are fomething long withal, I rather judge it to be the Hafce of the Arabians, or the true Thyme of Diofc. which we call Serpillum Romanum. It hath as pleasant an acri. mony as any fpice can have, wherefore the inhabitants ufe it very much, whole or in powder, at home and abroad, with and without their meat, chiefly for to correct an ill digeftion of their ftomach. This herb is never found in our Apothecaries fhops, they take another in it's room, which hath leffer and greener heads, and is rather the first Satureia of Diofc. brought from Candia. There are alfo two forts of Clinopodium, whereof the leffer and tenderer (confidering it's long ftalks, leaves and flowers, which grow in good order, and at equal diftances one over the other) may very well be taken for the true one of the Diofc. There are alfo Ilex minor, Sabina baccifera, Terebinthus, and many more.

In the town are found several strange plants; one called Mufa, whereof the ftalks are from nine to twelve foot high, which are fmooth, and without they are inclosed in their leaves, and often quite furrounded like our reeds, of a fine fhining green; at the top thereof the leaves spread themselves out, and look like a great bufh of feathers, for they are very long, and fo broad, that the biggest perfon may lie upon them with his whole body very well. Thefe leaves have a rib in the middle, which keepeth them up ftreight, and so strongly, that although the wind breaketh them at the fides in feveral places, yet notwithstanding they remain upright. These trees bear their fruit no more than once, wherefore they are cut down, and fo the root shoots out feveral other ftalks about a foot diftant from the old one, which grow up again, and bring forth fruit, which groweth on a thick stalk in great numbers; they are almost shaped like the Citruls, round and bended, only they are lefs, fmooth without, invironed with a thick rind, which is firft yellow, but when they are kept a few days it grows black, it is easily separated when they are new; within they are whitish, full of feeds, fweet and good to eat; but they fill mightily, and are apt to gripe: Wherefore, (as Theophraftus mentioneth in the fifth chapter of his fourth book) Alexander the Great forbid his army to eat them, when

he went into the Indies. There groweth but very little of this fruit about Tripoli, but it is brought from the neighbouring places plentifully. We alfo find there another tree, not unlike unto our Privett, by the Arabians called Alcana, or Henne, and by the Grecians, in their vulgar tongue Schenna, which they have from Egypt, where, but above all in Cayro, they grow in abundance. The Turks and Moors nurfe thefe up with great care and diligence, because of their fweet-fmelling flowers, and put them into earthen pots, or wooden cafes or boxes, to keep them in the winter in vaults from the froft, which they cannot endure. And because they hardly begin to fprout before Auguft, they water them with Soap-fuds, but others lay lime about the root, to make it put forth the earlier, that it may flower the fooner, because of the pleasantnefs of the fmell of the flowers, which is fomewhat like musk: They are of a pale yellow colour, and ftand in spikes of the length of a span, but not very close, so that leaves appear between them; their twigs are alfo of the fame colour, whereof many are fent to us, to cleanse the teeth with, as it were with a brush, when they are bruifed a little at the ends. They alfo, as I am informed, keep their leaves all winter, which leaves they powder and mix with the juice of Citrons, and stain therewith, against great holydays, the hair and nails of their children of a red colour, which colour perhaps may be feen with us on the mains and tails of Turkish horfes. The powder is greenifh, and fo common with them, that you fee in their Batzars whole bags full thereof ftanding before their fhops, which come from Egypt and Africa, from whence whole fhip-loads are fent through Turky, as I have feen myself in this harbour feveral, from whence the Turkish Emperor hath yearly a great revenue. The Arabians burn their Spodium out of the root thereof, as Avicenna remarks in his feventeenth chap. This being thus, it appeareth that there is no small difference between these two, ours and theirs; I am of opinion, that theirs (which is mentioned in the firft chapter of Solomon's Song) is liker to that which Diofcor. defcribeth, than our Liguftrum.

Thereabouts

Thereabouts is alfo found within and without the gardens a peculiar fort of mallows, by them called Chethince, which is very large, and high, and, like other trees, fpreads it's woody twigs and foft boughs, that are covered with a brownish bark; amongst the rest I faw one as big as a man's middle, the leaves thereof are of a dark green, long, and at the fides towards the point crenated; it's flowers are rather bigger than other mallows, of a blew colour; their feeds I did never fee. Hard by I found another outlandish Dofchet flower, which was almost decay'd, fo that it had neither leaves, flowers nor feeds: It was about three foot high, the stem and twigs were hairy, hollow within as other ftalks, of a green colour, inclining fomewhat to yellow, which had at top many other fhoots, each of them had behind like unto other tree-stems it's proper joint. This is fo juicy quite through, that it drops almost with milk, which is sharper than any spurge. I made great inquiry of them about it, but could have no certain account thereof; but as it feemed to me, it is very like unto Xabra and Camarronus of Rhafis by the Arabians called Tanaghut and Sabeam, and may be taken, according to that author's defcription, for it.

Farther hereabouts, chiefly in the town upon the cifterns and conduits, I found Adiantum, by the Apothecaries called Capillus Veneris, and in old walls the Apollinaris. I also found in the fhops in their Batzars two forts of roots, whereof one was rounder, which may be the Bulcigeni of the Venetians, which are called Thrafi at Verona, where they grow (as the learned Malthiolus teftifieth) many of these are fent out of Egypt to Tripoli, and fold there, chiefly to eat in June, by the name of Habel, Affis and Altzis, this being true, and they being very like both in name and quality to the grains of Altzelem of the Arabians, they must be the fame, although Rhafts reckoneth these amongst the fruits. The other called by them Hakinrigi, and Hakeuribi is fomewhat longer, not unlike to our Doronicum; there is also a great many of them to be fold; they are hard, of a fweetish tafte, with a piercing bitterness, and in their bigness, and white nerves (which spread themfelves under ground in the gardens round about like unto the wild. Angelica

Angelica of Tragus) fo like to the Haronigi Serapionis, and to the Durungi and Durunegi of Avicenna, according to their description, and fo uniform, that they must be taken for the fame. Then I found alfo in their shops abundance of the feeds of Sumach, whereof they make a red powder, to excite the appetite of the ftomach. These and more ftrange and unknown fimples I did find at Tripolis. But because it would be too tedious to defcribe them all, therefore I have only made mention of those that authors have defcrib'd.

Which way I travell'd from Tripolis farther to the two famous cities of Damant and Halepo.

FTER I had refted for feveral weeks in Tri

polis, and had obferved that city, it's building, and pleasant fituation, and moreover the manners, customs, and habits, as well of the low as high ones, I propounded to myself to travel to Aleppo, which is almost the biggest, and the most famous trading city of Syria, which lies five or fix days journey towards the north-eaft of Tripolis. And when I met with fome companions, to travel with me, we ftored ourselves with provisions, viz. bread, cheese, eggs, &c. for our journey, and fo fet out of Tripolis the ninth of Novemb. Anno 1573:

By the way we met with a great deal of rain, which commonly begins at that time of the year, and continueth almoft all the winter long; this kept us fo much back, that we reached not to Damant, which is in the mid-way from Tripolis to Aleppo, before the fourth day. There we lodged in one of their great. Champs, call'd Carvatfcharas, where we had a chamber affign'd us, in which we found neither table nor chairs, nor bench, nor bed, only upon the floor was laid a Stromatzo, twifted of canes, which was to ferve us inftead of them all. There we bought in their Batzar fome victuals according to our pleasure, and staid there

all

all night long. The town, which fome take to be the old Apamia, is pretty big, and pretty well built; it lies in a valley between hills, fo that you can fee nothing of it, the caftle only excepted, which lieth on the hill, and guardeth it very well, before you are just come to it. Round about it there are many orchards and kitchen-gardens, which they water out of the river Hafce, which is pretty large, and runs thro' the town. The water they lift up with wheels, fix'd in the river for that purpofe, that pour it into channels that carry it into the gardens, and fo water them in the great heat of the fun, to refresh them. These gardens had been worth my feeing, but my fellowtravellers were in hafte, and so we put on the next morning for Aleppo.

By the way we faw very good corn-fields, vineyards, and fields planted with cotton, which is brought from thence, and fold to us under the name of the place where it grew, and alfo filks and other goods that are bought there at the first hand. In these countries are

a great many wild affes, call'd Onagri, the skins of them are very ftrong to wear, and as they prepare them, finely frock'd on the outfide as ftrawberries are, or like the skin of the Sepia, or cuttle-fifh, wherefore they commonly make their scabbards for their fcymiters, and fheaths of their knives thereof. Their blades are water'd on both fides very fubtilly; they are made of good metal, well harden'd, and fo fharp, chiefly those that are made in Damafcus, that you may cut with them a very strong nail in pieces, without any hurt to the blade. They wear rather knives than daggers, which they tie to their girdles with finely wrought tapes, by

their backs.

When we went on and came to the promontory of mount Libanus, we faw abundance of villages by the way, which for the moft part are inhabited by Chriftians, viz. Syrians, Maronites, &c. with whom we did ludge fometimes over-night; thefe entertain'd us very civilly, and gave us fuch wine to drink as grew on the mountains, than which I hardly remember I ever drank better. Amongst the reft of the villages we came to one call'd Hanal, lying high in a fruitful country,

where,