The Form Of The Red Sea Is Not Unlike That Of A Crocodile, Having Its
Mouth At The Narrow Straits Of Mecca Or Babelmandeb, The Head Being That
Sea Which Lies Between Cape Guardafu And Fartaque, And The Extremity Of
The Tail At The Town Of Suez.
Its general direction is from N.N.W. to
S.S.E. being 530 leagues long, and 40 over where broadest[132].
The
channel for navigation is about the middle, where it has sufficient
depth of water for the largest ships, but both sides are very shallow,
and much encumbered by sand banks and numerous small islands. No river
of any note falls into it during its whole extent. It is called by the
Moors or Arabs, Bahar Corzu or the Closed Sea, and by others the Sea
of Mecca; but by Europeans the Arabian Gulf or the Red Sea, owing to the
red colour it derives from its bottom, as was proved by a subsequent
viceroy, Don Juan de Castro, who caused some of the bottom to be dragged
up in several places, when it was found to consist of a red coralline
substance; while in other places the bottom was green, and white in
some, but mostly red. The water itself, when taken up, is as clear as in
any other part of the sea. The Red Sea does not abound in fish, but it
produces small pearls in many places. The mouth of the Red Sea, called
the Straits of Mecca or of Bab-al-mandeb, is in lat. 12 deg. 40' N. and is
as it were locked up by seven small islands, the largest of which, now
Mehun, was called by Ptolemy Perantonomasiam. On going from the
straits towards Suez along the eastern or Arabian shore, there are only
a few small ports of no note for the first 44 leagues, till we come to
the island of Kamaran, which is subject to the king of Aden. At 60
leagues from thence we come to Gezan a large town; thence 130 leagues
to Yambo, all in the dominions of Mecca, having several good towns and
harbours. Among these are the famous and well known ports of Ziden and
Juddah, or Joda; Mecca being 15 leagues inland from the latter.
From Yambo it is 60 leagues to Toro, where the children of Israel are
said to have crossed the Red Sea, which at this place is 3 leagues
across. Thence to Suez is 40 leagues, and there ends the Arabian
shore. On sailing back to the straits along the western shore of Egypt
and Ethiopia, from Suez which is 20 leagues from Grand Cairo the vast
metropolis of Egypt, it is 45 leagues to Al-cosier; thence 135 to the
city of Suakem, in which space there are many ports: From thence 70
leagues farther on is the island and port of Massua, and opposite to it
Arkiko; and thence other 85 leagues bring us back to the Straits of
Bab-el-mandeb.
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