_ 59 _ had gone to Mocha, and what had they gone there for. He told me that there were fourteen oared vessels and they had come from Suez and the commander of them was a Turk called [Oez] Pasha and he had brought soldiers to attack and fight against an Arab King called Emon Zeidi [?Imam Saidi], but that he did not know, nor was there any talk in Basra, about whether these ships had come to go on to India. I also asked him about the intentions of Ayyaz Pasha and Muhammed Pasha, and whether they meant to try any attack on this fortress. He told me that he had heard nothing about this, but only that they were very eager to extend the trade of Basra, and that most nights they sent for him and he had never heard anything about this; and that if they did intend to do so, they could build as many ships as they wanted on the Euphrates. Seven days journey away from the city of Bira there are great forests where there is plenty of fine timber, most of it pine, from which they can make as many ships as they want, both large and small, because of this abundance of timber. This city of Bira is large and well-populated and trades with Persia and many other places. It is two days journey from the city of Aleppo and it lies between Persia and Turkey.
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