_ 367 _ land; it is some three or four leagues in circumference; there is a small mountain range which on one side has a salt quarry, called Indian Salt, and on the other sulphur deposits. The salt is very white inside, while on the outside it is red. A league from the city are three wells which contain very good water; there is no other water supply other than from a cistern or brackish water. There are no trees, nor is there vegetation. As it is so sterile because of its position and has the best port which one could hope for, the Moors built a city at a point of the island which they called Ormuz. The ports were situated in bays, one to the east and the other to the west, where 400-ton ships can be brought aground. The city is flat, and there is no fortress other than the King's houses. It has many houses, and they are very beautiful, of whitewashed stone, of two or three storeys, with terraced roofs, since it is so hot in summer. The houses have ventilators which look like simple chimneys, and which are built on the roofs. They are placed in the centre of each house, and wind can enter them during the summer. In the winter, they are covered. The residents live under Mohammedan law. They are Persians and Arabs and speak both Arabic and Persian.
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