st of his territories, to obey this person
as their emperor, the kings of Coulan and Cananor only excepted; whom
also, and all the others, he debarred from coining money, which was only
to be done by the king of Calicut. Having thus given away his whole
dignities and possessions, and set every thing in order, he embarked from
the place where Calicut now stands; and because this king embarked from
that place on his pilgrimage to Mecca, the Moors have ever since held
Calicut in so high devotion, that they and all their posterity would
never take their lading from any other port. From that time forwards,
they discontinued trade with the port of Coulan, which they had used
formerly, and that port therefore fell to ruin; especially after the
building of Calicut, and the settlement of many Moors in that place[51].

As the Moors are merchants of most extensive dealings, they have rendered
Calicut, as the centre of their trade, the richest mart of all the Indies;
in which is to be found all the spices, drugs, nutmegs, and other things
that can be desired, all kinds of precious stones, pearls and seed-pearls,
musk, sanders, aguila, fine dishes of earthen ware, lacker[52], gilded
coffers, and all the fine things of China, gold, amber, wax, ivory, fine
and coarse cotton goods, both white and dyed of many colours, much raw
and twisted silk, stuffs of silk and gold, cloth of gold, cloth of tissue,
grain, scarlets, silk carpets, copper, quicksilver, vermilion, alum,
coral, rose-water, and all kinds of conserves. Thus, every kind of
merchandize from all parts of the world is to be found in this place;
which, moreover, is very quiet, being situated along the coast, which is
almost open and very dangerous. Calicut is surrounded by many gardens and
orchards, producing all the herbs and fruits of this country in great
abundance, having also many palms and other sorts of trees, and abounds
in excellent water. This part of India produces but little rice, which is
a principal article of food in these parts, as wheat is with us; but it
procures abundance of that and all other kinds of provisions from other
countries. The city is large, but the dwellings consist only of straw
huts; their idol temples, and chapels, and the kings palace excepted,
which are: built of stone and lime and covered with tiles; for, by their
laws, no others are permitted to build their houses of any other material
than straw. At this time, Calicut was inhabited by idolat