_ 377 _ very good anchorage for larger naos, one of which is on the eastern side and the other on the west. A city was built little by little at a point between the two ports because of the many ships which came there from Arabia, Persia and India and other places, and this became very important and was called Ormuz. It is a flat city, very well laid-out with noble buildings of lime and plaster, many houses with upper storeys and terraces and where the kings have palaces built like fortresses. As the land is very hot, all the houses have at their centre chimneys with cataventos which cool their interiors. Caravans come to the city from many places, such as Maracante, Tabriz, Kishm and other Persian and Arabian cities, and they bring much rich produce and many horses which are taken from there to India, where they are sold for 200, 300, 400, 500 or 600 pardaos, and some for even more. The inhabitants of this city are for the most part Arabs and Persians, who are given to pleasure, and are very protective of their women, and justifiably o, since they are very beautiful women who, when they go out of the house, cover their faces so that they cannot be recognized. The men are pleasant and very good horsemen. There are more than 200 houses belonging to the inhabitants, who exercise by playing a from of polo a
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