Early Travels in Palestine / Comprising the Narratives of Arculf, Willibald, Bernard, Sæwulf, Sigurd, Benjamin of Tudela, Sir John Maundeville, de la Brocquière, and Maundrell

by Unknown

Chapter XI.

OF THE CITY OF DAMASCUS.—OF THREE WAYS TO JERUSALEM; ONE BY LAND AND BY SEA; ANOTHER MORE BY LAND THAN BY SEA; AND THE THIRD WAY TO JERUSALEM ALL BY LAND.

Now that I have told you of some of the people in the countries before, I will turn again to my way to describe the road back. From the land of Galilee, of which I have spoken, men come back to Damascus, which is a very fair and noble city, and full of all merchandise, and three days from the sea, and five days from Jerusalem. Men carry merchandise thither upon camels, mules, horses, dromedaries, and other beasts; and thither come merchants by sea, from India, Persia, Chaldea, Armenia, and many other kingdoms. This city was founded by Helizeus Damascus, who was yeoman and steward to Abraham before Isaac was born; for he expected to have been Abraham's heir, and he named the town after his surname, Damascus. And in that place, where Damascus was founded, Cain slew Abel his brother. And beside Damascus is Mount Seir. In that city of Damascus there is great plenty of wells; and within the city and without are many fair gardens, with diversity of fruits. No other city can be compared with it for fair gardens for recreation. The city is great and full of people, and well walled with double walls, and it contains many physicians; and St. Paul himself was there a physician, to keep men's bodies in health, before he was converted; and after that he was physician of souls. And St. Luke the Evangelist was a disciple of St. Paul to learn physic, and many others; for St. Paul held then a school of physic. And near Damascus he was converted; and after his conversion he dwelt in that city three days, without sight and without meat or drink. And in those three days he was raised to heaven, and there he saw many secrets of our Lord. And close beside Damascus is the castle of Arkes, which is both fair and strong. From Damascus we return by our Lady of Sardenak, which is five miles on this side of Damascus; and it is seated upon a rock, and is a very fair place, and appears like a castle, which it was formerly; but it is now a very fair church; and in it are Christian monks and nuns; and there is a vault under the church where Christians dwell also; and they have many good vines. In the church, behind the altar, in the wall, is a table of black wood, on which formerly was painted an image of our Lady, which turns into flesh; but now the image appears but little. But evermore, through the grace of God, that table drops oil, as it were of olive. And there is a vessel of marble under the table, to receive the oil, of which they give to pilgrims; for it healeth many sicknesses. And he that keepeth it cleanly a year, after that year it turneth into flesh and blood.

Between the city of Dark and the city of Raphane is a river, which they call Sabatorye; for on the Saturday[354] it runs fast, and all the week else it standeth still, and runs nought or little. And there is another river that freezeth wonderfully fast in the night, and by day no frost is seen. And so men go by a city called Beruthe, on the coast of the sea, by which they go to Cyprus; and they arrive at the port of Sur, or Tyre, and then to Cyprus. Or else men may go from the port of Tyre right well, and come not to Cyprus, but arrive at some haven of Greece; and then men come to this country by ways that I have spoken of before.

Now have I told you of ways by the which men go farthest and longest, as by Babylon and Mount Sinai, and many other places, through which lands men turn again to the land of promise. Now I will tell you the direct way to Jerusalem; for some men will not pass it on account of the expense, or because they have no company, or for many other reasonable causes; and therefore I will tell you briefly how a man may go with little expense and in a short time. A man who comes from the lands of the west, goes through France, Burgundy, and Lombardy, and to Venice, and to Genoa, or some other haven of the marshes, and taketh a ship there, and goes by sea to the isle of Gryffle; and so he arrives in Greece, or in Port Moroche, or Valon, or Duras, or at some other haven, and lands to repose himself, and goes again to the sea, and arrives in Cyprus; and comes not to the isle of Rhodes, but arrives at Famagosta, which is the chief haven of Cyprus, or else at Lamatoun, and then embarks again, and passes the haven of Tyre without landing; and so passes by all the havens of that coast till he comes to Jaffa, which is the nearest port to Jerusalem, for it is only seven-and-twenty miles. And from Jaffa men go to the city of Ramla, which is but a short distance thence, and it is a fair city. And beside Ramla is a fair church of our Lady, where our Lord appeared to our Lady in the likeness that betokeneth the Trinity. And there, fast by, is a church of St. George, where his head was smitten off; and then to the castle of Emmaus; and then to Mount Joy; and from thence pilgrims may first see Jerusalem. And then to Mount Modeyn, and then to Jerusalem. And at Mount Modeyn lies the prophet Maccabeus. And over Ramatha[355] is the town of Douke, whereof was Amos the good prophet.

Another way. Forasmuch as many men may not bear the sea, but had rather go by land, although it be a more laborious journey, a man shall so go to one of the havens of Lombardy, Venice, or another; and he shall pass into Greece, through Port Moroche or another, and so he shall go to Constantinople. And he shall so pass the water called the Brace of St. George, which is an arm of the sea; and from thence he shall come to Pulveralle, and thence to the castle of Cynople; and from thence he shall go to Cappadocia, which is a great country, where there are many great hills. And he shall go through Turkey, and unto the city of Nice, which the Turks have taken from the emperor of Constantinople. It is a fair city, and wonderfully well walled; and there is a river that is called the Laye; and there men go by the Alps of Aryoprynant, and by the vales of Mallebrynez, and also the vale of Ernax; and so to Antioch the Less, which is situated on the river Riclay. And thereabout are many good and fair hills, and many fair woods, and also wild beasts.

And he that will go by another way, must go by the plains of Romania, coasting the sea. Upon that coast is a wonderfully fair castle, which they call Florathe. And when we are out of those hills, we pass through a city called Maryoche and Arteyse, where there is a great bridge over the river of Ferne, which men call Farfar; and it is a great river, capable of admitting ships. And beside the city of Damascus is a river that comes from the mountain of Libanus, which is called Albane. At the passing of this river St. Eustache lost his two sons, when he had lost his wife. And it goeth through the plain of Arthadoe, and so to the Red Sea; and so men go unto the city of Phenne, and so to the city of Ferne. Antioch is a very fair city, and well walled; it is two miles long, and each pillar of the bridge there has a good tower; and this is the best city of the kingdom of Syria. And from Antioch men may go to the city of Latuche (Latakiyah), and then to Gebel (Jebili), and then to Tourtous (Tortosa); and thereby is the land of Cambre, where there is a strong castle, which they call Maubeke. And from Tourtous men go to Tripoli, on the sea; and they go by sea unto Acre. From this place there are two ways to Jerusalem; on the left we go first to Damas, by the river Jordan; on the right we go through the land of Flagam, and so to the city of Caiphas (Caiffa), of which Caiaphas was lord; and some call it the Castle of Pilgrims. And from thence it is four days to Jerusalem, passing through Cesarea Philippi, Jaffa, Ramleh, and Emmaus.

Now I have told you some of the ways by land and water, how men may go to Jerusalem; but there are many other ways according to the countries from which they come. There is one way, all by land, to Jerusalem, without passing any sea, which is from France or Flanders; but that way is very long and perilous; and therefore few go that way. It lies through Germany and Prussia, and so on to Tartary. This Tartary is held of the great chan, of whom I shall speak more afterwards; and the lords of Tartary pay the great chan tribute. This is a very bad land, and sandy, and bears very little fruit; for there grows little corn, or wine, or beans, or peas; but there are plenty of cattle; and men eat nothing but flesh, without bread; and they drink the broth, and also they drink milk. And they eat all manner of animals, such as dogs, cats, and rats. And they have little or no wood; and therefore they warm and boil their meat with horse-dung, and cow-dung, and that of other beasts, dried by the sun; and princes and others eat but once a day, and that but little; and they are very foul people, and of evil nature. And in summer, in all these countries, fall many tempests, and dreadful storms of thunder and lightning, which kill many people, and beasts also. And the temperature passes suddenly from extreme heat to extreme cold. It is the foulest country, and the most cursed, and the poorest, that men know. And their prince, whom they call Batho, dwells at the city of Orda. And truly no good man would dwell in that country; for it is not worthy for dogs to dwell in. It were a good country to sow thistles, and briars, and broom, and thorns; and it is good for no other thing. There is some good land, but very little, as men say. I have not been in that country; but I have been in other lands which border on those countries, and in the land of Russia, and in Nyflan, and in the realm of Cracow, and Letto (Lithuania), and in Darestan, and in many other places which border on those parts; but I never went by that way to Jerusalem, wherefore I cannot describe it from personal knowledge; for no man may pass by that way well, except in time of winter, for the perilous waters and difficult marshes, which no man may pass except it be strong frost, and snow upon it; for if the snow were not there, men might not go upon the ice. And it is full three days of such way to pass from Prussia to the inhabited land of the Saracens. And Christians who shall war against them every year must carry their victuals with them; for they shall find no good there. And they must carry their victuals upon the ice, with cars that have no wheels, which they call sleighs; and as long as their victuals last they may abide there, but no longer; for there shall they find no body that will sell them any thing. And when the spies see any Christian men coming upon them, they run to the towns, and cry with a loud voice, "Kerra, kerra, kerra;" and then anon they arm and assemble together.

And you shall understand that it freezeth more strongly in those countries than in this part of the world; and therefore hath every man stoves in his house, and on those stoves they eat and do their occupations all that they may; for that is in the northern parts, where there is but little sun; and therefore in the very north the land is so cold that no man may dwell there; and, on the contrary, towards the south it is so hot that no man may dwell there, because there the sun is direct over head.