[Footnote 270: The cape on the Arabian shore is called Arrah-morah, or
of St Anthony, and that on the African _Jebul al Mondub_, or _Mandab_,
which signifies the Mountain of Lamentation, as formerly explained
respecting _Bab-al-Mandub_, the name of the straits--E.]

[Footnote 271: In Arabic _Al Bab_ is the gate, and _Al Abwah_ the gates.
By the Turks it is called _Bab Bogazi_, a general name for all straits;
and _the babs_ by the English sailors.--Ast.]

[Footnote 272: Rather Roban or Ruban.--Ast.]

[Footnote 273: The island of Prin.--E.]

Besides this channel of the Arabians[274], there are many others by
which we may safely enter the straits; but we shall only mention one
other, which they called the channel of Abyssinia, between the _Island
of the Gates_, or _Prin_, and the promontory opposite to _Possidium_,
which is on the Abyssinian shore, and is about five leagues broad; but
in this space there are six great high islands, which being seen by
sailors while without the straits are apt to put them in fear that there
is no passage that way; but between all these islands there are large
channels of great depth all of which may be taken without danger, or
leaving them all on the right hand, we may pass in safety between them
and the coast of Abyssinia. At noon on the 29th of January 1541, I took
the altitude of the sun, which at its great height rose 62-3/4 degrees
above the horizon, the declination of this day being 15 degrees, whence
the latitude of the promontory _Possidium_ and mouth of the straits is
12 deg. 15' N. The pilot took the same altitude with me, and being taken on
the land, it cannot but be accurate.

[Footnote 274: From this expression it is probable that Don Juan had
described the channel between the island of Pria and the shore of
Arabia, or rather the pilot island.--E.]

SECTION III.

_Continuation of the Voyage, from the Straits of Bab-el-Man-dub, to
Massua_.

On the same night, two hours after midnight, we set sail from the mouth
of the straits, and by day-light on the 30th we saw the land of both the
Arabian and African coasts, being nearer to the latter. The wind blew
hard at E.S.E. till noon, and we sailed to the N.W. and by W. making our
way by a channel between the first islands and the coast of Abyssinia,
till that day unknown to the Portuguese, being about 4 leagues distant
from that coast. An hour after sunrise, we saw a range of islands along
the coast, most of them low, stre