_ 373 _ We left there and travelled for three days in the same way until we reached a place called Cabrestan, where there are palm groves, freshwater wells and a big one-storey arched house with four gates and a large water cistern beside it. These houses are called carvançaras in the Persian language, which means 'resting place for caravans and foreigners'. Here the Moors are treated respectfully as fellow men as in our hospitals, so that travellers stay there as well as those who are going in caravans. In the summer, there are no doors, since it is a very hot country, so much so that people collapse with the heat, as I can testify to having seen. The place lies along the length of the coast and is still in the kingdom of Ormuz. From there, we went away from the sea and the Persian Gulf towards the north, travelling for two days through deserted lands and valleys where we found a few palm groves and freshwater wells which we did not make use of. We reached a city called Lara, which is beyond the kingdom of Ormuz, in Persia. Chapter: III Of the City of Lara. The City of Lara is in the Kingdom of Persia, and lies between two mountain ranges, to the west of Ormuz. It is surrounded by a thick stone and plaster wall, which
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