Page 58 - History of Portuguese in the Gulf_Neat
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JOURNEY FROM INDIA TO ITALY. 31
30 THE TRAVELS OF PEDRO TEIXEIRA.
navigable to a point thirty leagues inland, whereof it now
within and without the walls, which were being rebuilt
falls far short, but still is notable as the work of man's
very hastily. The reason was, that eight or ten days
before, a magazine had caught fire, and five thousand odd hand.
One day they took me up it, rather more than three
leathern sacks of powder exploded, with such uproar, that
men thought the end of the world was come. There was leagues, to see a Xeque, or Lord, who held much of the
great damage in most of the city, which may have been country that I afterwards traversed. He was called Xeque
here two centuries, and is now in its third site.1 The Mahamed eben Raxet; a man for his presence and aspect
worthy of that and of a better position. By means of an
Turks have held it now for over fifty years, to whom it
was made subject by an Arab tyrant, who seized it, and interpreter,1 he spoke at large with me; showing great
pleasure therein, for that he had never seen a Frank, as
claimed their protection.2 As for the manners, dress, and
customs of the folk, there is nothing to tell ; because they they call the Christians of Europe. He wondered at my
are all Arabs and Turks, whose ways are well known. All dress, speech, and manners, which he considered with
gold and silver coins pass in this country for what they particular attention ; and after great offers, and entertain
may be worth ; but those struck there in the mint are of ment on a little ill-stewed goat’s meat—which was no
silver and copper. The silver coins are, first, the larins,3 small favour—I took leave of him. Descending the river,
\
long money with both ends bent, worth sixty-five marave- which is really very pleasant, at a certain point I saw the
dis apiece; and secondly, round coins called xaysf of the Moors in my boat rise, and pray very reverently. I
shape and value of our real sexillo. This is of a lower looked whither they faced in prayer, and saw on the shore
standard than the other, which is very fine. There are a little house like a hermitage, and asked what it was.
here no buildings of importance. In the city, there are They said that it was dedicated to Iqd ben Mariam, that is,
several public baths, very clean, and profitable. Their rule Jesus, the son of Maria; and showed me much land and
many palm-groves, assigned to its support and service.
is to admit men up to noon, and women from noon to
sunset; and if any should transgress the same of malice, Whereat I wondered; for though I knew that the Moors
he would be most severely punished. The canal, which is honour him greatly and call him Ruyalah, that is, “the
Breath of God,” I had never known them to dedicate a
artificial, as I have said, runs far into the land, and from it
are watered great fields, and an immense number of palm- temple to him.2
j
groves. Ancient men assured me that it had once been
1 1 This is one of the passages that indicate Teixeira to have had
less Arabic than Persian. Later on, he seems to have less Turkish
1 The reference here is to one of the numerous slight shifts of site than Arabic.
and reconstructions, to which Asiatic capitals are very liable, especi
ally on alluvial plains. Teixeira was well aware of the shifts of Basra. 2 The very cool and cautious expression of this passage is worth
He mentions the second site of it on p. 34, and the first on p. 35. noting. [Dr. Kayserling (op. cit., p. 170, ;;.) quotes this statement of
Teixeira’s, and adds: “ Without doubt these were remains of Christian
2 This was in 1546 (see Couto, Dec. VI, Liv. IV, cap. v).—D. F.
3 So called from the city of Lar, where they are said to have been communities, which had formed themselves at the time of the found
first coined. They were worth at this time about tenpence. An ation of Christianity.” Dr. Kayserling also says : “ It is surprising that
illustrated note on the subject will be found in Mr. Gray’s Pyrard, he does not mention the Jews of this city, who, in the time of Benjamin
vol. i, p. 232. See also i?ifra, Appendix C.—D. F. of Tudela, amounted to two thousand. If, however, we consider that
4 Shdhis, worth at this time about fourpence English (see Letters the three thousand Jewish families who, only twenty years since, dwelt
Received by the E. India Co., vol. iii, p. 326).—D. F. there, have now decreased to fifty, it is quite possible that their number
