_ 50 _ Our fleet sailed on with difficulty against contrary weather and calms, and doubled a cape called Mussendum, and from there they crossed to the island of Ormuz, which is triangular and has a circumference of fifteen leagues. It is all bare rock without any trees, only spiny leafless bushes, and the ground is salty, and in many places, there is running water which also becomes much more brackish than the water on the shore. There are many rivers and harbours in the neighbourhood of the island through which passes every possible kind of merchandise, but because the sea is shallow and there is little water along the coast ships cannot go there to take on cargo, and they all come to this island of Ormuz to unload the merchandise they bring from India, and merchants come from the mainland and the ports to Ormuz in small boats, where they trade goods for others. The city of Ormuz makes great profits from all this trade. People commonly say that India is a ring, and Ormuz is the jewel in it, where all the merchandise in the world can be found. There is so much trade that the customs dues yield more than five hundred thousand xerafins to the King, and it is so rich and abounding in food that ten thousand men can eat from what is cooked in the public square. When we made the fortress in 1504 [sic] I myself saw twelve streets
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