A.D. 



1583- 



THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



Store of white 

 silke. 



of Bristow, and walled about, though the walks be of 

 no great force. The chiefs strength of the place is in 

 a Citadell, which standeth on the South side within the 

 walles, and overlooketh the whole towne, and is strongly 

 kept with two hundred Janisaries and good artillery. A 

 river passeth thorow the midst of the city, wherewith they 

 water their gardens and mulbery trees, on which there 

 grow abundance of silke wormes, wherewith they make 

 great quantity of very white silke, which is the chiefest 

 naturall commodity to be found in and about this place. 

 This rode is more frequented with Christian marchants, 

 to wit, Venetians, Genouois, Florentines, Marsilians, 

 Sicilians, Raguses, and lately with English men, then any 

 other port of the Turks dominions. From Tripolis I 

 departed the 14 of May with a caravan, passing three 

 dayes over the ridge of mount Libanus, at the end 

 whereof we arrived in a city called Hammah, which 

 standeth on a goodly plaine replenished with corne & 

 cotton wooll. On these mountaines which we passed 

 grow great quantity of gall trees, which are somewhat 

 like our okes, but lesser and more crooked : on the best 

 tree a man shall not finde above a pound of galles. 

 This towne of Hammah is fallen and falleth more and 

 more to decay, and at this day there is scarse one halfe 

 of the wall standing, which hath bene very strong and 

 faire : but because it cost many mens lives to win it, 

 the Turke will not have it repaired ; and hath written 

 in the Arabian tongue over the castle gate, which 

 standeth in the midst of the towne, these words : 

 Cursed be the father and the sonne that shall lay 

 their hands to the repairing hereof. Refreshing our 

 selves one day here, we passed forward with camels three 

 dayes more untill we came to Aleppo, where we arrived 

 the 21 of May. This is the greatest place of traffique 

 for a dry towne that is in all those parts : for hither 

 [II. i. 269.] resort Jewes, Tartarians, Persians, Armenians, Egyptians, 

 Indians, and many sorts of Christians, and injoy free- 

 dome of their consciences, and bring thither many kinds 



The city of 

 Hammah. 



Cotton wooll. 

 Gall trees. 



Aleppo. 



