68 where all kinds of goods are traded, because further upstream on this very river stands the great city of Cambay. Many ships from Malabar always come here, bringing a lot of areca nuts; coconuts; spices; sugar; cardamom, and many other goods they sell here, and they take a lot of cotton; sesame; cloths; wheat; grains; horses; red carnelians, and many other commodities with which you can earn a lot of money in India. It is dangerous for keeled ships to sail here, because if they are moored here in this bay, the tide ebbs so quickly that in a very short space of time the tide goes out four orfive leagues, more in some places, less in others, and when the tide comes in, itfills with such strength that they say a man running with all his might cannot escape it. Thus, any ships of ours that come in here must take local pilots, because when the tide ebbs, they know where there are trenches and places to stay in, and often they moor on rocks where they are then lost. The Beautiful City of Cambay Going upstream from Ghandhar, one comes to a large and beautiful city called Cambay, which is populated by Mouros and gentiles; it has excellent tall houses, with windows and tiled rooves, in our fashion(sic), it is well laid-out, with beautiful squares and large buildings, all with beautiful houses made of stone and mortar. It is set in lovely land, rich in provisions; there are many principal merchants and men of considerable wealth in the city, both Mouros and gentiles; there are many craftsmen of mechanical trades, skillful in many areas, as in Flanders and everything is very cheap. They make many veryfine and thick white cotton cloths here, and others with coloured designs, and many silk cloths, many coloured common velvets; silky satins and taffetas, and many thick carpets. The local people are almost white, both men and women. Many foreigners live in this land, they are very pale men. They are very polite people, who are used to fine clothes and a very comfortable
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy