_ 203 _ of May He went to Ormuz, which was no longer ruled by King Safardim because Raix Noradim had had him killed Raix Noradin was now the guazil, Cojeatar having died, and King Safardim had not wanted him to become the new guazil for which reason he had been murdered. He was succeeded by his brother Raix Turuxa, who made Raix Noradim Guazil. These two men received Pero de Albuquerque well, but since he had to discover Bahrain, he did not wish to be detained and sailed towards the island, which is situated in the Persian Gulf. It lies at a distance of 200 leagues from Ormuz, and it is a large island, possessing abundant supplies of water, vegetables and trees. It is inhabited by Arabs who were subjects of the King of Ormuz, to whom the island used to belong. But at this time, it had been captured by one of Sheikh Ishmael's captains. Many pearls and seed-pearls can be found in the sea around it; its inhabitants fish them and sell them to merchants at great profits. The ruler of the land received many duties from this trade, and from here the merchants take the pearls and seed-pearls not only to the whole of Persia and Arabia, but also to India. When Pero de Albuquerque and his ships had almost reached Bahrain, he found that the westerly winds
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