88 lands lie between the mountains and the sea, and thus they cannot reach them. There are many trees here and wild animals, such as boars; deer; panthers; leopards; tigers, and bears. There are also some grey animals that look like camels; they are so fast that nobody can kill them. There are flying snakes too, so poisonous that their breath and gaze kills anyone who comes upon them, and they hang in trees and all over, and there are many wild elephants too. Many precious stones can be found here, such as hyacinths, amethysts and some soft sapphires that are found in the streams and rivers, thatflow through these hills, where there are many rivers. This kingdom of Vijayanagara has many large cities; towns, and villages, and fortresses. There are vastfields of rice; cereals; beans and other vegetables; they also raise many goats; cows, and sheep, and there are also many hacks, which cover great distances, and donkeys and oxen, all of which they use for cargo and ploughing thefields. All these towns and villages are inhabited by gentiles, with a few Mouros living among them. There are many places here given to lords by the king of Vijayanagara, who appoints governors and tax collectors in the places that he has kept. The Great City of Vijayanagara Heading inland forty leagues from here, one comes to a great city called Vijayanagara, with an enormous population, surrounded by excellent walls and a river, on the far side of a high mountain range. It stands on a veryflat piece of land and the king of Vijayanagara is always there. He is a gentile and goes by the name of Raya. He lives in a large and beautiful palace, with many courtyards andfinely built houses, with patios within and many ponds with numerous fish. He has gardens with many trees and scented herbs. There are many similar palaces around the city, where the leading men and governors of the city live. The other houses have thatched rooves,
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