Volume 2 — PART. II.

CHAP. I.

How I departed from Aleppo to the famous city of Bir, and how I sailed from thence on the Euphrates to old Babylon.

After I had staid a good while in Aleppo, and had seen and understood the trade and merchandizes of the inhabitants, together with that of all the other nations, viz. Grecians, Armenians, Georgians, Arabians, Persians, and Indians, which come and go daily with their caravans, and very well observed and understood their manners and customs, and had also collected a fine parcel of foreign and undescribed plants; I resolved to go farther eastward into Mesopotamia, Assyria, Babylonia, &c. as the ancientest and most fruitful countries that ever were, where the ancientest people, and the most potent monarchs did inhabit. But these countries lying far off, and the way that leadeth thither, passing through vast desarts and wildernesses, and therefore the voyage being so much the more difficult and dangerous to attempt and accomplish; I first look’d out for a trusty companion, to take as my assistant, and met presently with an experienced Dutchman that had lived a great while in Aleppo, who granted my request (being as desirous to go this voyage as myself) to go along with me. We agreed presently, and began to consider which was our best way to take. But that we being strangers, might not be taken to be vagabonds or spies (they being very suspicious) from whence they might presently take occasion (as the Turks use to do) to lay great Avarias, or unjust taxes, upon us, which the Christians that deal to these parts have often to their great loss and damage experienced; we did consider, and found, that the trading here was very great, so that they did not only deal from hence into Armenia, Egypt and Constantinople, (for from thence come the caravans thro’ Natolia in about a months time) but also very much into Persia and India: Wherefore we thought best to profess ourselves Merchants, that so we might travel the more safely with other Merchants in order thereto, to buy some merchandizes that would sell in those places, and to carry them along with us. That we might put this in execution, my formerly mentioned friend Hans Ulrich Raft, from Ulm, took great pains to furnish me at my desire and request, with several fit commodities for those places upon account of my patron Mr Melchior Manlich, which I got pack’d up immediately to go with them to the famous city Bagdet, situated upon the Tygris, where is a great staple and deposition of merchandizes that are to go farther for Persia and India. But seeing that seldom any Merchants go from Aleppo farther into these countries, so that our habits are very rarely seen there; we cloathed ourselves as is usual, in the common Turkish habit (that every body might not presently look upon us as strangers); first, we had long blue Cabans, which are button’d before quite down, and cut out about the neck, not unlike to those of the Armenians; and white Drawers made of cotton that hung down to our ankles, and were drawn in and tied about our bodies, and also shirts after the same fashion and without collars. We also fitted ourselves with white turbants with a blue brim, such as Christians usually wear, and put on yellow shoes which were painted, before guarded with nails, and with horse-shoes behind. Besides this we put on a kind of a frock, made of a certain course stuff called Meska in their language, which is common among the Moors. They are generally made of goats and asses hair, pretty narrow, without sleeves and short, reaching only to our knees. But these stuffs being not all alike, the finest thereof (chiefly that which is striped white and black) is taken for cloaths; and the coarser for tents and portmantles, wherein they carry their provision through the desarts, and also keep their camels and mules meat, hanging it about their necks. This puts me in mind of the plain cloathing which the ancient inhabitants of these countries, chiefly the Israelites, when they mourned for their deceased relations, or when they repented of their committed iniquities, and turned from them, and prayed God to forgive them their accumulated transgressions, used to put on, as we read in the 37th chapter of Genesis, where Jacob lamented the death of his son Joseph; and in the book of the Prophet Jonas of the Ninevites, who believing the Prophet’s words, denouncing their destruction within forty days, and repenting of their sins, put on sackcloth and prayed to God for forgiveness. The like we read of the King and Prophet David, after he had numbred his people. Item, in the 10th chapter of St Luk and other places, that they put on sackcloth and did repent in ashes. It is therefore very probable that those were very like unto them that are still in use.

When we had thus accoutred ourselves for the voyage, and provided us with all necessaries, viz. cloths, merchandizes, provision of biskets and drink, and did stay only for some fellow-travellers, we were still doubtful whether it were more convenient for us to go by land with caravans, which go from hence and Damascus very strong to Bagdet, through great sands and desarts in fifty days, more or less, according as the weather proveth: Or, whether we should go by water, either upon the Tygris or the Euphrates, there being good opportunity to go in company with others. But it happening that we met with some Armenian Merchants servants that did live at Aleppo, who were also provided with goods, and had a mind to go into the same countries, we did readily embrace this opportunity, partly because they understood the Turkish and Arabian languages, which two are chiefly spoken in Syria, and partly because some of them had been four times already in the Indies; wherefore we put our goods to theirs, and loaded a great many camels together, to deliver them to us at Bir, to ship them there upon the Euphrates. And that we might pass every where in the Turkish dominions, we took a pass from the Bashaw and Cadi, and so we began our travels to Bir, distant three days journey, the 13th of August, Anno 1574. By the way we were so strange to one another, that in our new fashioned cloaths we did hardly know one another among them all. After we had the first day a rough road, and travelled through many desarts and uninhabited places, we reached at night a little village, where we encamped and pitched our tents. We put all our packs in a circle round about us, and without them our beasts (as it is usual in great caravans) to defend us from the assaults of the Moors in the night. A little after midnight we heard a great caravan of many camels and asses to go by, very near to us, which after it was passed, we broke also up and followed them; when the day-light appeared, we saw several plow’d fields more than the day before, and also here and there in some pleasant places many tents of the Arabians, which were fixed together as it were in a camp; ranged very orderly in streets. After we had that morning travelled very hard, so that our beasts under their heavy loads began to be tired in the great heat, we rested behind a little chappel to refresh ourselves and to feed our camels; in the mean time some poor women came down from the high-lands to us to gather the dung of our camels to burn it instead of wood, whereof they were in great want. When the great heat was over, and we had staid there for two hours, we went on again, and came before it was night to a little village lying in a valley, near which upon the height, the Arabians had formed a great camp; we went up to them, and pitched our tents in the plain by them, and kept as abovesaid a good watch. They came quickly to us, spoke kindly to us, and their wives brought us water and good milk; but after we saw that they were very naked and hungry, and in their shape like to our Gypsies, we did not trust them at all, but kept a very good watch all that night. These are vagabond people, that are used to idleness from their infancy, and will rather endure hunger, heat and cold, than get any thing by their handy-work, or till the fields, or plant garden-herbs for their maintenance, although they might do it in several fruitful places in their own possession. So you find here a great number of them by the sides of these sandy desarts, that have no where any habitation, but live in their tents like as the beasts do in caves, and go like unto the Gypsies from place to place, until they light on one, where they may live a great while with their cattle, and when all is eat up, want driveth them from thence to look out for another.

On the 15th early before break of day, we were up in the cool of the day, with an intention to reach to Bir that night, but our camels were grown so faint by reason of the excessive heat and the great burthens, that they fell down several times, wherefore we looked out for a convenient place where we might stay all night, and found at last a village near which we pitched our tents, eat some gourds and biskets, and so went to rest.

Two hours before break of the day, we began our journey again, and came early in the morning to the great river called Euphrates, we went over with our goods and chattel, and fixed our tents before the town near the river on the other side, to stay for a barge that was to come from Armenia, to go from thence to Babylon, which is now called Felugo. By the way I saw no herbs of any worth, except the Galega, in our language called goats-rue, which grew plentifully on the dry heaths; and near to the road, the first sort of Apocynum, by us called dogs-bane, very like unto the great Celandine in it’s leaves and pods: I also saw whole acres of Turkish corn called Sesamo, and others sown all with cotton, and also a kind of Esula, very full of milk, wherewith the fallow grounds were so filled up, that at a distance, you would have taken it for good corn. Seeing that the Scammony that uses to be brought to Aleppo, is wont sometime to be very sharp, therefore it may very well be, that they adulterate it with this Esula. Near the town grew abundance of Acacia, called Schack and Schamuck, as is above-mentioned, which are here in stem and fruit, greater and larger than ever I saw any where. The town Bir is situated on the other side of the great river Euphrates in Mesopotamia, near the high hill Taurus, just like Tripolis near the Libanus, or our Losanna on our Alps: It is neither big nor strong, but pretty well defended by a castle that lyeth on a high rock above the river, not easily to be taken. There is a very pleasant country round about it, and very fruitful, which (chiefly on this side the river where it is plain) is very well tilled and sown with corn, which they did just thrash out when we came, with little waggons drawn by oxen, and here and there are very good villages. But beyond the river it is more hilly, which kind of ground extends it self a great way towards the east, and divideth Armenia from Mesopotamia. It is at the top very rough and bare; nothing but bushes and herbs to be seen there; wherefore abundance of beasts, chiefly lambs and goats, are daily brought down, which are carried over the Euphrates, and so driven to Aleppo and other adjacent places. This river where it runs by the town is about a mile broad, and so deep that it is not easy to make a bridge over it: Yet because it hath not a swift current in that place, it is not very dangerous to sail on it, except where it enlargeth it self, as it doth in great desarts, or else where it divideth it self into several branches, so that the water-men do not know which is the best way for them to take; wherefore the Merchants that have a mind to come quicker and with less pains to Bagdet with their merchandizes, carry them by land to Orpha, to the famous town of Carahmet, which lyeth six days farther towards the east, on the borders of Assyria and Media, upon the rapid river Tygris, where is a great deposition of merchandizes, that are sent from thence to Ormutz and the Indies. The Euphrates is continually muddy, and therefore almost not fit to be drunk except you let it stand two or three hours, until the sand and mud is sunk down to the bottom, which sometimes is of the thickness of an inch: So that in every house where they have no wells, all along the river in towns and villages, they have several great pots which they fill out of the river, and let them stand until it be settled, but if they have occasion to drink of it before, they drink through their towels.

During the time of our staying there they brought us several sorts of fishes they had caught in the river to sell, and among the rest one sort called Geirigi, which in their shape and scales were very like unto Carps, only they were not so thick in the belly, but a great deal longer and bigger, so that sometimes one of them did weigh three Rotula’s of their weight, which is about seventeen or eighteen of our pounds. They are very delicate and good to eat, and so cheap, that we could buy one for one Medin, in our money worth about three-pence. To catch these, our ship’s crew flung out oftentimes some pellets made up with Cocculus Indic.; which fruit is named by them Doam Samec and presently after some of the fish flung themselves up at the top of the water, whereupon they jumped out of the ship to catch them, and to carry them a-shoar. I saw also a peculiar sort of vultures, which were so tame that they did not only sit very thick upon the houses, but they sat down in the street before all the people without any fear; they are more of an ashen colour than ours, but for bigness, height and the rest, exactly like unto them. Besides these there was another sort of them, that were something bigger, and of a lighter colour than the former, and had some black at the ends of their wings like unto our Storks. They eat also carrion, and meat, and are somewhat wilder, wherefore they may be affirmed to be the very same that Rhasis called Gyuni, and Avicenna, Rachame. During the time that we staid there, a Bashaw was sent hither by the Turkish Sultan, with some hundred Spahi’s, pretty well armed, for his master did intend to make war with the Trusci that so he might defend the confines of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Armenia, &c. from being assaulted by them, and to keep every thing secure. The Trusci live on the mountain of Libanus, and pretend to be the off-spring of those people, that under Godfrey de Bouillon did possess themselves again of the land of promise. They are since so much encreased, that they are able to bring into the field sixty thousand, most of which are very good gunners, which if occasion be, they can bring together in a short time. The Grand Signor, seeing that they encreased daily, so that he did fear they would be in time too great for him, to prevent this, as then the common discourse went, and to subdue them, and bring them under his yoke, did summon some Bashaws and Sangiacks, chiefly him of Damascus to bring together a great army, to fall upon them. But which way he did beat them, and how he encroached upon them, I shall (because I did for this time, during my travels, hear no more of it) relate more largely after my return. The Spahi’s which came with the Bashaw, took, because they would not be idle, their diversion in running, shooting with arrows, and in fencing, or cudgel-playing, and sometimes the country people came in with them, and played with them, but not in so many sorts of arms as the fencing-masters do in our country, viz. with daggers, swords or halbarts, for these are not in fashion in those countries. They take instead thereof only cudgels, with them they approach towards one another three times, yet not with such flourishes and neatness as our fencers do before they begin, for their long cloaths hinder them. In their left hand they have a buckler which is about a foot diameter round, covered with leather, and stuffed out with hair; in their right hand they have a cudgel, wherewith they strike strait at one another in the first bout, as the boys do in our country, but in the second and third bout, they strike cross-ways, chiefly in the third which is the last, which they take off cleaverly with their bucklers; and sometime they strike at one another legs, but never to hurt one another; when this is done, they turn back and march off. This manner of fencing is very common in these countries.

At length after we had staid a great while, several ships did arrive from above, and ours, for which we did stay, among them. So our patron began to load, and to fit himself for our departure: And so did two more that had a mind to go in company with us. One among them belonging to a Turk which was laden only with corn, to carry during the scarcity, which was occasioned by the great heat, and for want of rain to Bagdet. We also bought several sorts of fruits, viz. Cibebs, Anguria’s, Garlick and Onions, &c. and took also along with us some ground corn, as is usual to do in such voyages, which with Rice flower is fit to make puddings, or to bake bread of; honey and other things to serve as provision for our ship; for we were to travel a great way through many desarts and places not inhabited where nothing was to be had. For there are no inns upon this river, as upon the Rhine or Danube, where they dress victuals for travellers against they come. And that we might have sometimes something hot to eat, we provided ourselves with several cooking vessels, as is usual in these cases, to dress our meat in. But the master of our ship still wanting both men and merchandices to load his ship withal, we were forced to stay somewhat longer, for other Merchants which came in a little time from Aleppo whereof some were Armenians, some Persians, others from Bagdet and Balsora, to us; with these also came into the ship four souldiers that were listed by the Turks to go to Bagdet, to reinforce the confines of Persia: Our master also took in some of their Jews, which are worse than ours, and so we were warned to have a care of them. Besides all these we were forced to take in some of their religious men, which had long before begged thereabout, for they commonly live by begging, and desire you to give them something Alla hitsi, that is, for God’s sake, and yet if they find an opportunity they will fall upon you and rob you. They are very ill-favoured, idle and yet very hardy men, that run about all countries and often do a great deal of hurt; wherefore one must have a special care of them, chiefly upon the road. Yet for all this they have in these countries very great privileges; they pretend to great holiness and devotion, and pray often, and perswade the vulgar sort of people, that God doth hear their prayers before any others, and grants their desires, but people do not believe them so readily now, as their ancestors have done formerly wherefore they do not remain long in one place, that their roguery may not so much appear.

CHAP. II.

Which way we went into the ship, and sailed to Racka; and how the son of the King of Arabia with his retinue came to our ship to demand his customs. What else we saw by the way, and what we did suffer from the Arabians and their mendicants.

After our ship as well as the others was sufficiently loaden, and with all necessaries provided, we went aboard, and began our voyage in the name of God, the 30th day of August, Anno 1574 (having stay’d there and lost seventeen days), in the evening, with an intention to go that night three leagues farther. But two of our ships got into a branch of the river, whereof there are several in the very beginning: Our watermen took great pains to bring them into the right way again and stayed for them; which retarded us so long, that we were forced to stay all night at a market town called Caffra, which lieth a good league below, on the top of a hill, where we landed.

The next morning at break of day, we got in again and in the beginning we went on very fortunately, and began to leave by degrees on our left hand the mountain Taurus, which extendeth its self eastward, and went more to the right, through the great desarts and sandy places of Arabia, where that river divideth it self into several broad branches, that the skippers knew hardly how to steer the right way. When we went on so, thinking of no danger, for the Turkish ship was got already very safe through one of them, the second, which we follow’d, stuck upon the sand, by the neglect of their pilot towards the right, so that it did not only stick there but took away the stream from us, which turned their ship cross very violently, after such a manner, that we were forced, because we were too nigh, and our ship was in her full running, so that we could turn no way, to fall foul upon it. So ours drove with the stream upon theirs with that force, that we broke the two uppermost boards of their side; so the water ran in, and the ship sank deeper. Our ship, although it hath received no hurt, yet did it not go on, but stuck by the other. Whereupon we began to labour hard, remov’d the sand below, and made a way to get clear; after we had half drawn it before the other into the stream, the stream drove it so hard against the other, that also a row and an half of our side-board were broken, and if it had broken the second row quite, we had incurr’d the same mischief and damage as they. When we were in this condition, and could not otherwise think but that we must perish all together, yet our merciful God and Lord did order it so, that we did not only secure the breach, but came into the right river free and quit before the other ship, where we did land immediately. After we had recover’d ourselves a little, we did not delay to assist the other, but unloaded our ship to load theirs into it, and so to land them, which we did with all speed; in the mean time appear’d behind the trees and tamarisks at each side a good many Arabians, both on horse-back and foot, and came so near, that they were not afraid to attack our guards we had left with our goods, and to attempt to rob us. But when they found resistance, and heard several guns discharged on our side, they were frighted to that degree (for guns were unknown to them) that they turned their backs and run away as hard as they could drive. At last we attempted to draw out the ship together with some small goods, that were still left in it, which succeeded very well, for when we hoisted our sails and drew them on, and wrought with all our might and strength, it yielded by degrees, so that at length we got it quite off, and brought it a-shore. The loss of their marchandizes, altho’ it was but small in quantity, yet it was very great in their Silk, Stuffs of Damasco, Soap, Sugar, roots of Zarneb Melchi, which is good for the pain in the back, as is here before mention’d, Figs and Corn, which suffer’d very much; wherefore they begg’d of us, that we would be pleased to stay with them, until they had dry’d their goods and mended their ship, so that they might go along with us more safely through these desarts, which we granted them readily. During this our stay, when we were helping them, it fell out that I and one of my comrades were falsly accused by some Jews, before some of their religious men, that we were often fudling with the master of the ship, which the Jews did on purpose to make us outlandish men hated among them, for they do according to their law not easily admit of drinking of wine, and to disparage us; and this his intention did succeed so well, that when their Clergymen did understand it, they became very angry with us, took our vessel of wine, flung it into the river, and drew in upon the land, where they let it run out, which did not well please the Soldiers and others, wherefore they took our part, and did give the Jews for it a very severe reprimand. But as no good deed remaineth unrewarded, and no ill one unpunish’d, so it happened here; for the chief of them, which was a Moor and of the order of the Dervis, was the next day punish’d severely for a frivolous cause, whereof I unadvisedly was the occasion. While our goods were yet on shore, I got towards night upon the balls to stand centinel, it being my turn; so when I saw one with a mug full of water, I desired him to give me some to drink, which he was willing to do, and reached me the mug, I going to take it, trod by chance upon a fiddle of one of the Turks and broke it: Although he had great occasion to be angry with me for this, yet (understanding that I had glue enough to mend it) he was presently quieted, and well contented. The next morning we sat together and mended the fiddle as well as we could; when the Dervis saw us busy about the fiddle, he was very angry that we did not help to spread out the merchandizes, which we had done already before we began; so he took the fiddle, broke it and flung it into the river; then he came back, and pretended to bang us, thinking to have the same success with this as he had with the wine. But the Turk seeing this, took up a good cudgel that was thrown up by the river, and struck him several times over his head and limbs, that the blood ran down his ears and face, and at length he grew so angry that he went to draw his scymeter, but before he could, we stept in between them, got them asunder, mitigated the business, and appeased them. So this saint of theirs looked very dismal in his long and lank black hair, and had besides on his body here and there several scars, viz. on his head and breast, and above all upon his arms, which he had cut or burnt himself, which is usual to that order, and other Turks to do; which set often on their flesh burning and red glowing spangs, or instead of them linen rags, about an inch thick twisted very hard together, broad below, and pointed on the top, tapering just like unto a pyramid, which they set on fire, and let it burn out with a great deal of patience upon their bare skin, so long until it is quite consumed and brought to ashes, then they tie it up with cotton; they also do the same sometimes in rheums of the head and eyes, &c. to dry them up, or to turn them, and so draw them into another place. So I have seen several which have had at least twenty scars about them, but chiefly on their arms, whereof some were of the bigness of a shilling, besides wounds and scratches they had. But from whence they received this inhumane way (to wound and torment themselves) I do not know, except they had it anciently from the priests of Baal, who used to wound themselves with knives and lances (as we read in the 18th chapter of the 3d of the Kings) until the blood followed. These holy scars and tokens of their zeal, I could soon see and observe on this Moor, for according to his order, which is a very great one, he was to wear no clothes upon his body neither winter nor summer, only a little scarf to cover his privy members withal: Instead of them they put sheep skins about them, whereon they lie also at night, and so they serve them for clothes, bed, and cover; and so they pretend by their exteriour apparel and behaviour, to great vertue and patience, as if they were dead to the world; and to a peculiar holiness, in praying, fasting, watching, &c. whereas they are full of roguery and knavery, so that you shall hardly find any like them. With this came also several other religious men of several orders, which were all in several distinct habits, as they are in our country; among them was a very strong well set young man, of the order of the Geomaliers as they call it, which are rather secular than clergymen, they are generally Tschelebys, that is gentlemen and rich persons, which take great delight in travelling in their young days, under pretence of holiness, like pilgrims, at other peoples costs, through several countries and kingdoms, to see and learn, and to get experience. This had only a blue coat on that covered his body, tied about with a sash, and shoes of sheep skins, such as the Arabians in the desarts use to wear. There went along with us two more; whereof one had a great ring in each ear, about the thickness of a finger, and so heavy that it stretched down his ear-laps to his very shoulders. These are of the order called the Calendriers, which lead a sober, and abstemious life before people, wherefore they separate themselves from the people, and walk about like hermits into desarts where-ever they can, to pray there ardently, and to cry out the hours, whereof they have five every day, as the priests do from the steeples, wherefore this man did separate himself, as often as he had an opportunity, far from us, that the beasts could rather see and hear him, than we that were in the ship. When he had done this, he came to us again, and looked so devoutly as if he had been in a rapture or extasy. The other was a Dervis, whereof I have made mention before, which also kept to a very strict order, for he prayed devoutly and ardently, chiefly at night after sun-set, at which time two or three more used to come to him, and among them sometimes some of our Merchants; they did stand together in a circle, and so began to pray, as I heard often, first very lowly, then by degrees louder, but when they came to the Leila, Hillala, &c. they were so loud, that you might hear them afar of, and then they repeated only these words very often; and every time they repeated them, they turned their head from one side to the other, as if they looked upon one another by turns, to shew their great love one to another, so they repeat these words very often, and every time quicker and quicker, until they abbreviate them at last, and say only, Lahu Huhu. By this pratling or jabbering and moving of their heads, they became at length so giddy and weary, that the cold sweat ran down them. But this their saint did not pronounce the words of their prayers with the rest, but struck on his breast with his fist upon his heart which gave instead thereof so strange a tune, as if he had been hallow within, much like unto the noise that a turky-cock uses to make when he is very angry, so that it would have frighted any man, chiefly if he had been alone with him; and he would, with his terrible face, rather have taken him to be an apparition than a man. These above-mentioned words he repeateth so often, and so long, until he fainteth away and falls down, and there he lieth as if he were dead. Then the others cover him, let him lie and go their ways. After he hath lain thus a good while as if he had been ravish’d in his prayers, or had seen a peculiar vision, he cometh to himself, riseth and appeareth again. All these saints, although they practice their religion after a peculiar manner, which according to their opinion, is quite surpassing that which is prescribed in their law, to move the people the sooner (regarding their severity in living, their great patience and frequent extasies) to believe them, that they under pretence of piety, may go on in their hoggishness, uncleanness and robberies, as they do, without any controuling: Yet because their idle hypocrisy, and great rogueries do daily appear more plainly, not without great damage to the country, therefore they are no more in so great esteem, nor have so much given them as formerly. Concerning their strange way of praying, chiefly that of the Moors, their own people have often told me, that because such a devotee changed his natural voice given him by God, into an unnatural one, therefore he ought rather to be accounted a beast than a man, and consequently much less ought to be esteemed a divine. Thus much I thought convenient to relate here of their Mendicants that travelled with us, and now I come to my former purpose again.

After we had spent four days in drying our merchandizes, and in mending our ships, we did load them again, and so set out the next Friday, being the third of September about noon. All that day we saw nothing but bushes on both sides of the river, wherein were several wild beasts, but above all wild boars, till night, when we came in sight of a little village about two or three miles distant upon the ascent on our left hand, where we landed and staid all night. In that place I found nothing but a bastard camel’s hay, which was like unto the true one, but without any virtue in it.

The next day our navigation proceeded very well, and at noon we came to a strong cittadel call’d Galantza, which is situated at this side of the river, on a hill belonging to the king of Arabia, with whom the Turkish emperor, as I was informed, and could understand, that did not know their language well, had long and heavy wars; and could have done him, because he could not follow him through the desarts for want of water and provisions, no great hurt, if the King’s eldest son had not put himself into this castle, believing that he might be secure there from any assault from without, wherein he was mightily mistaken. For after the Sultan did understand that he was there, he was resolved to take it notwithstanding all difficulties. And therefore he summoned all his forces together in the year 1570, and did assault it in three places at the same time, so long and so often, until at length he took it by storm, and so he made the King’s son his prisoner, and carried him to Constantinople, where he had, as they say, his head cut off the following year. This castle, being surrounded with strong walls, and having within a very high and large tower, is still, according to my apprehension, very strong, but yet it lieth in ruins, and the three open places remain unrepaired. At night we landed in a small island, which was not inhabited, and in the middle of the river we did not question but we were there very well secured from the Arabians, and yet notwithstanding, as soon as we had supp’d, and began to go rest, some of them came creeping along to us about midnight, rather to visit our goods than us. But because they durst not venture to go to our ships, without great danger of being discovered by our watch, they did visit them that rested on shoar, and had taken something considerable from them, if they had not been discovered immediately by them, and had retaken from them again that which they could not so readily carry over the river.

The fifth day of September, some Arabians appeared on shoar early in the morning; by and by we saw more at a great distance upon the height, and some squadrons of horse of forty or fifty strong, ride about; from whence we concluded that the King’s camp was not far off, which proved to be true. For about noon after we landed, the King’s youngest son came riding to us on a high black horse, with a retinue of about one hundred men, most of which had bows and long pikes made of reed. He was but young, about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, of a brownish colour, and had a white turbant on his head made of cotton, one end whereof hung down behind about a span long, according to their usual custom. He had on a long gown made of ordinary sheeps skins with the wooll on them, which hung down to his ankles, and so had all his courtiers, which were in their common dress so like unto one another, that one could not have discerned them, if his had not been edged with some gold lists, as we use to edge childrens coats in our country, about the neck and sleeves, and had not had long sleeves, whereon were some escutcheons to be seen. Because custom is due to the King of Arabia, by reason of the Euphrates, therefore this young prince came to demand and take it; so he went into the river, and rode first to the Turkish ship, to see what goods they carried, but finding nothing but corn therein he did not stay long there, but came to ours, his servants that were on purpose ordered for that, helped him soon up into it, and placed him in the middle of it on a bale, but they themselves went about from one Merchant to another, to visit their goods, and did open now and then a chest or a bale, and took some out of them more or less, according as they liked them, so that it was a great while before they came about from Merchant to Merchant. In the mean while, they brought also into the ship a young Prince, perhaps two years old, which one carried before him on horse back after his father. He had nothing on but only a cotton shirt, and rings about his neck, wrists and legs, made of fine Arabian gold. At length his servants came to me and my comrades into the poop of the ship; but before we began to shew them any of our goods, they saw my gun that was inlaid with ivory, which they took immediately, to shew it to their master, with a great deal of admiration, being such a one as they had never seen their life before. The King took it presently into his hands, and was mighty well pleased with it, and said that it was outlandish-work made by the Franks, (by which name they call outlandish men, French, German, Italian, &c. because they know no divisions or distinctions of our country,) so we went both to him, and acquainted him that we were lately come from those countries, with an intention to go into the Indies. After the King understood this, he spoke very kindly to us, and bid his man to leave off and to search no more our goods, and enquired after several other things, and at length he told my comrade that he thought he had seen him before; which was very true, for when my comrade lived at Aleppo, where he had drove the Goldsmiths trade for a great while, he and others were sent to the King, who was then at a little distance from Aleppo, by the Consul of Venice, to present him in his name, with several presents, whereof some were costly and rich wrought clothes, when they came to him, and presented them to him, he took them with a great deal of kindness, and treated them very honourably, and shewed them several sorts of sport, as jumping, running, &c. that they might see that he had a great many brave and handy soldiers; and did dispatch them very generously again, and promised them, as my friend told me, all kindnesses, chiefly to their masters, saying, that if they should have occasion to make use of him against the Turks, he would faithfully assist them, and that he did not doubt at all, if they should agree together, but they might go a great way with him in these countries; nay, advance farther upon the Turk in a short time, even to Constantinople itself. After the before-mentioned discourse, the King went to his tents that were pitched on a plain by a hill, within two miles of us, and took some of our company along with him to discourse his father about our concerns. I would willingly have presented the King with my gun, altho’ we had to travel through many deserts, and perhaps he would have been pleased with it, but durst not do it before the Turkish Soldiers, Mendicants and Jews, for I feared, that they would betray it, and accuse me before the Bashaw and Cadi’s, which soon would have made me punishable, altho’ innocent, as they use to do to strangers; nay, sometimes those of their own nation; and besides, I did remember, that when the King was encamped near Aleppo, and some of his men did daily come into the town to buy provision, cloaths and other things, that then it was strictly forbidden to sell them any arms, bows or pikes to take along with them into the desarts. After we had staid for our friends a great while, they came so late to us, that we were hindred from going any farther that day, for it began to be late, and so we staid there all night. They told us, that the King, after they had told him that we came from Aleppo, would not believe them, but thought rather we came from Saphet, which town is within a day’s journey of Sidon, which the Sultan had taken from him a little while before, that he might have a pretence to arrest us and our goods; and that he did so obstinately persist in this opinion, that they did really fear he would have sent some of his men with one of us to Aleppo, to know the certainty thereof, until they plainly demonstrated to him by their letters from whence they came; whereupon he gave them liberty to go on in their journey. But I understood afterwards, that it was only to press something more out of them, as he really did, for they were forced to give him some knives tip’d with silver that came from Damascus, and also some damasks.

On the sixth of September we were up early, and passed between great wildernesses, wherein were abundance of wild boars, that appeared sometimes in great herds: These wildernesses continued so long, that we saw nothing else the whole day but woods, ’till in the evening we came to Cala, a village and castle on this side of the river, which is no more but two-days journey from Aleppo, situated in a plain; from whence you may conjecture how crooked the river is hitherto. This castle belongeth to a great Bashaw, called John Rolandt, and also the fine house at Aleppo, as is before-mentioned. He hath very great revenues and sixty sons: Six or seven of them are Sangiacks, whereof some live at the Sultan’s court. Beyond this castle on the other side of the river, we lodged all night in the wilderness, which continued so far, that we saw nothing all the next day long, but only here and there a little cottage of the Moors, which generally are built upon four sticks, and covered with bushes: Within them there are so many children, that I have often admired at the number of them. They run in their first infancy to the river, and learn to swim so well, that they undertake without any fear to swim over the broad river. When we went by, the Moors saluted us very often, if the distance did not hinder them, and that chiefly to learn of us where about their King was in the country. For they have so great a respect for their King, altho’ they are an idle and vagabond people, and unanimously shew him such obedience, as no other nation doth to their superiors; which also you may guess by this, that if any outlandish man hath a mind to get safely through the wilderness, or to see their King, let him but cloath himself in their habit, and take a Moor along with him to shew him the way, and to be his interpreter, they will readily tell him the way to go to him; or when they see that he hath one of their own nation with him, they let him pass without any molestation or examination. So that those that are slaves on the confines of Arabia, might easily free themselves without any trouble or danger. Their wives did also often come to us, and brought us milk in great flat dishes, which they shewed us at a distance to sell; wherefore we did land sometimes and received it, and gave them biskets for it, for they have great want of corn, so that this interchanging pleased us both. We used to break biskets into this milk, and so to eat it for dinner or supper, and sometimes if it was too thick, or rather too little of it, that it might go the farther, we used to temper or mix it with water. They have also sometimes put it into oblong linen sacks, which it did hardly penetrate, and let it hang in the ship for two or three days, until it did curdle and came to be in curds, and so it used to serve us with biskets and onions for breakfast or for supper. When we did land and had time to spare, I used to look about me for some strange plants, and among the rest, I found a peculiar Schœnanthum, which was very like in figure unto the true one, but had not it’s virtues, and the first kind of Rhannus of Carolus Clusius, with fat leaves like unto housleek. I found also goats rue, and a strange sort of willows, which still are called by the inhabitants by their old name Garb. There also were abundance of tamarisks; they were as big and high as our cherry or plum trees, wherefore these trees are discerned soon at a distance by their height; they have very tender leaves, and long purple coloured tops, as you see in the second kind of our tamarisks, so that between them and ours, there is no great matter of difference, but only in bigness and fruit, whereof I found none at that time. The Moors feed their cattle for the most part, with those bushes that grow at the river side; for in the wilderness and desarts, where the ground is very sandy, lean and barren, there is but little grass or tilled ground, which occasioneth the great scarcity of bread among them, so that often they see none in a great while, and are forced to eat their other food, as fish, flesh, cheese and milk, which they take from goats, sheep, camels, &c. without bread; so that these poor people make a shift with a mean diet; and yet they are strong and in good health, and live to a good age. At night before it was dark, I saw another fortification at the other side in Mesopotamia, on a high hill called Jabar, belonging to the King of Arabia, which is very large, and hath several towers in the wall, so that as far as I could see, it was very like to that of Aleppo. We staid all night on this side of it, in an island where we had been robb’d again, if we had not kept a good watch so as to perceive the thieves, and to let off several guns; yet this we did not to hurt, but only to frighten them; for if we should have kill’d or wounded any of them, they would have fetch’d immediately some, according as they are in strength, it may be a thousand together to revenge their friend to fall upon us, to beat us and to plunder us, whereof they are very eager, and to take all we had. The same happened to us the next day in another uninhabited island of the river, where we would dress no victuals that night, that they might not spy us by our fire, to find us out and to fall upon us. For when we expected to keep ourselves thus quiet, and to rest in good tranquillity, they did not miss us, but came to us in a greater body than before, and that so near, that we could not only hear them, but they began to talk with us. But when we saw that they were in earnest, we rouzed up ourselves, and got into order, and spoke big to them, and bid them to offer no violence to us, for if they did, they would find greater resistance than they expected. But when we saw that this our exhortation would do no good, we were forced again to have recourse to our guns, whereof we had but three, which we let go off, which frightened them in such a manner, for they are not used to them, that they ran away and left us in quietness. But it is no wonder that the Arabians are so restless, for they are full of want and nakedness, have not to fill their belly, nor to cover their body withal; besides, they have nothing else to do, and are used to idleness from their very infancy, and then because they hate to work, they are forced to wander like vagabonds from one place to another. And (if they will maintain themselves and theirs) to seek their livelihood from those that travel through their country. So several times there came two, three, or four together, swimming through the river, were it never so broad or deep, to our ship, whereof some were black and some brown, which came as naked into our ship as ever they were born into the world, to beg a piece of bread; to each of them we gave as much as would content them, so they went sometimes for a whole league along with us; and when they had eaten the bread and thanked us, they jumped into the river again and swam away. Besides these we saw daily as we went along, many more swim over the river, which commonly had some bucks-skins blown up, whereon they tried to get over the easier, for the river is so broad, that it is not easy to make a bridge over it, neither did I find any. They take their shirts (for besides them they wear no other cloaths) tie them with their leathern girdles about their heads, and therein stick their daggers (which are pretty broad and bended like unto a scythe) which hang down by their temples.

The ninth day our voyage went on again chearfully, and we came pretty near the town Racka, which belongeth to the Turkish Emperor, but it did not continue so long, for before we had dined and eaten a few fruit, viz. Cibels, Anguries, and Indian Musk-melons, to refresh ourselves in the great heat, we incurr’d greater danger again than that we were in before, for our ship, which was a great deal bigger than either of the two, did strike upon the sand so severely, that we could not bring her off again without assistance of others, as we had done several times before, nor bring her into the right way again. So we were forced to desire the Arabians our antagonists, which stood and looked upon us, rather rejoicing at our misfortunes, than pitying us, to assist us, which at length we did obtain, and so they came to help us: But because they had their daggers, and great cudgels, which they use to wear with them, we durst not trust them, but were forced to leave a small guard in the ship, but the rest of us helped them with all our force and strength, but we could not stir her, so that they went away twice and left us. At last we concluded, that we had no better way than to unload our ship, yet we durst not do it for fear of the Arabians, nor venture our merchandizes; so we resolved to draw her out another way, wherefore we desired the Arabians a third time to assist us, and if they were in earnest to help us, we begged of them to lay down their arms, which at length, upon our promising them a good reward, they did. When they came we took also our guard to our assistance, set all hands at work, and with hard labour we brought it at length into the right stream again, so we paid the Arabians and went on, and came that same night to Racka.

CHAP. III.

Of the city of Racka, and of it’s situation, and also something of the departure of the King of Arabia, and of his league with the Turkish Emperor, and also of the trouble we had with the Custom-house Officer or Publican.

Racka, a town of Mesopotamia, is situated in the desarts of Arabia upon the great river Euphrates, between two ascents, so that you cannot see any thing of it before you can come near it. There is a castle by it, which is given to a Sangiack by the Turkish Emperor to keep it with 1200 Spahi’s. This town is pitifully built, and not well guarded with walls; it having been built after the Desolation of the old town, which was situated on the hight, as one may see still by the old wall, and other arches and pillars. Among the rest there is yet standing a very ancient high building, which is still very strong, and looketh very great, altho’ it is much decay’d and run to ruin, and such as one shall rarely see, so that one may conjecture, that it hath perhaps been formerly the seat and habitation of their Kings or Magistrates. Between the new and old city lieth a castle, which is also old and pretty strong, where is kept a Turkish garrison, it being on the confines or limits of Arabia and Persia, &c. to defend them and all the country from danger and incursions. The old town is besides this quite demolish’d, and even with the ground, so that here is no convenient place where the Turks can exercise themselves in running, cudgel-playing, &c. but this, where I have often sat upon the ruin’d walls, and look’d upon them when they were a playing. To the Desolation of this town have very much contributed the Tartars, under their King Haalono, who took it in the year of our Lord, 1260, and not long after the town and castle of Aleppo, with the help of Ayton King of Armenia. Some will have this to be the town of Rhagos, which is also called Edessa, whither the ancient and pious Tobias did send his son from Nineveh to his friend Gabel, to fetch the money from him which he had lent him: But because this lies a day’s journey farther from the river Euphrates, therefore it cannot be the same.

After we had landed there, the receiver of the custom came on horseback to the shoar, and desired the master of the Turkish ship to deliver his arms, lances, and bows, who absolutely deny’d it, seeing that it never had been a custom before; whereupon they fell about this into such a hot dispute, that they began to draw upon one another, and had not we timely put in between them, it would have caused a great tumult. The reason why this man behaved himself so strangely, was, because we did not go with our goods to Carahemit, which town is distant four days journey, and situated on the rapid river Tygris, to have laid there upon that river, where he would have received a great deal more custom, that also belonging to him. But the Turk not mattering him, having nothing in but corn, which he would not carry, he let him alone, and came to us as strangers, thinking to make up his loss from us, and to frighten us out of it. He staid all night in the ship, and lay between us, fearing that we should hide some goods from him; and sometimes he came upon us with big words, saying, Seeing that it was not allow’d to us outlandish men to travel in these parts, therefore he could not but take us to be spies, that came to discover, rather than for any thing else, wherefore he had reason enough to take our goods in arrest, and send us two spies as to Constantinople, to make us slaves to his master the Great Sultan. After we had heard this his unreasonable discourse, and were also sensible of his intention to cheat us, we were not presently frighten’d, but drew out our pass we had from the Bashaw and Cadi of Aleppo, and shew’d it to him. He look’d it over, and after he understood that he durst not very well act against it, he went away from us with a deal of indignation, and immediately he began to quarrel with all the Merchants of the two ships, and desired of them an unreasonable sum to pay him as toll, whereof they complain’d heavily; but he went on, and would accept of no reasonable conditions, but took away our rowers from our ships, to hinder us from going away, to squeeze us the more. But the Merchants, altho’ they saw his earnestness, they did not matter it, but sent on the 11th of September one of them with a Moor to Carahemit, to the Great Bashaw, which was the son of Mahomet Bassa, to complain to him of these impositions and extortions. When the toll-keeper did understand this, he follow’d them with his son immediately. But because he did not find the Bashaw, who was then in another place, call’d Giselet, whither our friend was forced to follow him three days journey from thence, he return’d again immediately. Although he did not speak with the Bashaw, yet he falsly told us, that it was the Bashaw’s order that we should pay him ten ducats per cent. Notwithstanding that, ours did not know any thing, yet they would not trust him, but had carry’d the best and greatest part of their goods out, before he came into the ship to search, and also some thereof they bury’d in the sand by night, where the Turks and Moors went over by day-light, and yet they could find none of these hidden goods. The next morning early the Publican came with his crue, and search’d every thing with a great deal of care, as if he had a peculiar command for it, but did not find any thing near, as you may think, what he expected. When he was thus very busy in exercising his office, our friend came in at last, and told us, that the Bashaw was very much displeased that the Publican did deal so unjustly with us, contrary to the orders and law of his master, the Grand Signior, and did keep us so long, and hinder us in our navigation. Wherefore he had writ to the Sangiack in our behalf, and ordered him on pain of death, to take all care that we might not be detain’d any longer, but to take the Publican prisoner, and to send him to Constantinople, to have him try’d at the court kept for that purpose every fifteenth day, and that he feared very much, that he would pay for this his misdemeanor with his life.

In the mean time we were thus detained prisoners on the rivers of Babylon, expecting with a deal of patience the time of our deliverance, it happened, that the King of Arabia broke up with his retinue from here-abouts on the 21st of day of September, and travelled towards the south in great numbers, to find better pastures for his beasts, as horses, asses, and camels, that they might the better subsist; for in these places there are not so many villages, towns and market-towns, where they might have their continual abode. Neither do they love farming nor trading, but are contented, if they have a great flock of cattle, and good store of grass for them, that they may keep them. So if they come to a rivulet, where a little herbage or grass groweth, they immediately erect their tents there, to stay there till want forceth them to remove, and to look out for another place. When they break up, they take along with them man, maid, beasts and all their whole substance, as I did see them remove at this very time, and come towards this town in great numbers, so that the Turks kept their gates shut up for four days, until they were all passed by. On horseback they are armed with darts and bows, &c. and also if they ride on camels, whereof they have very a great number, chiefly when the King is moving from one place to another, as some of them did relate to me, where generally are employed 150000. I myself have once seen at one time together about the number of 3 or 4000 camels. They are strong and hardy creatures, fit to carry heavy burthens, and also to subsist without drinking in the greatest heats for three days together. They stale out between their hind legs, so that those that go in caravans behind them must have a great care, that they be not hit by them, and so become all bedaubed. Their horses are very noble, neat, and fit for business; they seldom feed them more than once a day, although they ride them very hard all day long through the wildernesses. They commonly cut off all the hair from their mains and tail, so that their tails remain very naked, and look something like the tail of a lion. They put their wives on littler asses, and also upon high camels with their children, three or four of them together in boxes, as it is the fashion in these countries. They are of a brown colour like unto our Gypsies, and almost the fourth part of them black, which difference of colour proceedeth from their travelling up and down to places where blacks are, and sometimes leaving their own there, and taking blacks in the room of them. The King of Arabia is always encamped in the fields, and never cometh into a place that is shut up or enclosed; and this the less now, after the mischance of losing his son that retired into one, happened; so he goeth from place to place like unto the Tartars, so that often it is not known where he is. In the summer-time he goeth farther to the north, and in winter to the south, to avoid both the heat and cold, and to have better subsistance and provision for himself, his men, and cattle. So it hath happened several times, that the Arabians in their march have come too near the Turks dominions, and the Turks again to his, from whence arose between these two great Princes such differences, that they are come to great and bloody wars. And yet for all this, as I am credibly informed, they have now both made a peculiar league and contract between them, wherein it is agreed that if the Grand Turk should go to a war with his neighbours, then the Arabian King will assist and defend him, wherefore the Grand Signior writes to him as his cousin and good friend, and is to pay him the sum of 60000 ducats yearly as his certain salary or retaining fee. And besides all this, the Sultan sends to the new King of Arabia after the decease of the old one, a standard with his coat of arms in it, which together with other presents he sends him with usual ceremonies, to congratulate him on his happy coming to the throne, and to renew and confirm their alliances. Their religion doth contribute not a small matter to this, which (together with all their ceremonies, and all other points) is the same almost they profess in both nations: And they take as many wives as the Turks do, neither do they extol or magnify one before the other, because they come from better parents, being they buy them all from them. And therefore none of them are excused, because she cometh from a greater extraction, from doing the family-business, nor hath a poor one more put upon her because she came from mean extraction. So one of the King of Arabia’s wives is a daughter of a man that keeps a sawing-mill at Racka, which by him (although of mean extraction) is as much respected as any of the rest. Her father and brothers are very good people; they came very often to us, and shewed great compassion, for that we were so abused by the Publican. His mill is not drawn by horses as ours are, nor by water (for they know nothing of that) but two of them cut the wood with great hand-labour. During our staying there a young Arabian gentleman, nearly related to the King of Arabia, came very often to us to the water-side, who was always accompanied with twenty servants with bows and darts; he had a delicate white turbant on, and a long violet coloured caban made of wool, but his servants went pretty bare, for some of them wore black caps and long indico coloured shirts with wide sleeves, which they girt up with broad leathern girdles, wherein stuck bended daggers or bayonets, as it is their usual custom. It once happened, that some of us being upon the high town-walls together, from whence we had a pleasant prospect down into the valley to the great river Euphrates, this same gentleman came to us again, and seated himself with his retinue overagainst us, and presented us with some dried Cicer Pease (whereof I have made mention before) and some Cibebs mixed together, which we thankfully received; and to shew our thankfulness, we presented him again with some Almonds, Figs, Nuts, and some very good sweat-meats we had brought with us from Aleppo, which he also received very kindly. So we all began to eat each of us part of his present, and drunk with it some water of the Euphrates. After we had eat them all, and we thought the time to be long, he beckon’d to one of his Musicians, and bid him to divert us with his instrument, which he pulled out presently (which about the neck looked very like unto a cittern) and we expected to hear some rarity, but when I looked upon it, and saw it had but one string that was as big as a cord of their bows, he began to play some of their tunes, but with what art and dexterity you may easily fancy. He did this for almost two hours, and according to his opinion very harmoniously, but we thought the time so long, that we were very glad when he had done.

About the river I found that sort of Acacia that beareth roundish and brown-coloured pods, called Schock and Scamuth by the Arabians: Some thorns called Algul, whereon the Manna falleth, chiefly in the county of Corascen, as Avicenna tells us. Chamesyces, some strange kinds of mosses, which are very much differing in bigness: Among the rest I saw the low prickly herb, by some esteemed to be the Tragun of Dioscorides. Below, close to the river, I found the Herba Sacra of Dioscorides, which the learned Carolus Clusius hath accurately described in his History of Outlandish Plants, book ii. chap. 45. and just by these, more strange ones, chiefly a delicate one growing plentifully there in the sand, which had from five to eight tender stalks, which spread themselves into others that were very full of joints, so that it crept rather on the ground than grew up; by each of them stood three or four roundish Marjoram or Origanum leaves together, and above between them some star like white flowers, with six pointed leaves like unto our Ornithogalum, each of them on a peculiar foot-stalk, the seeds thereof I have not seen, but the roots are small and fibrous, which together with their small bitterness have a pretty exsiccating quality; and so in this respect are very like unto the Polycemon of Dioscorides, but whether it be the same or no, I leave the learned to decide. Besides those before as we came down the river, I saw a great many large Tamarisk trees, and abundance of a certain kind of Agnus Castus, almost like unto the other, only a great deal less, and it had no more but three strong Claver leaves; but above all the Galega, called Goats-rue in our language, which in these parts groweth very high, and in so great plenty, that on the river-side I could see nothing but this for several miles together.

CHAP. IV.

Of the Inhabitants of the mountains, and the great wilderness we came through to Deer: Of their ancient origination, and miserable and laborious livelihood.

Upon this good and severe command of the Bashaw, son of Mahomet Bashaw, we were acquitted of our long arrest, and went away about noon on the 27th of September; we went again from thence through such great desarts, that for some days we saw nothing worth relating, but here and there little huts made of some erected boughs, and covered with some bushes, wherein the Moors with their families live, to secure themselves from the great heat, rain and dews that are in these parts most violent, so that I admired how these miserable people could maintain themselves and so many children in these dry and sandy places where nothing was to be had. Wherefore these poor people are very naked, and so hungry that many of them if they saw us afar off, would fling themselves into the great river, and swim to us to fetch a piece of bread. And when we flung at them whole handfulls, they would snap at it just like hungry fish or ducks, and eat it: Others did gather it and put it into the crown which they make neatly of their sheets on the top of their heads, and so swim away with it. After these sandy desarts had continued a great while, we came at length out of them between high, rough and bare hills, which were so barren that there was to be seen neither plough-lands nor meadows, neither house nor stick, neither high-way nor footh-path, wherefore those people that live there, have no houses, but caves and tents, as they have in the great desarts, where because of the great heat and dryness, the soil is so barren, that they cannot subsist in a place for any considerable time, nor have villages or certain habitations: Wherefore they wander up and down, fall upon the caravans and plunder them, and make what shift they can to get a livelihood. These mountains, as I am informed, reach to the river Jordan, the Dead and the Red-Seas, &c. wherein are situated mount Sinai, Horeb, &c. and the town Petra, which by the prophet Isaiah is called Petra of the Desarts. The Arabians that live in these desarts, and round about them, are extraordinary marks-men for bows and arrows, and to fling darts which are made of canes: They are a very numerous people, and go out in great parties every where almost: They are a very ancient nation, and come from the sons of Ishmael, but chiefly from his eldest son Nebajoth, and were anciently called the war-like Nabathees, and their country, the land or province of the Nabathees, which Josephus testifieth in Book i. Chap. 21. where he says, that the twelve sons of Ishmael, which he had by an Egyptian wife, (his mother Agar, from whom they were called Agarens, as you may see in the first of the Chronicles and the sixth verse, being also of the same country,) were possessed of all the country between the Euphrates and the Red-Seas, and called it the province of the Nabathees. The Midianites that bought Joseph of his brethren, and carried him into Egypt, may also be reckoned among these. This same country is also chiefly by Pliny (because thereabout are no other habitations, but tents, wherein the inhabitants, live) called Scenitis. From this we may conclude that the prophet Isaiah in his 60th Chapter, and David in the 120th Psalm did speak of them, when chiefly the latter maketh mention of the tents of Kedar, whereby he understands a country that is inhabited by such a nation, as liveth in tents, and is derived from Kedar the son of Ishmael, whom his father Abraham, as a strange child born by his maid Agar, did thrust out together with his mother into the desarts; his words are these, Wo is me, that I sojourn in Mesheck, that I dwell in the tents, of Kedar. In our times these and other nations are called the Saracens, which have very much encreased under Mahomet (who by his Mother was an Ishmaelite) and did spread very much; and so they were in David’s time a very strong nation, wherefore he prayeth very earnestly in his 83d Psalm, that God would punish and slay and disperse them, as enemies of his holy church. But that I may come to our former Intention again, here the Arabians again asked us very often, where their King was at that time, so that our master had business enough to answer them; whereby you may observe what great respect and love they have for their King. But that they might not altogether look upon us as outlandish men, nor presently discern us to be strangers, we did sometimes when there was occasion for it, change our turbants, and let one end thereof according to their fashion hang down, which they do to make themselves a shade against the heat, that is very cruel in these countries. But yet if any body, be he who he will, doth enquire after their King, and wants to come before him, to present him with a suit of cloaths, &c. or to desire a pass from him, or if one should go about to hire one of them, to shew him the way to a certain place, or through their country which he may do for a very small price, he would soon find one or other that would be ready to do it; but among the Turks there is no such obedience; for if you should desire any thing of them to do in the name of their Sultan, they are not willing to do it, except it would redound to their great profit. Wherefore a Turkish guide to conduct you would cost you a great deal more than one of them. Besides, they also remember their master daily, and hardly speak of any thing but of him, his great riches, &c. but with such pride and greatness, chiefly when they speak of his powerfulness, and enlarging of his kingdom, as if some share of these were belonging to them, and that they must be respected for it. In this navigation through the great desarts, we two did not spend much, because the towns were at so great a distance from one another that we could not reach them, to provide our selves daily necessaries (as we do in our country on the Danube and Rhine) or lodgings. We were necessitated to be contented with some slight food or other, and make a shift with curds, cheese, fruits, honey, &c. and to take any of these with some bread for a good entertainment. The honey in these parts is very good, and of a whitish colour, whereof they take in their caravans and navigations great leathern bottles full along with them; this they bring you in small cups, and put a little butter to it, and so you eat it with biskets. By this dish I often remembred St John the Baptist, the fore-runner of our Lord, how he also did eat honey in the desarts, together with other food. Besides this when we had a mind to feast our selves, some ran, as soon as our master had landed at night, to fetch some wood, and others in the mean time made a hole in the ground on the shoar, in the nature of a furnace, to boil our meat. So every company dressed accordingly what they had a mind to, or what they had laid up in store; some boil’d rice, others ground corn &c. And when they had a mind to eat new bread instead, or for want of biskets, they made a paste of flower and water, and wrought it into broad cakes about the thickness of a finger, and put them in a hot place on the ground, heated on purpose by fire, and covered it with ashes and coals, and turned it several times until it was enough. These cakes were very savory and good to eat. Some of the Arabians have in their tents stones or copper-plates made on purpose to bake them. On the 4th day, being the last of September, about noon, we came to the end of the mountains, before which without, on this side, lieth a very strong citadel, on a high hill, built three square, by the inhabitants called Seleby, whereof two points go downwards towards the river, and the third upward a great way on the mountain, so that in it’s situation it is very like unto Baden in Switzerland. Although it is demolished, yet it is still very strong in it’s walls, that are to be seen at the top and on the sides, chiefly towards the hills, and the river side, to hinder the passage both by water and land. There are also still standing some watch-houses without, as you come towards it near the mountains, which may hold three or four souldiers: yet it lieth still to this day in ruins, and so desolated, that nothing but birds and beast inhabit it; whereof a great many appeared on the river side, as Herns, Ducks, that were very large and of a delicate colour, and others among which were some of a white colour, called Pelicans by Aristotle, and Onocrotali by others, which are as big as Swans; the prophet Zephaniah maketh also mention of them in his second chapter, when he prognosticated the punishment that was to come to the Ninevites, Assyrians and Moors; there also appeared some quite black with long necks; whereof I did see abundance in my travels into the Land of Promise, and especially near Acon among the rocks and crags of the sea; as far as I could discern them at a distance; they seemed to be a kind of a Sea-Eagle[1], that feed more upon fish than any thing else. Six miles lower, and at the other side of the Euphrates, lieth still another fortification, which is called Subiau Seleby, that is, lower Seleby, on a very high bank, and seeing that we sailed very near it, I could not well discover it. Of these two which way they were besieged and taken; and also of the way of government, or ruling of the Kings of Arabia, &c. I should have been very glad to have been a little better informed, but the language wherewith I was not well acquainted, did hinder me. And suppose I should have understood it very well, or enough to have made an enquiry after those particulars, yet I could not have done it without great danger, to have been taken for a spy; for they soon suspect outlandish men on every little occasion, which those that trade in these parts have often experienced not without great loss and danger. Beyond the mountains in the low country we saw more tilled grounds, and habitations of the Arabians than we had done before, wherefore our master landed sooner than he used to do, near a village, to take in provision for our farther journey, where the people brought flesh and Indian Melons to us to sell. Here it happened, that about midnight, one of the Turkish souldiers went out to ease himself on the river side; and when he was busy about it, a Moor came creeping along to him, and thrust him into the river before he was aware of it, and run away. The Turk finding himself in the Euphrates, fell a crying out for help; I hearing him, standing centinel that night did not fail him, but made what haste I could, with my scymeter in my hand, followed his voice, and came to the place, although it was very dark, drew him out, and brought him into the ship, which was so kindly taken by the rest of the Turks, that I got mightily into their favour, and received many kindnesses of them all the way until we came to Bagdet, the garrison which they went to reinforce.

The first of October when our Voyage went on again, there came early in the morning a post of six Arabians on horseback to the river side to inquire of us whither their King was gone, or where we thought they might find him; they had received letters for him from the Sultan, wherefore they must follow him until they found him. The master of our ship told them, as he did to every body that ask’d him, that we had seen him in Mesopotamia, which province he call’d Amanachar, that he was broken up with his Men to go back into Arabia, where they would find him. After this relation they departed, and we went on our way, and soon saw below a town to our right at a distance, call’d Seccard, very well situated on an ascent, belonging to the King of Arabia, wherefore some of the Turks said, that none but Haramiquiber, that is, great Thieves, lived in it, which they do out of spight to all them that are subject to any other master than their Sultan. This town we passed by, and went directly towards Deer another town, whence we were then three leagues distant, yet they do not account their distances by leagues, for they know little or nothing of it, but rather reckon by days journeys, for their towns are so situated at such a distance, that they have sometimes to go through divers wildernesses, several days, more or less, before they arrive there. Before we came thither, one of the ships in our company did go too much towards one side, toward a branch of the river, that runs by the town, for it divideth itself into several branches, where it got into the mud and stuck. Our master seeing this, landed immediately, and did send his men to help them. So I got time to look about for the strange plants, and found there about the river many Tamarisk-trees, also a peculiar sort of Willow, which the inhabitants still call by it’s ancient Arabian name Garb. These trees do not grow high, but spread very much; the twigs thereof are stronger and not so tough, as to make bands or withs as ours will; the bark is of a pale yellow colour, and so are the leaves, which are long and about two fingers broad, and at the edges round about crenated, so that they are very much differing from the rest of this kind. I found them to be of a pretty drying and astringent quality. Of their flowers and fruit, whereof Avicenna maketh mention in his 126th and 686th chap. I can say nothing, because I saw none. Hereabouts the Turk, that would not stay until we were cleared, but went away before us, suffer’d shipwreck, and so lost a great deal of his corn, that he intended to carry to Bagdat, call’d Baldac, to sell it in the great scarcity, which was occasion’d for want of rain, for there fell none in the space of two years and an a half. And yet, as they say, if it raineth but twice or thrice a year, they have enough to supply themselves. After our men had wrought longer than an hour together with theirs, until they had emptied the ships, they came to us again to go that night to Deer. But there being several rocks before it, which were very dangerous to pass, some of their pilots, that understood the depths, came out to meet, and did help us, so that we got safe there. The town of Deer, which is not very big, and belongs to the Sultan, is situated on this side of the river, on an ascent, and is pretty well built with houses, (whereon stood great numbers of people when we into it, to see us) but as for the walls and ditches, they are but very slight. At our first arrival, we thought we should soon get clear for the custom with the Armin, and ship off again, but he was not in town, so that we were forced to stay three days for his coming. In the mean time we got acquaintance with the inhabitants, which were handsome, lusty and well set, and white, and more mannerly than the rest; they visited us frequently, and spoke kindly to us, so that we found a vast difference between those and the former. The Armin also, who was no less civil, we presented at his return, with a great dish fill’d up with Cibebs, and several sorts of confectures, and laid round about with soap-balls, as is the fashion in these countries; but to them that were with him and of his family, we gave some sheets of white paper, which they willingly received, and were so well pleased with it, that some of them (as the children do in our country, when we give them something that is strange or pleasing to them) smiled at it as often as they look’d on it. The country thereabouts is pretty fertile and plentiful of corn, Indian millet, cotton, &c. and they have also between the rivers very good gardens for the kitchen, with all sorts of plants and fruits in them, viz. Colliflowers, Citruls, Pumpions, Cucumbers, Anguries or Water-melons, which they call Bathiecæ, whereof they have so many that you may buy forty great ones for one Asper, whereof three make a Medin, much about the value of our penny. There were also some Date-trees, Limon and Citron, and other trees, which I could not distinguish at a distance.

CHAP. V.

Of our Voyage to the famous town Ana, in which we passed again through great sandy wildernesses; for the performance thereof we must provide ourselves with victuals, and be very careful in our navigation: Some relation of the inhabitants, of their cloaths, and other things we did observe and see by the way, and what else did happen unto us.

After we had paid the custom to the Armin, who was a great deal more civil than he at Racka, and provided ourselves with all necessaries, we did but half load our ships, to draw them out of the branch again into the river, and then we carry’d the rest to them by boats and small ships, for the water was very low and full of mud, so that we went from thence on the fourth day of October in the evening, and so staid all night, a little below Deer.

The next morning our navigation proceeded very well till noon, when we came to a very broad and shallow place of the river, that our master did not know which way to get through. When he was thus troubled and considering, there appeared on the hight on the shoar some Arabians, and shewed us the course we must take, but we durst not trust them, for we had heard before that they had sunk some great stones there, and that a month before they had persuaded a ship to go that way which did not discover their cheat, until their ship after several hard knocks did split in pieces and sink. The same they would have served others, which, although they did not follow their counsel yet they came into such danger, that they could not deliver themselves out of it in a whole days time. We (thanks be to God) got sooner through than in an hour, after we had drawn our ship a little back into the deep stream to the great admiration of the Arabians: But the other in our company did not stick much longer, yet we had more to do to get her off, because she was shorter with a hollow bottom, wherefore she was sooner turned, but could not be got out so well as ours which was flat bottom’d. In the evening very early we saw at a great distance on the other side in Mesopotamia, a castle in the plain called Sere, which the Arabians, as they say, have many years ago demolished, which the river Chabu, which is pretty large, runs by, which beginneth not much above the castle (which one may guess by it’s fresh water like unto fountain-water) and runs a little way below into the river Euphrates. From thence we thought to have reached Errachaby, a town belonging to the King of Arabia, but being hindred in our navigation, as is abovementioned, we landed a little above this before the night befel us, and went the next morning early to the before-mentioned town, which was pretty large, and lay about half a league from the river in a very fruitful country, where we staid until the next day to sell some goods there. Wherefore two of ours went into the town to call out some of their Merchants to trade with them.

After they had spent that whole day with them, we went off the next morning early toward Schara, a little village which lieth on the right hand half a league distant from the river belonging to the King of Arabia, where we landed to pay the usual custom. All about the sides and the river, I saw a great many bushes and trees. I would fain have been at them to discern what they were, that I might have viewed them exactly, but I was forced to stay in the ship and so I missed them. From Schara our navigation went on for several days very well, but chiefly through sandy desarts which were as large as any we had before passed; for they extended sometimes so far, that we could not see the end of them; and they were so dry, that you could see neither plough, land nor meadow, tree, nor bush, leaf, nor grass, nor path to go in; wherefore these may very well be called desarts, which are also called the sandy seas. First you must expect there great storms, as well as in the seas, which cause waves in the sand as well as at sea; then those that go in great caravans through them, must have their leader or pilot, by them called Caliphi, as well as those at sea, who knows how to direct their way by the compass, as pilots do on shipboard. Then they provide themselves, because the way is very long through them, with victuals for a long time, as well as those that go by sea, wherefore they load generally the third part of their camels with provisions, chiefly with water to refresh themselves and their beasts in the great heat of the sun, for throughout all the desarts there is never a spring to be found, except one should light by chance on a cistern, which yet are also generally dry, for nothing but the rain filleth them. The Turkish Emperors have ordered 30000 of these cisterns to be dug in the ground in these desarts (as I was informed when I was at Aleppo) and to be provided with water, that their armies when they marched from place to place in those times when they had war with the Kings of Persia or Arabia, &c. might not want for water, and if one should be empty they might perhaps find some in the others. In these wildernesses I saw nothing worth speaking of, but on the 9th of October, some ancient turrets that stood upon the high banks on a point called Eusy, where, as some say, hath been formerly a famous town. Thereabouts the river taketh so large a circumference, that we went longer than half a day, before we could pass it. By the same river below us, we saw on the other side of it several Arabians on horseback; and nothing else remarkable, but as I have told you before, some small huts of the Moors, who came to see us often, but chiefly at night time to pilfer something, which they are used to from their infancy. Wherefore it behoved us to have great care, and to keap a good watch, as I did find it the same night: For when it was come to my turn to stand centinel again, which I commonly did in the hindermost part of the ship on high, that I might espy the thieves the sooner if any should come, I laid down by me a good cudgel, as we all used to do every time, so I lay down and wrap’d myself up in a frize coat with hanging sleeves to it, to keep myself from the frost and dew, which are very frequent and violent there. After long watching, I began to be drowsy and fell asleep, a thief came through the water to the ship, where I was laid down very silently, and took hold of one of my sleeves that hung down, in hopes to draw out the coat gently, not knowing that I was in it: So I was sensible that somebody was there that would steal the coat, and got up, and seeing the head of the rogue, I took hold of my long cudgel to have a blow at him; but he was too nimble for me, swam back and ran away: The rest that lay by me were awakened at this, and did perceive that I had seen somebody, but did not know the particulars, so they were very glad that I had frightened away the thief, and gave me thanks for my great care and diligent watching. As the Moors by night follow their robbery, so they came by daylight often with their wives to trade with us. Wherefore our master sometimes to please some Merchants did sooner land, who took all sorts of goods out with him, as soap-balls, beads of chrystal, and yellow agates, glass rings of several colours, which they wear on their hands and feet; and several other toys made of red, yellow, green and blue glass; and set in tin, brass, or lead, high shoes, which are tied with leathern straps at the top, &c. for these goods they truck’d with the Moors for sheep’s skins, buck’s skins, cheese-curds, and several other things, and sometimes for money. These Moors do not differ much in their form from our gypsies, only that these are a good deal browner. They are very nimble in their actions, but they do not much care to work; they rather spend their time in idle discourses, or begin to quarrel with one another with loud and big words, and a great clamour, but seldom are so much in earnest as to come blows. Their heads are shaved saving only the crown, where they let generally a long lock grow, like unto the Turks, that hangeth down behind. As to their cloathing, they wear coats made of course stuff, whole before, and without sleeves; they are pretty long before, and reach to their knees, such an one I wore on my journey, striped with white and black; underneath they have long shirts, which are cut out about the necks and reach down to their ankles; they are commonly blue, and have wide sleeves which they let fly about chiefly in their walking, when they fling their arms about to shew their pride. These shirts they gird up with broad leathern girdles so high, that you cannot see the girdle but only their bended dagger that sticks or hangs in them as we wear our swords. The archers put sometimes one of their arms out of their shirts, and so leave their breast bare at the same time, that they may shoot and fight the freer without being hindred; those that are not able to buy shoes, take instead of them necks of undressed skins, and put them about their feet with the hair outwards, and so tie or lace them up. The men wear no breeches, but the women do, and they come down to their ankles. Their faces are not veiled as the Turkish womens, but else they cover themselves with broad scarfs, which more incline to blue than to white, and let them (chiefly those that wear narrow ones) hang behind in a great knot. When they have a mind to be fine, they put on their precious things, as are marbles, amber beads, glasses of several colours, &c. fixed to laces and hang them down their temples, which come down about a span long, and fly about from face to neck, so that in bending or moving their head, they often hurt their face, and do not a little hinder them in their actions. Those that are of greater substance, and have a mind to be richer and finer in their dress, wear silver and gold rings in one of their nostrils (as some do in one of their ears in our country) wherein are set garnets, turquois, rubies and pearls, &c. They also wear rings about their legs and hands, and sometimes a good many together, which in their stepping and working, slip up and down about their hands and feet, and so make a great noise. So much I thought convenient to relate of the inhabitants of these countries and desarts, as I have seen and found it.