32.—More about the castle of the sparrow-hawk.
During the time that I and my companions were there, we asked a man to take us to the castle, and gave him money; and when we got to the place, one of my companions wanted to remain and keep watch. He who brought us advised him against it, and said that if he did not carry out the watch, he would be lost, and nobody would know where he went; the castle is also hidden by trees, so that nobody knows the way to it. It is also forbidden by the Greek priests, and they say that the devil has to do with it, and not God. So we went on to a city called Kereson. There is also a country that belongs to the above-named kingdom, called Lasia,[(1)] and it is fertile in vineyards. Greeks are in that country. I have also been in Lesser Armenia; the capital is Ersinggan. There is also a city called Kayburt,[1][(2)] and it has a fertile country. Also a city called Kamach,[(3)] situated on a high mountain, and below the mountain flows a river called the Eufrates; it is one of the rivers that flows out of Paradise. This river also flows through Lesser Armenia, and then courses through a desert ten days’ journey across; then it is lost in a marsh, so that nobody knows where it goes.[(4)] It courses also through Persia. There is also a country called Karasser; it is fertile in vineyards.[(5)] There is also a country called Black Turkey; the capital is called Hamunt, and the people are warlike.[(6)] There is also a country called Churt, the capital of which is Bestan.[(7)] Item, a kingdom called Kursi, where the people hold to the Christian faith, have a distinct language and are a warlike people. There is a country called Abkas, its capital Zuchtun;[(8)] it is an unhealthy country, and men and women wear flat caps on their heads, which they do because the place is unhealthy. There is also a small country called Megral, the capital is Kathon,[2][(9)] and in which country they hold to the Greek faith. Also a country called Merdin;[(10)] this is a kingdom where there are Infidels. I have been in all the above-named countries, and have learnt their peculiarities.
[1]Baiburt. N. Byburt, in edition of 1814.
[2]Possibly Gori in Mingrelia. N.
33.—In which countries silk is grown, and of Persia and of other kingdoms.
The chief city of all the kingdoms of Persia is called Thaures.[(1)] The king of Persia has a larger revenue from the city of Thaures, than has the most powerful king in Christendom, because a great many merchants come to it. There is also a kingdom in Persia, the capital of which is called Soltania. There is also a city called Rei,[(2)] in a large country where they do not believe in Machmet as do other Infidels. They believe in a certain Aly who is a great persecutor of the Christian faith; and those of this doctrine are called Raphak.[1][(3)] There is also a city called Nachson;[(4)] it lays near the mountain where the ark stood in which was Noah, and the country is fertile. In it are also three cities, one called Maragara,[(5)] the other Gelat,[(6)] and the third Kirna.[(7)] All three are in a fertile country. There is also, on a mountain, a city called Meya; it is a bishop’s see where they hold to the Roman religion; the priests are of the Order of Preachers, and sing in the Armenian tongue.[(8)] There is a rich country called Gilan, where rice and cotton only is grown, and the people wear knitted shoes. There is a large city called Ress,[(9)] in a good country where good silk kerchiefs are made. Also a city called Strawba,[(10)] in a good country. Another called Antioch;[(11)] the city wall is stained with the blood of Christians, so that it is red. And a city called Aluitze.[2][(12)] Tämerlin besieged it for sixteen years before he took it. There is also a country called Massandaran, which is so wooded, that nobody can go into it. There is a city called Scheckhy; it is in a fertile country near the White Sea.[3][(13)] In this country also is silk grown. Item, a country called Schuruan, and the capital is called Schomachy; it is a hot and unhealthy country, but the best silk is grown there. There is also a city called Hispahan, which is in a good country. There is also in Persia the kingdom Horoson,[4] and its capital is called Hore,[5][(14)] which has three hundred thousand houses. In this same country and kingdom, during the time that I was amongst the Infidels, there was a man three hundred and fifty years old. So the Infidels said. The nails on his hands were one inch in length, his eyebrows hung down from his eyes over his cheeks. He was without teeth, which had fallen out twice, and for the third time two grew, but they were weak and not as strong as they should be, and he could not masticate nor eat with them; they had to feed him. The hair in his ears went down to his jaw; the beard reached to his knees. He had no hair on his head, and could not speak, but he made himself understood with signs. They were obliged to carry him as he could not walk. This man was held to be a saint by the Infidels, and they went to him on a pilgrimage as people do to a saint, and said that Almighty God had chosen him, because for a thousand years no man had lived so long as this man; and who honours him, honours Almighty God, who had wrought such miracles and signs in him. This man was called Phiradamschyech.[(15)] There is a city called Schiras; it is large and in a good country, where no Christian is allowed to trade, especially in the city. A city called Kerman[(16)] in a good country, and a city called Keschon which lies near the sea; there pearls grow, and it is a good country. Item, a city called Hognus; it is large and lies near the sea where one goes to Great India, and great merchandise comes there from India. It is a good country, wherein are found many precious stones which are peculiar to it. There, also, is the city called Kaff,[(17)] also a good country, where all kinds of spices are found, and whence also one goes to Great India. There is a country called Walaschoen; it has a high mountain where many precious stones are found; but nobody can take them because of the serpents and wild beasts. When it rains, it is the torrent that brings them down, then come the experts who know them, and pick them out of the mud. There are also unicorns in those mountains.[(18)]
[1]Raschedi. N.
[2]This is the castle of Alandschik, mentioned by Scherifeddin.—Hist. de Timurbec, ii, 391. H.