_ 321 _ this it took its name of “tiger.” These boats pass beneath it. From Babylon it the river flows through many places of Bedouin Moors, dark in colour, who speak Arabic. About a day’s journey from Basra it joins the River Euphrates, and here there is a castle called Al Qumah. The two together pass through an estuary which flows past Basra. About another day’s journey farther on they enter the sea of the Persian Gulf, the end of the strait of Ormuz or Basra, for cities called by both names are situated at thirty-two and a half degrees. At the end of this strait, which is an arm of the sea lying between Persia and Arabia, nearly two hundred leagues long, and between twenty and twenty-five broad, there are a few islands inhabited by Arabian Moors who live from dates and pearl-fisheries, like Bahrain, which is at the end of the strait, opposite Al Qatif, another island now ruled by the Turk. He has captured from the Arabs Basra, Corva, Douraque and others. It is situated at the end of this strait to the west, two or three leagues distant from these rivers, but they enter through an estuary into the sea, which finishes and comes to an end a little before. Through here, naos and ships come in with their merchandise. It is surrounded by a wattle-and-daub and mud wall. The houses have flat roofs.
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