_ 135 _ "Rubens", are not used when one sails through the open sea, but only when the weather is bad, because they can direct one to suitable parts of any of the coasts and indicate good places to drop anchor. They can also orientate one through the islands and ridges but the pilots who come from India are quite capable of guiding one through the middle of the Red Sea. In the middle of this "wide sea" there is an island called Zebelsocor, and beyond it, opposite Iudda there is another called Seiban, both of which possess good harbours. From the gates of the strait to the island of Camaran, all the territories on the Arabian side belong to the Sheikh of Aden: there are only villages along this coast no important harbours exist, only promontories, some of which serve as protection against the westerly winds, others against the easterly winds. The Xarif of Gizem, a great Arab lord who possessed about 600 horsemen, ruled over lands stretching from the island of Camaran almost up to Iudda. The territories lying between Iudda and Toro, which are separated by a distance of 130 leagues, belonged to Xarif Porgat, who was the ruler of Mecca, and who was also the master of some Bedouins who lived in the desert. From Toro to Suez there is a distance of 30 leagues, and this belonged to the (Turkish) Sultan, As the governor travelled towards
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy