The world surveyed, or The famous voyages & travailes of Vincent le Blanc, or White, of Marseilles ... containing a more exact description of several parts of the world, then hath hitherto been done by any other authour : the whole work enriched with many authentick histories / originally written in French ; and faithfully rendred into English by F.B., Gent.

CHAP. VIII. Of Babylon, the red sea, Homerites, Aden, a strong Town, and famous Haven, Cameran, and other places in the red sea.

WE travel'd stil through Arabia, from town to town, vent∣ing and trucking our commodities, with an earnest desire to reach Persia; all the towns of Arabia are fair ones and yield a great revenue to the Sequemir; between Zidem and Zibit there are several, and well peopled, and from thence to Aden many more; Zibit is not so near Aden, as by some shee is said to be, as they relate Dalatia in Aethiopia,* 1.1 to be opposite to Meka, and they stand three hundred leagues asunder.

This Arabia joynes to Persia Northward, and the way thither lyes through Taeza Sanna, Soufar, Erit, Almacara, and other towns, Almacara stands upon a hill but Eastward upon Gaza, a bigge town, and well inhabited where there is weekly a Fair or Market kept by night, by reason of the heats, and there all sorts of Mer∣chandizes are exposed to sale, perfumes especially.

The Nobility of the Country affect much to eat Ambar, Musk, and other sweets: the Soudan of Aden, subject to Sequemir, spends yearly six thousand Duccats therein, for his self, wife, and family, their kitchins may be taken for perfumers shops so sweet and odoriferous.

The Red Seas coast towards Aden, is thick of good towns, and well traded; and among the Merchants are many thieves, which you must have a care on; you see the towns called Ahra, Dami∣can, Coubita, Erit, Aridan, Magora, Rabon, Salta, and others; with many villages subjects to the Sequemir, who commands six Soltania's, or kingdomes, all fill'd with good towns: upon the Sea side grow store of reeds or Canes, which in time make little Islands, rendring the landing difficult; and from thence the He∣brewes call that Sea Souf, which signifies a reed.

* 1.2Caravanes come to a town called Albir or Debir, and there load their wares they carry unto Babylon; as we found several travelling thither; I intreated one of them to furnish me with as many Maps of the chiefest cities he could conveniently; for I was very desirous of them, and amongst the rest he procured me the Mappe of Babylon, or Bagdet, printed upon a Cotton, which Mappe is made in a kinde of ceremony, when the Sequemir re∣ceives his Crown and blessing from the Califf of Bagdet, as the most ancient of Meka, and to instruct him in his way; they deli∣neate Samacara, from whence he sets forth for Babylon, he goes through Byr, then in twelve dayes reaches Falouchia, in a flat

boat, from thence to Babylon, in one day more.

As we were making sale of our commodities with intention to visit the East India's, amongst other things we got some pieces of Velvet, which we had in exchange for our wares: I shall by the way advise those who intend to make the voyage of Arabia,* 1.3 to store themselves with great horse bits; for that is a commodity goes off there at a good rate, you may make your own price, not exceeding ten Duccats a piece.

Thus we travelled through Sanna, passing through many fine towns, as Adimar, one of the fairest of all Arabia, with intention to passe over into the Isle of Cameran, where were three Portugais vessels bound for Calicut; but we had so ill a passage,* 1.4 that we alter∣ed our resolutions, and sailed the coast of Avisa, then to Mount Bacour, where we sold our Camels, upon condition they should carry our goods in to Aden, within two leagues of that place.

The Red Sea from Suez to the Cape Cardafu, is in the eighteenth degree, in length four hundred leagues, and in breadth fifty;* 1.5 is navigable, but not without great danger, especially by night; because 'tis full of shelvy rocks, reeds, and Isles; and by day (be∣sides the common Pilot) they have a man placed upon the Mast to discover, and direct the ship: from Cameran, 'tis not so dange∣rous; but we were forced to make this voyage by land, to escape the dangers at Sea: the water to my thinking, was of the co∣lour of other Sea-water, both in her Superficies and bottom; the name of red onely excepted, which was given her by allusion to the name of King Erithreus, who named it so;* 1.6 or because of the sands, which in some places are of a reddish colour: The Moors call it Babar Corzum, which signifies an inclosed sea, the havens upon it are at Babel-Mandel, which is in the twelfth degree, 'tis called by some the sea of Meka; Arabia upon the red sea side, was formerly inhabited by several people,* 1.7 principally the Sa∣baeans, since called the Homerites; they received the Christian Faith in the dayes of the Emperour Constantius; and some will have it, that rather from thence then Aethiopia, came Queen Saba, and since Queen Candaces Eunuch.

At the end of this Sea in the Streights of Babel-Mandel, is the town and Haven of Aden,* 1.8 called by those of that countrey Adedoun, a town of the greatest fame in all the East, and one of the strongest of Arabia, and of greatest importance▪ by reason of the trade and concourse of all the Nations of the In∣dies, Persia, Tartary, Arabia, Aethiopia, and the Levant: she was formerly subject to Sequemir, since conquered by the Por∣tugais, and now in the possession of the Turk; on the land side stands that famous Mountaine Albacoure, or Dartzira;* 1.9 which must be travell'd over to reach hither; the passage is streight, and difficult, defended by two strong Castles on each side of the way one; from the top of the hill you discover

Aden, standing in a large plain; her Haven is great and good, butting upon the Cape Gardafu; the Town is grown famous since the Portugais set footing in the East Indies. for the Mer∣chants leaving the red sea, for feare of the Portugais rest here in their journy to the Indies, whereas before they went through∣out, without landing here.

Here are unladen, from the Indies and other places, the Spices,* 1.10 Aloes, Brasil, Pearles, and pretious stones, Myrobo∣lan, Safron, Wax, Steel, Sugars, Rice, Purcelaines, Lin∣nens, Quick-silver, Vermillions, Cottons, Silks, Scarlets, Chamlets, Musk, Amber, Beniamin, Storax, Azure, and other Commodities vented in several places.

* 1.11Here time out of mind, were the Spices landed, and from hence by the red sea, and the Nile, transported into Alexandria: formerly (they say) that the Soudan Governour of this place, was so puissant, as to send an Army of thirty thousand horse, and forty thousand Cammels to assist the Soudan of Egypt against the Christians; and waged ordinary warre, besides against the Abys∣sins:* 1.12 Aden is well walled, and fortified with several Castles on the East side; on the North stands Bacoure, which divides her from the Happy Arabia, and on all other sides she is incom∣past with the sea; Westward the sea, enters the land so far through a gulf, that you would think the Mountaigne were an Island; the Haven is Eastward, and large, scituate un∣der the foot of the Hill; coming from Arabia, you would take the towne to stand upon the top of the hill, whereas it stands in a plain almost surrounded with the Sea, guard∣ed by a strong Block-house in a little Isle adjacent, that defends the Towne and the mouth of the Haven, as by the side of the Hill there are severall Forts, that com∣mand those passages; The opposite to Aden of this side of the Isle, and streight of Babel-Mandel is in Aethiopia, sub∣ject (most of it) to the grand Neguz, with a creek of Sea, and a fair Haven, and the Cape called Foubical, or Guardu∣fu, anciently the Promontory called Aromata: from one side to the other, the streight is forty thousand paces over, and in the midst stands this little Island, in length some two leagues; the mouth is very dangerous to enter at low water, by reason of Shelves, Rocks, and Reeds, and a number of Isles, of different bignesse, some of them inhabited, some not; wee travelled most of them, and the chiefest I saw was Cameran,* 1.13 near the coast of Arabia, in the fifteenth de∣gree of Elevation, fifteene miles round, or thereabouts; she hath plenty of fresh water, and her Haven is of the con∣tinent side but two leagues off, or thereabouts; the Town is small, but increases dayly, subject to the Sequemir, and inhabi∣ted by Moores.

On the other side, in Aethiopia, is Dalascia, or Dalaca,* 1.14 a faire Town, inhabited by an Idolatrous King, tributary to the King of the Abyssins, since the conquest that Alexander the Preste John made of it, which hath ever since obeyed his Lawes, together with Rocca, or Eroca, where there is a faire Haven, in∣habited by Christians, Abyssins; very good people, they weep for joy, to see any Christians of these parts, they call them Roma∣tas, or Roume, make very much of them, and distribute what they have amongst them, according to the charitable practise of the Primitive Church: They have a little higher, another faire Isle, called Mesua, or Mezuan, peopled with Christians, where there is a good Haven,* 1.15 that saves many good ships from ship∣wrack, sayling in this dangerous sea: a little above Mesua is another Isle called Ibrani on Aethiopia side, where there is a good Haven, and most of the Inhabitants fishermen:* 1.16 be∣yond that is the Isle of Camera, subject to the Preste John, she hath two Havens, one southward, the other eastward, hath good water, and a good well, two hundered paces from the Sea, in an orchard, called Magodu, or Magot, con∣teyning twenty or thirty houses, and every house a boate, ready to take the water to fish, which is their onely liveli∣hood.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Dalata.
• * 1.2

  Debir.
• * 1.3

  Trade in Arabia.
• * 1.4

  Cameran Isle.
• * 1.5

  Red sea.
• * 1.6

  King Eri∣threus.
• * 1.7

  Sabeans, Homerites.
• * 1.8

  Aden.
• * 1.9

  Abacoure or Bacoure.
• * 1.10

  The trade of Aden.
• * 1.11

  Spices, and the trade from time to time.
• * 1.12

  Aden how fortified.
• * 1.13

  Cameran.
• * 1.14

  Dalascia.
• * 1.15

  Mezua.
• * 1.16

  Ibrani. Camera.