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Richard Hakluyt - Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, 10
corne, rice, pulse, and dates. The towne of Balsara is a mile and an halfe in circuit: all the buildings,
castle and wals, are made of bricke, dried in the Sun. The Turke hath here fiue hundred Ianisaries,
besides other souldiers continually in garison and pay, but his chiefe strength is of gallies which are
about fiue and twenty or thirty very faire and furnished with goodly ordinance. To this port of Balsara
come monethly diuers ships from Ormuz, laden with all sorts of Indian marchandise, as spices, drugs,
Indico and Calecut cloth. These ships are vsually from forty to threescore tunnes, hauing their planks
sowed together with corde made of the barke of Date trees, and in stead of Occam they vse the shiuerings
of the barke of the sayd trees, and of the same they also make their tackling. [Ships made without yron in
the Persian gulfe.] They haue no kind of yron worke belonging to these vessels, saue only their ankers.
From this place six dayes sailing downe the gulfe, they goe to a place called Baharem in the mid way to
Ormus: there they fish for pearles foure moneths in the yeere, to wit, in Iune, Iuly, August, and
September. [Zelabdim Echebar king of Cambaia.] My abode in Balsara was iust sixe moneths, during
which time I receiued diuers letters from M. Iohn Newberry from Ormus, who as he passed that way with
her Maiesties letters to Zelabdim Echebar king of Cambaia, and vnto the mighty emperour of China, was
traiterously there arrested, and all his company, by the Portugals, and afterward sent prisoner to Goa;
where after a long and cruell imprisonmeat, he and his companions were deliuered vpon sureties, not to
depart the towne without leaue, at the sute of one father Thomas Steuens, an English religious man which
they found there: but shortly after three of them escaped, whereof one, to wit, M. Ralph Fitch, is since
come into England. The fourth, which was a painter called Iohn Story, became religious in the college of
S. Paul in Goa, as we vnderstood by their letters. [He returneth from Balsara to Aleppo.] I and my
companion William Shales hauing dispatched our businesse at Balsara, imbarked our selues in company
of seuenty barks all laden with marchandise, hauing euery barke 14. men to draw them, like our
Westerne bargemen on the Thames, and we were forty foure dayes comming vp against the streame to
Babylon, [Their provision of victuals.] where arriuing and paying our custome, we with all other sorts of
marchants bought vs camels, hired vs men to lade and driue them, furnished our selues with rice, butter,
bisket, hony made of dates, onions and dates: and euery marchant bought a proportion of liue muttons,
and hired certaine shepheards to driue them with vs: we also bought vs tents to lie in and to put our goods
under: [A Carauan of foure thousand Camels.] and in this our carauan were foure thousand camels laden
with spices, and other rich marchandises. These camels will liue very well two or three dayes without
water: their feeding is on thistles, wormewood, magdalene, and other strong weeds which they finde
vpon the way. The gouernment and deciding of all quarels and dueties to be payed, the whole carauan
commiteth to one speciall rich marchant of the company, of whose honesty they conceiue best. In passing
from Babylon to Aleppo, we spent forty dayes, trauelling twenty, or foure and twenty miles a day, resting
ourselues commonly from two of the clocke in the afternoone, vntill three in the morning, at which time
we begin to take our iourney. Eight dayes iourney from Babylon toward Aleppo, neere vnto a towne
called Heit, as we crosse the riuer Euphrates by boates, about 3. miles from the town there is a valley
wherein are many springs throwing out abundantly at great mouths, a kinde of blacke substance like vnto
tarre, which serueth all the countrey to make stanch their barkes and boates: euery one of these springs
maketh a noise like vnto a Smiths forge in the blowing and puffing out of this matter, which neuer
ceaseth night nor day, and the noise may be heard a mile off continually. This vale swalloweth vp all
heauie things that come vpon it. The people of the countrey call it in their language Babil gehenham, that
is to say, Hell doore. As we passed through these deserts, we saw certaine wild beasts, as wild asses all
white, Roebucks, wolfes, leopards, foxes, and many hares, whereof we chased and killed many. Aborise
the king of the wandring Arabians in these deserts hath a dutie of 40. s. sterling, vpon euery Camels lode,
which he sendeth his officers to receiue of the Carauans, and in consideration hereof, he taketh vpon him
to conduct the sayd Carauans if they need his helpe, and to defend them against certaine prowling
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