Page 57 - History of Portuguese in the Gulf_Neat

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28 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO TEIXEIRA.
with them by the canal above mentioned,1 and by land ;
but the latter is cut up with artificial public conduits and
channels. It stands in a plain, and may have within and
without the fortress ten thousand houses, mostly large, but
of poor architecture; built of sun-dried bricks that scarce
stand for three years. Those of the poor are commonly of
mats and bundles of reeds, abundant in the rivers. It
hath a citadel, foursquare, yet longer than wide; where
many walls and ramparts are all of earth, and almost in
ruin. Around it is a deep and wide ditch, filled from the
creek. Within it are about ten thousand houses,2 and
here is the centre of traffic. Here also are most of the
crafts, and the head-quarters, and most of the garrison.
This may be in all of three thousand men, between
musketeers and horsemen, Turks, Kurds, and Arabs,
besides outposts. There is a Pasha, the supreme com­
mander in peace and war, and a custom-house, whose
dues are great, and pay for the garrisons and other
expenses, with a great surplus.
There is here an arsenal, and therein much and good
artillery, and some galleys; but these are few, of small
scantling, and ill-built. They launched a new one of the
same sort while I was there. These are not kept against
the Portuguese, as someone has written; for the Turks
know well that with such they could do no harm to
them. But they are for use in the river and thereabouts,
to keep in order the rebellious Arabs, from whom they
exact heavy tribute. Small as they are, they cost much ;
for that land has no timber at all, and it is costly of
import.
They cross their creek by a wooden bridge set upon
1 Asshar creek of the Persian Gulf Pilot.
3 The number above assigned to the fortified city and suburbs.
The fortaleza, or fort, usually means in the East a fortified city, and
not a citadel reserved for military use only.
a
JOURNEY FROM INDIA TO ITALY. 29
eight boats, and elsewhere in boats that they call dane-
quast built of any little scraps of wood for want of greater.
j;
But in spite of this, and of their being uncaulkcd, they - V\
are very staunch and water-tight, being covered with a
bitumen that they call quir} whereof I shall have more to
1 H
say, in place of pitch. Basord is well provided and fertile,
■
especially in dates ; so good, and so abundant, that they
f-
are exported yearly in great quantity to Bagdad, the
ports of Persia and Iiarmuz, and are a staple food. The
soil bears all fruits and vegetables, wheat, barley, rice, and
j
garden-stuff, abundant and cheap; and as there is import
h
from Rexer,2 Regh Ceyfadin, and Dorek, the price is kept
■ P
?
down. There are in plenty all sorts of great and small
cattle, and of fowl, and fish from the river, but not good.
There is trade with Harmuz, whence come all Indian
wares; with Barhen, Catifa, Las&n,3 Persia, Bagdad, and 1
all Arabia thereabouts. There are here countless scor­
fcj.
pions, and I saw many as big as common crayfish.4 The
air is unhealthy, and the climate very hot. The folk are
Turks and Arabs, chiefly the latter, who are natives here ;
i
: most are well-favoured, especially the children and women. ;
. These last are said to be not very chaste. Traffic is
mostly conducted by means of camels, mules, asses, and
i horses; of which there are great studs in the land ; and
being many and good, they are exported to Harmuz for
the Indian trade.
When I came to Basord there were many houses in ruin
1 Cf. Hobson-fobson, s. v. “ Kil.”—D. F.
2 Note the final r, and vide note, p. 23, where the text has Rcxe/.
The cultivation of rice has fallen off of late years, and wheat and dates
have replaced it, to the great improvement of the climate (Persian
Gulf Pilot).
3 « Lasdn” is probably A1 Hdsa, the province of Arabia surrounding
A1 Katif.
4 Presumably the fresh-water crayfish or tferevisse {Astacus fluvia-
tills), which is not very unlike a scorpion in shape, and equalled in
size by many scorpions.