_ 136 _ heathens called Kosti and Shemsi, because they worship the sun, which is Shems in Arabic; and others called Gorsi, who are like Greeks. They are all different in some features of their faith and ceremonies. Thus Arabs live here, all of whom speak only the Arabic language. There are Jews who are natives of the country, Spaniards, Portuguese, Venetian Christians, French merchants who trade on a large scale and with large amounts of capital, for there is great commerce here. From here are sent spices, silks, camel-hair cloth, cottons, drugs, jewels, and innumerable other textiles and merchandise, which go to France and Venice; and from there come in return many kinds of cloth: satins, velvets, damasks and every other kind of merchandise, and everything is used and sent out to many places. The Christians have a consul who governs them and maintains law and order for them, appointed here by the Seigniory of Venice. The Turk consents to this because of the great interest this has for them, both in revenues and in the expenses they have in this land, which in Aleppo alone surpass 200,000 cruzados a year. Even so they are not free from harassment by the Turks at alI times in all kinds of unreasonable ways, for this is their custom with every race in the world. They often trick money out of
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