ad. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1558. 



questions, as wel touching the affaires of the Emperour 

 of Russia, as of our countrey and lawes, to which I 

 answered as I thought good : so that at my departure 



Letters of safe- he gave me his letters of safe conduct. 



conduct. This Castle of Sellizure is situated upon an high hill, 



where the King called the Can lyeth, whose palace is 

 built of earth very basely, and not strong : the people 

 are but poore, and have litle trade of marchandise among 

 them. The South part of this Castle is lowe lande, 

 but very fruitfull, where grow many good fruites, among 

 which there is one called a Dynie, of a great bignesse 

 and full of moysture, which the people doe eate after 

 meate in steade of drinke. Also there growes another 

 fruite called a Carbuse of the bignesse of a great 

 cucumber, yellow and sweete as sugar : also a certaine 

 corne called Iegur, whose stalke is much like a sugar 

 cane, and as high, and the graine like rice, which groweth 

 at the toppe of the cane like a cluster of grapes ; the 

 water that serveth all that countrey is drawen by ditches 

 out of the river Oxus, unto the great destruction of 

 the said river, for which cause it falleth not into the 

 Caspian sea as it hath done in times past, and in 

 short time all that land is like to be destroied, and to 

 become a wildernes for want of water, when the river 

 of Oxus shal faile. 



[I. 329.] The 14. day of the moneth we departed from this 



Castle of Sellizure, and the 16. of the same we arrived 



Urgence. at a citie called Urgence, where we paid custome as wel 

 for our own heads, as for our camels and horses. 

 And having there sojourned one moneth, attending the 

 time of our further travaile, the king of that countrey 

 called Aly Soltan, brother to the forenamed Azym Can, 

 returned from a towne called Corasan, within the bor- 

 ders of Persia, which he lately had conquered from the 

 Persians, with whom he and the rest of the kings of 

 Tartaria have continuall warres. Before this king also 

 1 was commanded to come, to whom I likewise pre- 

 sented the Emperors letters of Russia, and he intertained 



462 



