples or Pagods are still to be distinguished and many antick Statutes to be seen it hath a Fort where Lords of chief Quality are Imprisoned for small faults In short The remains of many Ancient Fabricks that are to be seen there make it apparent that it hath been a very great Town The
with Colours as they do their Pagods They drink not commonly the Tapty Water at Brampour because it is very brackish but they are supplied from a large square Bason that is in the Meidan the Water whereof comes from a distant Spring and before it fills that Bason passes by the Carvansera for Strangers which it furnishes it then runs under ground to the great Bason in the place which many times is empty at night because of the great quantity of Water which they fetch thence all day long but it fills again in the night-time and so they seldom have any want There are a great many Houses also on the other side of the River and they may be said to be a second Town The great Trade of the Province is in Cotton-cloath and there is as much Traffick at Brampour as in any place of the Indies Painted Cloaths are sold there as every where else but the white are particularly esteeemed because of the lovely mixture of Gold and Silver that is in them whereof the rich make Veils White Cloaths mingled with Gold and Silver at Brampour Indigo at Brampour Scarfs Handkerchiefs and Coverings but the white Cloaths so Adorned are dear In short I do not think that any Countrey of Indostan abounds so much in Cotton as this do's which bears also plenty of Rice and Indigo The same Trade is driven at Orixa Beâ—ar and other Towns of this Province CHAP. XLIII Of the Province of Balagate The Province of Balagate The yearly Revenue of Balagate BAlagate is one of the Great Moguls rich Provinces for it yields him Five and twenty Millions a year it lies to the South of Candich To go from Surrat to Aurangeabad which is the Capital Town of Balagate one must from Daman-Gate hold streight East and soon after turning towards the South-East cross some Countries of the Provinces of Benganala and Telenga Part of Balagate I saw as I went to Golconda for this Journey I hired two Chariots one for my self and another for my Man and Baggage I payed about Seventeen Crowns a month for each Chariot and I entertained two Pions in my Service The Pay of Pions to whom I gave two Crowns a piece by the month and two pence half penny a day for Board-wages as the custom is these Men are always by the sides of their Masters Chariot or Waggon that they may hold it up in bad way if it heel'd The Pions do all things except Kitchin-work when one comes to any place to bait at they 'll do any thing out of the Kitchin but they will not venture to dress Meat which those of their Sect would not eat In short They are in all things else very serviceable they 'll buy what is necessary look after their Masters things exactly The Pions Arms. and stand sentinel all night long they are Armed with Sword and Dagger and have besides the Bow Musket or Lance and are always ready to fight against all sorts of Enemies There are of them both Moors and Gentiles of the Tribe of the Raspoutes The Heathen Pions are better than the Moors I took Raspoutes because I knew they served better than the Moors who are proud and will not be complained of whatsoever foppery or cheat they may be guilty of I made this Journey in company of Monsieur Bazou a French Merchant a very civil and witty Man who had with him ten Waggons or Chariots and fourteen Pions for himself his Servants and Goods we were eight Franks in company and in all Five and forty Men. We parted from Surrat in the Evening and encamped near the Queens Garden which is without Daman-Gate so soon as we were got thither Journey from Surrat to Aurangeabad we sent to the Town for what Provisions we wanted for else we must have fared hard during our Journey The Gentiles who sell Provisions will neither furnish Travellers with Eggs nor Pullets and instead of ordinary Bread there is nothing to be got but ill baked Buns or Cakes so that one must not fail to make Provision of Bisket at Surrat Trees Wars Manguiers Mahova Quiesou Caboul Querzeheray second Vol. Merons wlld Cows The Countrey from Surrat to Anrangeabad is extreamly diversified there are in it a great many Wars Manguiers Mahova Quiesou Caboul and other sorts of Trees and I saw the Querzeheray there also which I have described in my Book of Persia There are vast numbers of Antelopes Hairs and Partridges here and there in that Countrey and towards the Mountains Merons or wild Cows most part of the Land is arable Ground and the Rice wherewith the Fields are covered is the best in all the Indies especially towards Naopoura Places of Camping on the Road from Surrat to Aurangeabad Barnoly a Bourg five Leagues from Surrat Balor a Village 4 Leag from Barnoly Biaraa Village 3 Leag and a half from Balor Charca a Village 2 Leag and a half from Biara Naopoura a Town 6 Leag from Charca Quanapour a Village 6 Leag from Naopoura Pipelnar a Town 6 Leag from Quanapour Tarabat a Village 4 Leag from Pipelnar Setana a Bourg 4 Leag and a half from Tarabat Omrana a Village 5 Leag and a half from Setana Enquitenqui 6 Leag from Omrana Deotcham a Town 6 Leag from Enquitenqui The Sour a Town 6 Leag from Deotcham Aurangeabad 8 Leag from the Sour where it has an odoriferous Taste which that of other Countries has not Cotton abounds there also and in many places they have Sugar-Canes with Mills to bruise the Canes and Furnaces to boyl the Sugar Now and then one meets with Hills that are hard to be crossed over but there are lovely Plains also watered with many Rivers and Brooks In this Road there are four Towns and four or five and thirty Bourgs and Villages pretty well Peopled Tchoguis or Guards of the High-ways are often to be met with here who ask Money of Travellers though it be not their due we gave to some and refused others but that signifies no great matter in the whole In most places Inhabited there are Pagods and every now and then we met with Waggons full of Gentiles who were coming to perform their Devotions in them The first Pagod I saw was by the side of a great War and before the Door of it there was an Ox of Stone which a Gentile who spake Persian told me was the Figure of the Ox An Ox that carried the God Ram. which served to carry their God Ram. We found besides many other Pagods like to that but we saw others which consisted of one single Stone about six Foot high on which the Figure of a Man is cut in relief There are also a great many Reservatories and Carvanseras upon the Road but we chose rather to Encamp than Lodg in them because of their nastiness As we were encamped near the Bourg Setana under Manguiers Setana a Burg. not far distant from a small
Wood four Inches high set square-ways with a Board upon each of them two Fingers breadth and upon these Boards four other Pins or little Stakes with as many Boards more making in all two Stories over the Bason supported with the great Stake or Pillar And that Girl getting upon the upper Story he ran with her through the place with the same swiftness as at other times she not appearing in the least afraid of falling though the Wind was high These People shew'd a hundred other tricks of Agility which I shall not describe that I may not be tedious only I must say that the finest I saw Acted were performed by Girls We gave them at parting three Roupies for which they gave us a thousand Blessings We sent for them at Night to our Camp where they diverted us again and gained two Roupies more Ila a Town Indour a Town From thence we went to the Towns of Ila and Dentapour and some days after we arrived at Indour which belongs to a Raja who owns the Mogul no more than he thinks fit He is maintained by the King of Golconda and in time of War he sides always with the strongest He would have had us pay two Roupies a Waggon but after much dispute we payed but one and passed on We came before a Village called Bisetpoury and being informed that near to that place on the top of a Hill there was a very fair Pagod we alighted and went on Foot to see it CHAP. XLVI Of Chitanagar THat Pagod is called Chitanagar It is an Oblong square Temple The Pogod of Chitanagar forty five Paces in length twenty eight in breadth and three Fathom high it is built of a Stone of the same kind as the Theban It hath a Basis five Foot high all round charged with Bends and Wreaths The fair Temple of Chitanagar The Architecture of the Temple of Chitanagar The contrivance of the Temple of Chitanagar and adorned with Roses and Notchings as finely cut as if they had been done in Europe It hath a lovely Frontispiece with its Architrave Cornish and Fronton and is Beautified with Pillars and lovely Arches with the Figures of Beasts in relief and some with Figures of Men. Then we viewed the inside The contrivance of that Temple is like that of Elora it hath a Body a Quire and a Chappel at the end I could perceive nothing in the Body and Quire but the four Walls though the Lustre of the Stones they are built of renders the prospect very agreeable The Floor is of the same Stone and in the middle of it there is a great Rose well cut This place like the other Pagods receives light only by the door On each side of the Wall of the Quire there is square hole a foot large A Place for Penance which slopes like a Port-hole for a Piece of Od'nance and in the middle of the thickness of it a long Iron skrew as big as ones Leg which enters Perpedicularly into the Wall like a Bar and I was informed that these Irons served to fasten Ropes to for supporting of those who performed voluntary Abstinence for seven days or longer In the middle of the Chappel at the end there is an Altar of the same Stone as the Walls are of it is cut into several Stories and Adorned all over with Indentings Roses and other Embellishments of Architecture and on each side below there are three Elephants Heads There hath been a Pedestal prepared of the same Stone the Altar is of to set the Idol of the Pagod upon but seeing the building was not finished the Idol hath not been set up When I came down I perceived at the foot of the Hill on the East side a building which I was not told of I went thither alone with my Pions A fair Building near Chitanagar but found nothing but the beginnings of a Palace the Walls whereof were of the same Stone as the Pagod The Threshold of each Door is of one piece of Stone a Fathom and a half long It is all Built of very great Stones and I measured one of them that was above four Fathom long Near to that Building there is a Reservatory as broad as the Seine at Paris A very great Reservatory but so long that from the highest place I went to I could not discover the length of it In that Reservatory there is another little Tanquie seven or eight Fathom square and Walled in This Water being below the House there is a large pair of Stairs to go down to it and about an hundred and fifty paces forward in the great Reservatory opposite to the House there is a square Divan or Quiocbque about eight or ten Fathom wide the Pavement whereof is raised about a foot above the Water That Divan is built and covered with the same Stone that the House is built of It stands upon sixteen Pillars a Fathom and a half high that 's to say each Front on four Seeing my Company kept on their March I spent but half an hour in viewing that Building which very well deserves many as well for examining the design of it the nature of the Stones their Cut Polishing and Bigness as for considering the Architecture The Architecture of Chitanagar of a very good contrivance Chita which is of a very good contrivance and though it cannot absolutely be said to be of any of our Orders yet it comes very near the Dorick The Temple and Palace are called Chitanagar that is to say the Lady Chita because the Pagod is Dedicated to Chita the Wife of Ram I learnt that both had been begun by a Rich Raspoute Encampings upon the Road from Aurangeabad to Calvar Tchequel-Cane Leag and a half from Aurangeabad Ambar a Town Rovilag-herd 6 Leag from Tchequel-Cane Dabolquera 5 Leag from Rovilag-herd Achti a Town 8 Leag from Dabolquera Manod 6 Leag from Achti Parboni a Town 5 Leag from Manod Pourna-nadi a River Lazana a Town 6 Leag from Parboni Nander a Town 5 Leag from Lazana Guenga Ganges a River Patoda a Town 5 Leag from Nander Condelvai 9 Leag from Patoda Mandgera a River Lila a Town Deutapour a Town Indour a Town 9 Leag from Condelvai Coulan a River Indelvai a Town 4 Leag from Indour Calvar 4 Leag from Indelvai who dying left the Temple and House imperfect After all I observed as well in the Ancient as Modern Buildings of the Indies that the Architectors make the Basis Body and Capital of their Pillars of one single piece We past next by the Town of Indelvai of which nothing is to be said in particular but that a great many Swords Daggers and Lances are made there which are vended all over the Indies and that the Iron is taken out of a Mine near the Town in the Mountain of Calagatch The Town at that time was almost void of Inhabitants for they were gone farther up into the Country because of the Brother
of Sivagy who made inrodes to the very Town We Encamped beyond Indelvai and next day being the six and twentieth of March having after four hours March passed over the pleasantest Hills in the World by reason of the different kinds of Trees that cover them we arrived at Calvar which is the last Village of the Moguls Countrey It is distant from Aurangeabad about fourscore and three Leagues which we Travelled in a fortnights time The rest of the Road to Golconda I shall describe when I treat of that Kingdom The way from Aurangeabad that I have been now speaking of is diversified by Hills and Plains All the Plains are good Ground some sow'd with Rice and the rest planted with Cotton-trees Tamarins Wars Cadjours Manguiers Quesous and others and all Watered with several Rivers which turn and wind every way and with Tanquies also out of which they draw the Water by Oxen And I saw one of these Reservatories at Dentapour which is a Musquet-shot over and seven or eight hundred Geometrical paces long We were incommoded during our whole Journey almost with Lightenings Whirle-winds Rains and Hail-stones some as big as a Pullets Egg Very large Hail-stones The Moguls Horse against Viziapour and when we were troubled with none of these we heard dull Thunderings that lasted whole Days and Nights We met every where Troops of Horse designed against Viziapour the King whereof refused to send the Great Mogul the Tribute which he used to pay to him To conclude with this Province it is to be observed that all the Rocks and Mountains I have mentioned are only dependances of that Mountain which is called Balagate The Mountain of Balagate which according to the Indian Geographers divides India into the two parts of North and South as that of Guate according to the same Geographers environs it almost on all hands CHAP. XLVII Of the Province of Telenga The Province of Telenga TElenga was heretofore the principal Province of Decan and reached as far as the Portuguese Lands towards Goa Viziapour being the Capital City thereof But since the Mogul became Master of the Northern places of this Countrey Calion and of the Towns of Beder and Calion it hath been divided betwixt him and the King of Decan who is only called King of Viziapour and it is reckoned amongst the Provinces of Indostan which obey the Great Mogul The borders of Telenga It is bordered on the East by the Kingdom of Golconda on Maslipatan side on the West by the Province of Baglana and Viziapour on the North by Balagate and on the South by Bisnagar The Capital City of this Province is at present Beder which belonged to Balagate when it had Kings and it hath sometime belonged to Decan Beder is a great Town Beder it is encompassed with Brick-Walls which have Battlements and at certain distances Towers they are mounted with great Cannon some whereof have the mouth three Foot wide Great Guns The Garison of Beder There is commonly in this place a Garison of Three thousand Men half Horse and half Foot with Seven hundred Gunners the Garison is kept in good order because of the importance of the place against Decam and that they are always afraid of a surprize The Governour lodges in a Castle without the Town it is a rich Government and he who commanded in it when I was there was Brother-in-law to King Chagean Auran Zebs Father but having since desired the Government of Brampour which is worth more he had it because in the last War that Governour had made an Army of the King of Viziapours raise the Siege from before Beder Some time after I met the new Governour upon the Road to Beder The Train of the Governour of Beder who was a Persian of a good aspect and pretty well stricken in years he was carried in a Palanquin amidst Five hundred Horse-men well mounted and cloathed before whom marched several Men on foot carrying blew Banners charged with flames of Gold and after them came seven Elephants The Governours Palanquin was followed with several others full of Women and covered with red Searge and there were two little Children in one that was open The Bambous of all these Palanquins were covered with Plates of Silver chamfered after them came many Chariots full of Women two of which were drawn by white Oxen almost six Foot high and last of all came the Waggons with the Baggage The Great Moguls Revenue in Telenga and several Camels guarded by Troopers This Province of Telenga is worth above Ten millions a Year to the Great Mogul No where are the Gentiles more Superstitious than here they have a a great many Pagods with Figures of Monsters that can excite nothing but Horror instead of Devotion unless in those who are deluded with the Religion These Idolaters use frequent Washings Men The washings of the Gentiles Women and Children go to the River as soon as they are out of Bed and the rich have Water brought them to wash in When Women lose their Husbands they are conducted thither by their Friends who comfort them and they who are brought to Bed use the same custom almost as soon as they are delivered of their Children and indeed there is no Countrey where Women are so easily brought to Bed when they come out of the Water a Bramen dawbs their Forehead with a Composition made of Saffron and the Powder of white Sawnders dissolved in Water then they return home where they eat a slight Breakfast and seeing they must never eat unless they be washed some return to the Tanquie or River about noon and others perform their Ablutions at home before they go to Dinner As they have a special care not to eat any thing but what is dressed by a Gentile of their Caste so they seldom eat any where but at home The feeding of the Gentiles and commonly they dress their Victuals themselves buying their Flower Rice and such other Provisions in the Shops of the Banians for they 'll not buy any where else These Banians as well as the Bramens and Courmis feed on Butter Pulse The Diet of some Castes Herbs Sugar and Fruit they eat neither Fish nor Flesh and drink nothing but Water wherein they put Coffee and Tea they use no Dishes for fear some body of another Religion or Tribe may have made use of the Dish out of which they might eat and to supply that they put their Victuals into large Leaves of Trees which they throw away when they are empty nay there are some of them who eat alone and will not suffer neither their Wives nor Children at Table with them Nevertheless I was informed The Bramens sometimes eat Hogs Flesh that in that Countrey one certain day of the year the Bramens eat Hogs Flesh but they do it privately for fear of Scandal because the Rules of their Sect enjoyn them so to do and I believe it