_ 374 _ in places has stretches of very beautiful tiles. Inside are very good houses built with mud walls in the French manner. It is well provided with streets and has four thousand inhabitants who are all white Moors called Laris. They wear cotton cloths which are padded in winter, while plain in summer, drawers and shoes whose pointed toes are turned back on top. These, even the soles, are made of strips of cotton cloth, and are very hardwearing. They make fine, strong Turkish bows in the city, and as these are so well-made they are used in many countries where they are much treasured. One speaks of a bow from Lara as we speak of a helmet from Milan. On their heads, they wear turbans with no face covering, and some wear the red cap of the Sophy under them. The staple diet of the country is dates and barley, of which there is a large supply, and from which they make cakes. They also have wheat, but not much. The meat which they eat is goat and wild animals which they kill with bows and arrows, an art at which they are extremely able. They always carry these weapons, whether in war or peace. The king does not have a large household. Outside the city, close to the walls, there are farms with large, noble houses with fruit trees as in Spain, as
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy