ebbing and flowing of the sea,
and for that cause the Turke cannot bring an army against them, neither by
sea nor by land, and another reason is, the inhabitants of that Iland are
very strong and warlike men. [Sidenote: At the castle of Corna the riuer
Euphrates and Tygris do meet.] A dayes iourney before you come to Basora,
you shall haue a little castle or fort, which is set on that point of the
land where the riuers of Euphrates and Tygris meet together, and the castle
is called Corna: at this point, the two riuers make a monstrous great
riuer, that runneth into the sea, which is called the gulfe of Persia,
which is towards the South: Basora is distant from the sea fifteene miles,
and it is a city of great trade of spices and drugges which come from
Ormus. Also there is a great store of corne, Rice, and Dates, which the
countrey doth yeeld. [Sidenote: Ormus is the barrenest Iland in all the
world.] I shipped my selfe in Basora to go for Ormus, and so we sailed,
thorow the Persian sea six hundred miles, which is the distance from Basora
to Ormus, and we sailed in small ships made of boards, bound together with
small cords or ropes, and in stead of calking they lay betweene euery board
certaine straw which they haue, and so they sowe board and board together,
with the straw betweene, wherethorow there commeth much water, and they are
very dangerous. [Sidenote: Carichij an Iland in the gulfe of Persia.]
Departing from Basora we passed 200 miles with the sea on our right hand,
along the gulfe, vntil at length we arriued at an Iland called Carichij,
fro whence we sailed to Ormus in sight of the Persian shore on the left
side, and on the right side towards Arabia we discouered infinite Ilands.

Ormus.

Ormus [Footnote: Ormus is alwayes replenished with abundance of victuall,
and yet there is none that groweth in the Iland.] is an Iland in circuit
fiue and twenty or thirty miles, and it is the barrenest and most drie
Iland in all the world, because that in it there is nothing to be had, but
salt water, and wood, all other things necessary for mans life are brought
out of Persia twelue miles off, and out of other Ilands neere thereunto
adioyning, in such abundance and quantity, that the city is alwayes
replenished with all maner of store: there is standing neere vnto the
waters side a very faire castell, in the which the captaine of the king of
Portugall is alwayes resident with a good band of Portugalles, and before
this