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The last day of Iuly, I departed from Alexandria towards Cayro in a passage boate, wherein first I went to Rossetto, standing by the riuer side, hauing 13. or 14. great churches in it, their building there is of stone and bricke, but as for lodging, there is little, except we bring it with vs.
But not long after, when the keeper of Cayro & Babylonia, bearing a good mind to the Christian religion, and being offended also with the Souldan, promised to deliuer the same to the French king, instructing him what course was best for him to take to accomplish it, the king hereupon in all haste sent for William Longespee, promising him a full redress of all his iniuries before receiued: who at the kings request came to him againe, and so ioyned with the French power.
Also neere to the saide citie there is a place called the Pyramides, being as I may well terme it, one of the nine wonders of the world: that is, seuen seuerall places of flint and marble stone, foure square, the wals thereof are seuen yards thicke in those places that we did see: the squarenes is in length about twentie score euery square, being built as it were a pointed diamond, broad at the foote, and small or narrow at the toppe: the heigth of them, to our judgement, doth surmount twise the heighth of Paules steeple: within the said Pyramides, no man doth know what there is, for that they haue no entrance but in the one of them, there is a hole where the wall is broken, and so we went in there, hauing torch light with vs, for that it hath no light to it, and within the same, is as it were a great hall, in the which there is a costly tombe, which tombe they say, was made for kinq Pharao in his life time, but he was not buried there, being drowned in the red sea: also there are certaine vauts or dungeons, which goe downe verie deepe vnder those Pyramides with faire staires, but no man dare venter to goe downe into them, by reason that they can cary no light with them, for the dampe of the earth doth put out the light: the red sea is but three dayes iourney from this place, and Ierusalem about seuen dayes iourney from thence: but to returne to Cayro.
From Cochin there are sent yearly to Portugal great quantities of pepper, dry and preserved ginger, wild cinnamon, areka nuts and large store of cordage made of cayro, that is from the bark of the cocoa-nut tree, which is reckoned better than that made of hemp. The ships for Portugal depart every season between the 5th of December and the 5th of January.
Betwixt Rossetto and Cayro there are along the water side three hundred cities and townes, and the length of the way is not aboue three hundred miles. To this famous Citie of Cayro I came the fift day of August, where I found M. William Alday, and William Cæsar, who intertained me in very good sort.
The 12. of August I set from Cayro towards Alexandria againe, and came thither the 14. of August The 26. day there was kept a great feast of the Turkes and Moores, which lasted two dayes, and for a day they neuer ceased shooting off of great Ordinance.
At this time, Calicut was inhabited by idolaters of many sects, and by many Moorish merchants, some of whom were so rich as to be owners of fifty ships. These ships are made without nails, their planks being sewed together with ropes of cayro, made of the fibres of the cocoa-nut husk, pitched all over, and are flat-bottomed, without keels.
I went from Basora to Ormus, down the gulf of Persia, in a ship made of boards sewed together with cayro, which is a thread made of the husks of coco-nuts, and having certain canes, or leaves, or straw, sewed upon the seams between the boards, so that these vessels leak very much.
I went from Basora to Ormus downe the gulfe of Persia in a certaine shippe made of bourdes, and sowed together with cayro, which is threede made of the huske of Cocoes, and certaine canes or strawe leaues sowed vpon the seames of the bordes which is the cause that they leake very much.
Thus, even the author of this itinerary has had his modern Roman name, Verthema, latinized into Vertomannus, and probably the Cairo, or Cayro of the Italian original, was corrupted by Eden into Cayrus, by way of giving it a latin sound.
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