In Summer The Heat Of
This Country Is Quite Outrageous, And The Inhabitants Betake Themselves To
Their Summer Houses, Which Are Built In The Waters.
From nine o'clock in
the morning till noon, there blows a wind, with such extreme heat, from the
sands, that it is quite stifling and insufferable, and during this time the
people sit in the water.
The king of Kerman once sent an array of 5000 foot
and 1600 horse against the king of Ormus, to compel the payment of tribute,
when the whole army was stifled by that wind. The inhabitants of Ormus eat
no flesh, or bread made of corn; but live upon dates, salt fish, and
onions. The ships of this country are not very stout, as they do not fasten
them with iron nails, because the timber is too brittle, and would split in
driving these home; but they are fastened with wooden pins, and sewed with
twine made from the husks of certain Indian nuts, prepared in a peculiar
manner; this twine or thread is very strong, and is able to endure the
force and violence of the waters, and is not easily corrupted[12]. These
ships have only one mast, one beam or yard, and one deck, and are not payed
with pitch, but with the oil and fat of fishes; and when they cross the sea
to India, carrying horses or other cargoes, they lose many ships, because
they are not strengthened with iron. The people of this country are black,
and have embraced the religion of Mahomet.
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