On Their Arrival At Bahrayn,
Mocrim Was Found Well Prepared For Their Reception, Having 300 Arab
Horse, 400 Persian Archers, 20 Turkish Musketeers Besides Some Natives
Armed With Firelocks, And Above 11,000 Native Troops Armed With
Different Weapons.
He had besides thrown up strong intrenchments and
redoubts, well provided with cannon, and these formidable military
preparations were under the charge of experienced commanders.
The Persian Gulf, which intervenes between Arabia and Persia, takes its
name from the latter, as the more noble country. This famous gulf begins
at Cape Jasques or Carpela, in lat. 26 deg. N. and ends at the mouth of
the river Euphrates, having many cities, rivers, woods, and islands
along its northern or Persian shores. On the other or Arabian shore,
beginning at Cape Mozandan or Musaldon, named Assaborum by the
ancients, and ending where it meets the other side at the Euphrates,
there are only four towns. One of these, Catifa or Al Katif, is
opposite the island of Bahrayn, where is the pearl-fishery. This island
is 30 leagues in circumference, and seven leagues long, and is 110
leagues from Ormuz. The principal product of this island is tamarinds,
but it has likewise all the other fruits that grow in Spain. The largest
town is of the same name with the island, besides which there are about
300 villages, inhabited by Arabs and Moors[162]. The air is very
unhealthy. The pearls found here, though not in such abundance, are more
valuable than those of Ceylon in India, or of Hainan in China.
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