OF THE CITY OF DAMASCUS.—OF THREE WAYS TO JERUSALEM; ONE BY LAND
AND BY SEA; ANOTHER MORE BY LAND THAN BY SEA; AND THE THIRD WAY TO
JERUSALEM ALL BY LAND.
Now that I have told you of some of the people in the countries before,
I will turn again to my way to describe the road back. From the land of
Galilee, of which I have spoken, men come back to Damascus, which is a
very fair and noble city, and full of all merchandise, and three days
from the sea, and five days from Jerusalem. Men carry merchandise
thither upon camels, mules, horses, dromedaries, and other beasts; and
thither come merchants by sea, from India, Persia, Chaldea, Armenia, and
many other kingdoms. This city was founded by Helizeus Damascus, who was
yeoman and steward to Abraham before Isaac was born; for he expected to
have been Abraham's heir, and he named the town after his surname,
Damascus. And in that place, where Damascus was founded, Cain slew Abel
his brother. And beside Damascus is Mount Seir. In that city of Damascus
there is great plenty of wells; and within the city and without are many
fair gardens, with diversity of fruits. No other city can be compared
with it for fair gardens for recreation. The city is great and full of
people, and well walled with double walls, and it contains many
physicians; and St. Paul himself was there a physician, to keep men's
bodies in health, before he was converted; and after that he was
physician of souls. And St. Luke the Evangelist was a disciple of St.
Paul to learn physic, and many others; for St. Paul held then a school
of physic. And near Damascus he was converted; and after his conversion
he dwelt in that city three days, without sight and without meat or
drink. And in those three days he was raised to heaven, and there he saw
many secrets of our Lord. And close beside Damascus is the castle of
Arkes, which is both fair and strong. From Damascus we return by our
Lady of Sardenak, which is five miles on this side of Damascus; and it
is seated upon a rock, and is a very fair place, and appears like a
castle, which it was formerly; but it is now a very fair church; and in
it are Christian monks and nuns; and there is a vault under the church
where Christians dwell also; and they have many good vines. In the
church, behind the altar, in the wall, is a table of black wood, on
which formerly was painted an image of our Lady, which turns into flesh;
but now the image appears but little. But evermore, through the grace
of God, that table drops oil, as it were of olive. And there is a vessel
of marble under the table, to receive the oil, of which they give to
pilgrims; for it healeth many sicknesses. And he that keepeth it cleanly
a year, after that year it turneth into flesh and blood.
Between the city of Dark and the city of Raphane is a river, which they
call Sabatorye; for on the Saturday[354] it runs fast, and all the week
else it standeth still, and runs nought or little. And there is another
river that freezeth wonderfully fast in the night, and by day no frost
is seen. And so men go by a city called Beruthe, on the coast of the
sea, by which they go to Cyprus; and they arrive at the port of Sur, or
Tyre, and then to Cyprus. Or else men may go from the port of Tyre right
well, and come not to Cyprus, but arrive at some haven of Greece; and
then men come to this country by ways that I have spoken of before.
Now have I told you of ways by the which men go farthest and longest, as
by Babylon and Mount Sinai, and many other places, through which lands
men turn again to the land of promise. Now I will tell you the direct
way to Jerusalem; for some men will not pass it on account of the
expense, or because they have no company, or for many other reasonable
causes; and therefore I will tell you briefly how a man may go with
little expense and in a short time. A man who comes from the lands of
the west, goes through France, Burgundy, and Lombardy, and to Venice,
and to Genoa, or some other haven of the marshes, and taketh a ship
there, and goes by sea to the isle of Gryffle; and so he arrives in
Greece, or in Port Moroche, or Valon, or Duras, or at some other haven,
and lands to repose himself, and goes again to the sea, and arrives in
Cyprus; and comes not to the isle of Rhodes, but arrives at Famagosta,
which is the chief haven of Cyprus, or else at Lamatoun, and then
embarks again, and passes the haven of Tyre without landing; and so
passes by all the havens of that coast till he comes to Jaffa, which is
the nearest port to Jerusalem, for it is only seven-and-twenty miles.
And from Jaffa men go to the city of Ramla, which is but a short
distance thence, and it is a fair city. And beside Ramla is a fair
church of our Lady, where our Lord appeared to our Lady in the likeness
that betokeneth the Trinity. And there, fast by, is a church of St.
George, where his head was smitten off; and then to the castle of
Emmaus; and then to Mount Joy; and from thence pilgrims may first see
Jerusalem. And then to Mount Modeyn, and then to Jerusalem. And at Mount
Modeyn lies the prophet Maccabeus. And over Ramatha[355] is the town of
Douke, whereof was Amos the good prophet.
Another way. Forasmuch as many men may not bear the sea, but had rather
go by land, although it be a more laborious journey, a man shall so go
to one of the havens of Lombardy, Venice, or another; and he shall pass
into Greece, through Port Moroche or another, and so he shall go to
Constantinople. And he shall so pass the water called the Brace of St.
George, which is an arm of the sea; and from thence he shall come to
Pulveralle, and thence to the castle of Cynople; and from thence he
shall go to Cappadocia, which is a great country, where there are many
great hills. And he shall go through Turkey, and unto the city of Nice,
which the Turks have taken from the emperor of Constantinople. It is a
fair city, and wonderfully well walled; and there is a river that is
called the Laye; and there men go by the Alps of Aryoprynant, and by the
vales of Mallebrynez, and also the vale of Ernax; and so to Antioch the
Less, which is situated on the river Riclay. And thereabout are many
good and fair hills, and many fair woods, and also wild beasts.
And he that will go by another way, must go by the plains of Romania,
coasting the sea. Upon that coast is a wonderfully fair castle, which
they call Florathe. And when we are out of those hills, we pass through
a city called Maryoche and Arteyse, where there is a great bridge over
the river of Ferne, which men call Farfar; and it is a great river,
capable of admitting ships. And beside the city of Damascus is a river
that comes from the mountain of Libanus, which is called Albane. At the
passing of this river St. Eustache lost his two sons, when he had lost
his wife. And it goeth through the plain of Arthadoe, and so to the Red
Sea; and so men go unto the city of Phenne, and so to the city of Ferne.
Antioch is a very fair city, and well walled; it is two miles long, and
each pillar of the bridge there has a good tower; and this is the best
city of the kingdom of Syria. And from Antioch men may go to the city of
Latuche (Latakiyah), and then to Gebel (Jebili), and then to Tourtous
(Tortosa); and thereby is the land of Cambre, where there is a strong
castle, which they call Maubeke. And from Tourtous men go to Tripoli, on
the sea; and they go by sea unto Acre. From this place there are two
ways to Jerusalem; on the left we go first to Damas, by the river
Jordan; on the right we go through the land of Flagam, and so to the
city of Caiphas (Caiffa), of which Caiaphas was lord; and some call it
the Castle of Pilgrims. And from thence it is four days to Jerusalem,
passing through Cesarea Philippi, Jaffa, Ramleh, and Emmaus.
Now I have told you some of the ways by land and water, how men may go
to Jerusalem; but there are many other ways according to the countries
from which they come. There is one way, all by land, to Jerusalem,
without passing any sea, which is from France or Flanders; but that way
is very long and perilous; and therefore few go that way. It lies
through Germany and Prussia, and so on to Tartary. This Tartary is held
of the great chan, of whom I shall speak more afterwards; and the lords
of Tartary pay the great chan tribute. This is a very bad land, and
sandy, and bears very little fruit; for there grows little corn, or
wine, or beans, or peas; but there are plenty of cattle; and men eat
nothing but flesh, without bread; and they drink the broth, and also
they drink milk. And they eat all manner of animals, such as dogs, cats,
and rats. And they have little or no wood; and therefore they warm and
boil their meat with horse-dung, and cow-dung, and that of other beasts,
dried by the sun; and princes and others eat but once a day, and that
but little; and they are very foul people, and of evil nature. And in
summer, in all these countries, fall many tempests, and dreadful storms
of thunder and lightning, which kill many people, and beasts also. And
the temperature passes suddenly from extreme heat to extreme cold. It is
the foulest country, and the most cursed, and the poorest, that men
know. And their prince, whom they call Batho, dwells at the city of
Orda. And truly no good man would dwell in that country; for it is not
worthy for dogs to dwell in. It were a good country to sow thistles, and
briars, and broom, and thorns; and it is good for no other thing. There
is some good land, but very little, as men say. I have not been in that
country; but I have been in other lands which border on those countries,
and in the land of Russia, and in Nyflan, and in the realm of Cracow,
and Letto (Lithuania), and in Darestan, and in many other places which
border on those parts; but I never went by that way to Jerusalem,
wherefore I cannot describe it from personal knowledge; for no man may
pass by that way well, except in time of winter, for the perilous waters
and difficult marshes, which no man may pass except it be strong frost,
and snow upon it; for if the snow were not there, men might not go upon
the ice. And it is full three days of such way to pass from Prussia to
the inhabited land of the Saracens. And Christians who shall war against
them every year must carry their victuals with them; for they shall find
no good there. And they must carry their victuals upon the ice, with
cars that have no wheels, which they call sleighs; and as long as their
victuals last they may abide there, but no longer; for there shall they
find no body that will sell them any thing. And when the spies see any
Christian men coming upon them, they run to the towns, and cry with a
loud voice, "Kerra, kerra, kerra;" and then anon they arm and assemble
together.
And you shall understand that it freezeth more strongly in those
countries than in this part of the world; and therefore hath every man
stoves in his house, and on those stoves they eat and do their
occupations all that they may; for that is in the northern parts, where
there is but little sun; and therefore in the very north the land is so
cold that no man may dwell there; and, on the contrary, towards the
south it is so hot that no man may dwell there, because there the sun is
direct over head.