Venice and Retirement

We made it to Venice after our last boat trip. With the huge amounts of gold we made and were given we were able to purchase a large estate in Venice. We were also able to purchase a house in the city of Venice beside the canals. We plan to retire here and enjoy a new event that has been arising, known as the Renaissance. We will no longer be traveling but we will still buy and sell goods. We are only in our 20s so we will have plenty of time to enjoy our lives. Maybe if things get boring, we can take another journey, but I hardly believe things will get boring with all the new technology and art coming out these days.

-The End of Our Journey-

Antioch

We reached Antioch after a long journey through Persia and Interior Syria. Antioch, like Merv, was down in its luck. Formerly one of the largest cities in Christianity, its population was tiny compared to its heights. It was now in ruins. I would estimate that only 70,000 people remained whereas it formerly had a population of over a million people. It had fallen out of Christian hands just a few years ago and had been filled with Muslims. The crusades had failed to save Antioch and there was few Christians left. We also felt very unwanted and were threatened a few times by some of the Muslim citizens. The only thing that kept them from slashing our necks was Ibn who convinced them that we were friendly. We wanted to quickly leave the city so we sold all of our silk for a small profit. The Muslims refused to pay top dollar for the goods and we didn't really want to disagree with them for fear of our lives. While in town we learned that Adrianople had been conquered by the Turks and Greece was rapidly being conquered by the Turks. We decided that we could not go home and instead we decided to go to somewhere similar to our home. We would have to abandon Greece and instead we would head to Italy. We decided we would settle in Venice, a cosmopolitan city that was also a common place for Greek refugees. We boarded a ship and headed off to get away from all the War.

Merv and Emir Timur

We arrived in Merv expecting a great city like we had read about in our stories. Instead we arrived in a nearly empty city with almost no one on the streets. Most of the buildings had been partially destroyed by fire and were in decrepit shape. Only one man was out on the streets.  He introduced himself as Juvayni, a Persian historian who wrote about the Mongol wars. He told us that, “The Mongols ordered that, apart from four hundred artisans. .., the whole population, including the women and children, should be killed, and no one, whether woman or man, be spared. To each was allotted the execution of three or four hundred Persians. So many had been killed by nightfall that the mountains became hillocks, and the plain was soaked with the blood of the mighty.” He also said that nearly a million people had been killed in the city. We were horrified to hear of such brutal and evil massacres. The Mongols had managed to kill more people than the entire population of Greece. The town was also primarily Christian too, which struck us close to home. We were unable to sell anything to the few remaining citizens and we decided to donate some of our profits to them. We figured they would need it much more than us. We then continued on into the fairly new and strong Timurid dynasty of Persia. While passing through we noticed an extremely large amount of soldiers heading the opposite way as us. They stopped us and spoke with us. We were introduced to a man named Timur, who was the Emir of this new dynasty. He told us that he planned to conquer all of Central Asia including Merv. He was disgusted by the Mongols and wanted them out of his lands. He purchased some of our gunpowder, by force, but still paid a good price. We left him and then continued our journey on to Antioch.

Bukhara

Bukhara, one of my favorite cities so far. This city, although known for being a Uzbekistani city, has so many other cultures. I would say less than 40% of the city is actually Uzbek. There are many Tajiks here along with Jews comprising at least 5% of the population, Greeks, Italians, and just about every European ethnic group. It is filled with almost a hundred mosques and temples to meet its large populations of different religions. I almost don't want to leave... We of course must in order to get home though. We sell most of our wine here for a large profit because of its use in religion and normal consumption. We also sell all of our ginger and remaining paper. While the city is a huge producer of cotton as well, we choose not to purchase any more trade goods. We do this so we can travel faster. The only things purchase in the city are more supplies like food and water. We also rest in the city for a few days. We mingle with the locals and learn that the city is currently under occupation by the Mongols which is surprisingly beneficial to the city. The strength of the Mongols allows trade along the Silk Roads to happen relatively peacefully with few bandits or marauding troops. We soon set off after our rest so we can reach Merv and the Persian Empire before Summer. We do not wish to be stuck in the already hot areas of Persia and Central Asia long especially during the hottest time of the year.

Khotan and Onwards Towards Bukhara

We have gone through the Desert of Death and have conquered it. We are the conquerors of the 2 worst deserts in the known World. Our prior experiences gave us the knowledge to bring a compass so even the worst sandstorm wouldn't take us off track. We also brought tons of water and food because I did not want to have to eat one of the greatest horses I had even ridden. We reached Khotan, a large and prosperous trading center. Cotton was also a very important crop here. We soon found out that practically the entire city was Muslim and populated by the Turkic Uighur people. Ibn enjoyed talking with the Muslim people and learned of their differing customs. Meanwhile Mark and I got down to business and traded most of our bamboo for cotton. The cotton came quite cheap to us because they had a large surplus. Along with the cotton we were also paid some gold to make up for the inequalities in the trade. We also recalled from Marco Polo's journal that the area around Khotan was, "a province eight days’ journey in extent, which is subject to the Great Khan. The inhabitants all worship Mahomet. It has cities and towns in plenty, of which the most splendid, and the capital of the province, bears the same name as that of the province…It is amply stocked with the means of life. Cotton grows here in plenty. It has vineyards, estates and orchards in plenty. The people live by trade and industry; they are not at all warlike." We were able to observe all the things he had stated ourselves and we were quite interested in the city and the surrounding region. We visited some of the orchards to purchase plenty of fresh fruit for ourselves to take on our journey. We also purchased some wine at the vineyards for our own use and to trade. We resupplied and even found some replacement horses from stationed troops. They sold their heavenly horses to us for some wine and gold as well as our worn out horses. We then left and headed towards the city of Bukhara in Central Asia.

Dunhuang

Our trip has been fairly quick so far. These horses definitely have earned their name in my book. We have made it to Dunhuang in just 70 days, saving us almost 3 weeks of time. It is very cold up here though. It is already March but the temperatures are quite low, around 30 degrees Fahrenheit. When we arrived in Dunhuang, the first thing we did was find a tavern with a fireplace to get warmed up in. Luckily while we were warming ourselves by the fire, we met a coat merchant. He sold us some of the "Best coats in all of Asia." I will admit they did make me quite toasty inside. We were surprised and also disgusted when we learned from some papers left behind by the explorer Marco Polo that, "when a woman's husband leaves her to go on a journey of more than 20 days, as soon as he has left, she takes another husband, and this she is fully entitled to do by local usage. And the men, wherever they go, take wives in the same way." This was nothing like back at home where you took one woman and stayed with her for life, unless, of course, you had her killed like King Henry in England. We rested in Dunhuang for a few days before we were to journey past and around the great Taklamakan desert. While in Dunhuang we also sold off the paper we were carrying for a small profit because it was to be sent somewhere away from where we were heading. Our horses enjoyed the time relaxing and we fed them well in town. I hope they appreciated it. We were not worried though since we had already conquered the much larger and much scarier Saharan Desert. Along the way we would stop at Khotan to resupply and sell some of our goods before continuing onward to the Mediterranean.

Chang'an

We have arrived in Chang'an, the capital of China. It is a simply amazing city. It is in fact the largest city we have visited so far with a population of over 2 million people. I couldn't even imagine that many people living in one city. We met with a naval admiral while in Chang'an who talked about his one of his trips. He said, "The Emperor...has ordered us He and others at the head of several tens of thousands of officers and flag-troops to ascend more than one hundred large ships to go and confer presents on them in order to make manifest the transforming power of the (imperial) virtue and to treat distant people with kindness. From the third year of Yongle till now we have seven times received the commission of ambassadors to countries of the western ocean. The barbarian countries which we have visited are: by way of Zhancheng (Champa), Zhaowa (Java), Sanfoqi (Palembang) and Xianlo (Siam) crossing straight over to Xilanshan (Ceylon) in South India, Guli (Calicut), and Kezhi (Cochin), we have gone to the western regions Hulumosi (Hormuz), Adan (Aden), Mugudushu (Mogadishu), altogether more than thirty countries large and small. We have traversed more than one hundred thousand li of immense water spaces and have beheld in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising sky-high, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue transparency of light vapours, while our sails loftily unfurled like clouds day and night continued their course (rapid like that) of a star, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading a public thoroughfare. Truly this was due to the majesty and the good fortune of the Court and moreover we owe it to the protecting virtue of the divine Celestial Spouse." We were much impressed with his journeys since he visited so many other areas than us. We also talked about some of the regions we both visited such as Palembang, Calicut, and Java. He was impressed with our knowledge and used his influence to get us a special treat. He was going to award us with "Heavenly Horses" from the nomadic Xiongnu in Central Asia. These were the horses of choice for the Chinese military. Whilst in Chang'an we purchased silk, bamboo, gunpowder, ginger, and paper. We know the gunpowder will be particularly useful in the Greeks fight against the Ottoman Turks. We just hope we can get it to them in time before all of Greece is overrun. The city is so amazing we are disappointed that we have to leave. We also get plenty of food to travel with. While we will be going fairly fast, we still pack 4 months of food just in case. We also get plenty of water so we don't have a repeat of our other dehydration experiences. We estimate it will take us about 90 days to get from Chang'an to our next trade stop in Dunhuang. We will have to traverse light mountains, many hills, and we will also have to cross the Yellow River just to get there. We just hope these Heavenly Horses are all they are made out to be. They do have quite a reputation and we sure hope they live up to it. We have heard the great Genghis Khan had one and they also are said to, "being able to gallop 1,000 kilometers a day and another 800 kilometers at night." I doubt thats true but anywhere near that will still be great. Zhang Chien said, "The population is agricultural and resident. They grow rice and wheat, make wine from grapes and have many good horses. The horses sweat blood and originate from the heavenly horses." He was referring to towns in the Western Chinese Empire where we were headed next. We are now setting off to make our long journey to the outskirts of China, Dunhuang. 

 A few of our new Horses.
http://www.horse-protection.org/images/horses01.jpg

Guangzhou

We have finished our long journey through the Sea Roads and now we just want to relax. My hand has finally healed and I am back in my capacity as our journeys scribe. Its great to feel my pen back in my hand. The sea roads were hard on us all and we have found a inn in Guangzhou to rest in. We were forced to stay in the Christian sector of the city while Ibn was placed in the Muslim quarter. This bothered us because no city we had visited so far had such segregation. We soon forgot this because after a few days of nonstop rest and conditioning we ventured out. The Christian quarter had a vibrant Greek community along with many other ethnicities like Portugese, Italian, and Englishmen. We felt great to be in such a cosmopolitan city however it started to make me very homesick. At this point I just wanted to get home and hoped that this trip would be quick and painless. I found Ibn's journal and say that it read,“We entered the harbor in great pomp, the like of which I have never seen in those lands... but it was a joy to be followed by distress.” Then he describes the great Chinese junks that monopolized traffic to China.

The junks sails he said, “never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind.” "The sailors,” noted Ibn, “have their children living on board ship, and they cultivate green stuffs, vegetables and ginger in wooden tanks.” I was surprised that he was still taking notes during our journeys. I hadn't seen him take any in days. While in Guangzhou we sold off all our remaining items, for a loss because of a lack of demand. We did have loads of money though from our trip in Srivijaya. We were not going to pick up any goods in Guangzhou except for food items. Instead we would be gathering items in Chang'an, where we would be officially starting our Silk Roads journey. We would be taking Horses to Chang'an so we could get there very quickly. Our official plans for this trip would be to get from Chang'an with various goods all the way to Antioch on the Mediterranean Sea. So after about a month of enjoying Guangzhou and healing from our many wounds and sicknesses we set off for Chang'an.

September 4, 1373 C.E.- Traveler's Log:

We are now on our way to the Point of Guangzhou, China. From here, my companions and will travel the silk roads in search for adventure and be prepared for whatever comes our way.

I can see the chinese port in the distance the people appear to be amiable unlike past encounters. We should probably hire a translator to accompany us for our travels…

We arrive at the Port in Guangzhou and purchase a translator in the market. His name is Ming and translates the signs for us to know what to purchase. We stock up on bread, meat, vegetables, wine, textiles, and water. From here, we will venture towards the Silk Roads on foot.

August 30, 1374 C.E.- Traveler’s Log

“We are starving, is there no hope for the three of us. I am now skin and bone. Nicky attempts to drink the salt water, but in doing so, vomits. Ibn is still looking for a ship. Hours later, he spots one, a Chinese junk on its way to Guangzhou. Things are certainly taking a positive spin for my friends and I.”

July 22, 1374 C.E. -Traveler’s Log

As I look into the distance of the South China sea we are now crossing, the waves near the ship start to break. this is quite unusual. The Ship captain instructs us to get inside the main cabin. I ponder the meaning of this evacuation of the great outside. Then it hits me, I see a great wave break in the distance; a massive wave. I am about to encounter a Tsunami.

The ship is torn apart by the tsunami, the only survivors are Ibn, Nicky and Myself, as the others are thrown off by the waves.  during the great storm ,Ibn Nicky and I change locations and scatter, eventually hanging on to what is left of the Main stern. the others drown and others try to drown for survival. To survive the others try to push others off the ship to preserve themselves in fear of the ship sinking. However, i am familiar with the construction of ships and these people are being ignorant. The Ruins of the ship could have still have held all of us. Ibn, This fear turns into an all out battle. Passengers, grab swords on the cargo hold, and try to destroy each other. I have our currency bag  slung around my shoulder. Nothing will happen to it as long as i am concerned. We defend ourselves and try to calm the others down and say there is room for all. They are too driven by insanity. That is why Nicky, Ibn an i are the only survivors in the middle of the vast ocean. We had to defend ourselves in a fight to the death. The poor captain himself was slain out of the madness of others. He too tried to ameliorate the situation, but no one listened.

July 5, 1374 C.E.- Traveler’s Log

I have just been informed that by Battuta that today is July the 5th, so I was unconscious for two days. I join Nicky and Ibn battuta in the grandiose dining hall for a Srivijaya feast.

I am puzzled, first these people attack Nicky and I and now we are exalted as heroes?!!! The great Srivijaya leader, Haji Hia-Tche enters the room. He praises us like all of the other people, what is the meaning of this,I am confused. Ibn translates their message as saying that the hostile people we encounter were Srivijayan fugitives, undermining authority and committing various crimes, such as robbery, slaughter, and vandalism. We killed off these criminals who have been hunted for weeks now by the authorities and are recognized as heroes of this land. I am astounded by these happenings while my friend Nicky, feasts upon the various foods of the Srivijaya. I myself am hungry from this turn of events and cannot resist the wonderful aroma of the smoked boar. We will remain here until my shoulder heals, and train with Ibn battuta for our continuing journey. Ibn informs me that my shoulder should be healed by two weeks. I can wait, I can wait.

The weeks progress as my shoulder heals and we exchange thoughts, ideas and religious perspectives throughout the Great temple. The Srivijaya Are extremely hospitable and within two weeks, Nicky, Ibn, and i are crossing the Island of java once more back to the port of palembang. However, we stop and purchase many goods since the Srivijayas were so pleased by our presence, that we were awarded with many jewels, gold coins, and other precious items.We will never run out of currency any time soon now.

Nicky, Ibn ,and myself have now boarded a ship to the chinese port of Guangzhou. Nicky uses his astronomical compass to navigate the waters in assistance to the captain. The three of us bring various fruits with us and feast upon them as a snack. We enjoy such tangy flavor so we decide to save some for later, as well. I cannot comprehend why other sailors fall victim to a new form of seasickness. It is unlike any other form i have seen. I wonder why the others suffer this new disease and the three of us do not.  The others do not like to eat fruit. Well, their loss.

???, 1374 C.E Traveler’s Log

Where am I?  Have I perished and gone to heaven? No, I am alive, however my shoulder is in a sling. This may leave me handicapped for a while… wait! my shoulder is in a sling? i am alive?Who healed me, Nicky has no medical experience.( I do though.) Where am I? the bed of which I lay upon is so opulent even for outside my homelands. These walls look familiar. I just can’t remember where i saw them. A book, yes, a historical documentary. wait, a second, i remember now, I am in the great temple of Borobudur!

A stranger walks in the room, he looks arabian. He is with my friend, they are laughing about something , I do not know what. He walks over and introduces himself as Ibn Battuta, great  world explorer.

He claims he carried me over to the great temple and performed medical surgeries on my worlded soldier. He claims it was a close call with death but he was able to stop the bleeding with various cloths. Nicky informs me that he will be joining us with our travels. I am happy to oblige.

January 29, 1374 C.E. - Traveler’s Log

Nicky and I reach the island of java where we venture forth, our swords in our hands ready for any attack. I believe I see some natives in the distance...yes, they are Srivijaya warriors; and they do not appear to be amiable.

Nicky and I pull our swords out of our sheaths, ready for battle as the Srivijaya people attack.

They are quick, but we are quicker; Nicky and I fight back to back as not to let our blind side fall to poor security.  i finish off my half of warriors however, Nicky is not as lucky.  An unnamed warrior creeps up behind him, spear in hand, ready to strike. I instantly leap in front of my companion to deflect, or rather absorb the blow to my shoulder. Nicky turns around and finishes off the final soldier with one final sweep of the sword, victory is ours. I lie on the battlefield, bleeding from a deep shoulder wound. I then black out.

January 13, 1374 C.E.- Traveler’s Log

As Nicky and  venture forward, we are unaware of what dangers lie ahead.

We carry with us, Falchion swords from our home country in case of any attacks. Luckily, so far we have only encountered other travelers offering transportation for trade. We are careful not to get swindled by trading a small amount of fruit. The offer is accepted, and we head farther North. For now, I am tired from this journey and need to rest. Nicky however, is highly into Astronomy and decides to pinpoint our location by observing the stars as I slumber.

We reach the Java sea where a merchant is offering raft rides to the island for favorable barter. We offer various cloths not native to his region and he is happy to give us a lift.

As we cross the Java sea, the Great temple of Borobudur comes into view. However due to it’s massive and colossal size and structure, it is farther away than we imagine. We estimate it will take a few weeks to get there.

December 27, 1373 C.E. -Traveler's Log

My companion, Nicky and I nearly gave in to seasickness today. That is, until we decided to use our spices that we obtained from Africa. We blended them with our wine and our seasickness was immediately ameliorated. We must preserve these  precious spices if we fall victim to seasickness again. It is a shame we will be unable to sell them.

We reach our destination of the port of Palembang after sailing through the Strait of Malacca. From here we will go and see the many wonders of Indonesia before getting back to the port to board a ship to china.

We purchase some meat, water, wine, and fruit within the great city of Palembang since we have almost devoured all of it on the ship. Form here, we travel afoot in the southern in direction in hopes of getting to island of Java. To do so, we will probably need a small boat.

August 18, 1373 C.E - Traveler's Log

Many of our shipmates have fallen to seasickness.  We have been at sea for so long; when will we ever reach land again? I myself have begun to feel queasy.

June 21, 1373 C.E- Traveler’s Log

As my companion Nicky and I Sail across the Indian ocean and away from India, we encounter some horrendous obstacles.  The disorientation of latitude and longitude among the middle of the ocean almost throw us into a completely alternate route. However, Nicky and I  are able to predict our position with our compasses we brought from our homeland  and the ship is well on it’s way to Indonesia. These compasses are great and they have proved to be very useful. It was only recently introduced to Europe, coming all the way from China where it was made as early as the 11th Century.

March 28, 1373 C.E.- Traveler’s Log

We have arrived back in Calicut with many goods and jewels from trade. from here, we will venture forth to Indonesia.

March 24, 1373 C.E.-Traveler’s Log

We are in the Great Hindu Temple of Peruvudaiyar Kovil,  truly is a breathtaking sight, especially since it is the largest Temple in India. We observe the inscriptions dating back to the creation of the Great temple. We couldn't decipher them so we decided to trace them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Inscriptions_around_the_temple.JPG

“We look at the sanctum sanctorum within the temple and and large deities within it such as the Nandi; carved many years ago when the temple was being constructed. This great stone Bull was truly an awe.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Nandibull.jpg

March 18, 1373 C.E.- Traveler’s Log

Many malay soldiers are here in India. Perhaps they rode in from China, our final destination. I wish it were this easy, but alas, they took the November-February Monsoons to arrive here, My companion and I are too late for this shortcut. We must find a place to sleep for the night before we are in danger of the nightly robberies of India. Our ideal goal in India is to reach the Great Indian Hindu temple of Peruvudaiyar Kovil, or The Great  Brihadeeswarar Temple in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. We have a picture of it that made us so intent on reaching it. We have pasted it below. We find a small motel and relax for the night.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Brihadeeswara_temple_Thanjavur_vista1.jpg

March 16, 1373 C.E.- Traveler’s Log

We have finally reached the port of Calicut in India. Nicky and I decide to purchase some goods. We cannot take too long in this mystic country. We need to ride the April-September Monsoons across the vast Indian ocean to get to Indonesia.

February 20, 1373 C.E.-Traveler’s Log

I have taken the job as scribe now. I only hope Nicky's hand heals soon because I have little experience with writing. I have never really been much of a writer, even when we were still living our priviledged life back in Greece. We have just left the Port of Maladine to get to India, namely Calicut for our next stop. I do not how long this journey will take; perhaps a month to get to India. The food on the ship is adequate, we will manage.

Malindi

Our trip through the Red Sea and the Western Indian Ocean went fairly well with little trouble. However, my hands condition was rapidly deteriorating. A doctor on board told me that If I continued using it I might not be able to use it ever again or worse, it might need to be amputated. He said giving it rest and leaving it alone would help it heal quickly. Therefore this journal entry shall be my last until it heals or I learn how to write left handed. Malindi is a fairly well known city, however I would have rather gone to Zanzibar because I love islands. Malindi has some of the best goods though, straight from the East African interior. I heard that the cities have been settled by Arabs and the locals are all Muslim. This was true. The city was full of mosques. Ibn Battuta said, "The rulers, scholars, officials, and big merchants as well as the port workers, farmers, craftsmen, and slaves, were dark-skinned people speaking African tongues in everyday life." We were impressed with the city and we bought ivory, quartz, and leopard skins for a reasonable price while we were there. We plan to take them with us to Calicut. The ivory is from elephants and the leopard skins took great warriors to get. The warriors had to kill the leopards without getting killed themselves. I just hope they were worth the risk that these people took to get them. We even saw a giraffe while we were there. It was a gift from Malindi to the emperor of China. Near the giraffe, we met a Chinese man, Shen Tu, who was drawing and writing about the giraffe. He wrote, "In a corner of the western seas, in the stagnant waters of a great morass, Truly was produced a qilin, whose shape was as high as fifteen feet, With the body of a deer and the tail of an ox, and a fleshy, boneless horn, With luminous spots like a red cloud or purple mist. Its hoofs do not tread beings and in its wanderings it carefully selects its ground, It walks in stately fashion and in its every motion it observes a rhythm, Its harmonious voice sounds like a bell or a musical tube. Gentle is this animal, that in all antiquity has been seen but once, the manifestation of its divine spirit rises up to heaven's abode." His writings were based on Chinese folklore and didn't make too much sense to me. Anyways we are soon leaving and I shall give my pen to Mark, so he can take my job as our scribe. I hope he does a good job.

Jewish Merchant

On the ship we met a Jewish merchant who told us of a journey he had taken a few years ago. Mark wrote down the entire story just like the man said. It went like this, “When the night of...arrived, we loaded and set sail, 35 days before 'New Year'. The captain had been ill while still in town, but we sailed for ten days. When we encountered a large reef, water being five fathoms high, and did not know whether this was the Fal (the northern end of the Laccadive Islands) or not, God granted us safety, but the captain had a stroke and died. We threw his body overboard into the sea. So the boat remained without a commander ...and we had no charts. A crowd in the ship was afraid the ship would be lost, if it landed in an Arab country. However, if we returned to India, there too the same might happen. They got the upper hand and returned us to Kulam. We gave up hope of saving our goods. After twenty days we arrived in Kulam, the place we feared. But God granted us delivery immediately. The...manager came on board and took the ship from us, confirming its rights to its proprietor...They provided us with water and wood. Two captains travelled with us, after they had signed documents with us, and we set sail. We arrived in Aden in the shortest possible time, prior to all others. I sold the iron for a good price, 20 dinars a bahdr. I had with me 72 bahdrs and 50 separate pieces, 30 mann saqat, and 40 mann clove. After customs I had obtained 1,500 dinars [and] a lot in other currencies. I had planned to travel home, but learned that a bahdr of pepper cost 35 dinars (in Aden). I could not tarry so long until I could buy pepper in Aden (for a reasonable price). Having sought God's guidance, I decided to travel to Faknur in the same boat in which we had arrived, for it had been blessed for me. I rented from them storage space for 150 bahirs, 100 for pepper and 50 for various other goods. For the 100 bahirs for pepper, I paid 90 mithqals of Adenese coinage. Sheikh 'AlI Ibn al Kufi and Sheikh Bundar had stipulated with them (the captains) for me that I would not pay them a dirhem until I had bought the pepper myself. I sent with Sheikh Abii 'l-Karam and Sheikh Abu 'l-Surur three loads of brazilwood and with them 27 less a quarter Maliki dinars for the custom duties and . . . made of lIlas, 50 red furjiyyas (robes open in the front) in mats, and ... a necklace made of Sili (Ceylon) beads. Please take note of this. Also with Sheikh Abu '1 Husayn Zayd Ibn Abu Mansur, the Alexandrian, ten ldlas robes. Take note. Accept my greetings. And greetings to the family [the writer's wife], to Sheikh Abu Ishaq and to Abu Nasr ... and all those you care about.’  Mark, Ibn, and I all listened to his story intently since the same events could occur to us. However after the story was over everyone fell asleep. I however investigated the ship some more and spent the night out on the deck, listening to and enjoying the sea.

Departure in the Red Sea

We have left Port Sokhna and our now in the Red Sea for our first Maritime voyage. Our plans are to make it to Guangdong in China. I estimate our trip shall take us about a year and a half, but I do hope its a lot less. I'm not sure if I suffer from seasickness and I don't really want to find out. We should be able to ride out one of the monsoons on our way to Indonesia which should definitely cut our trip time down. We still have a large sum of gold with us so we don't have to worry much about food and trade goods. Since we will be meeting many Muslim traders along the way I'm glad we have Ibn with us.As we pass through the Gulf of Suez we are still able to see land on both sides of us. This is reassuring to us since we have only been on a boat once before, from Venice to Tunis. My hand is still hurting me and I only hope it doesn’t become infected because I have no faith in Mark, who claims to have medical experience. I notice that many of the names of cities and landforms have been changed a lot in the recent times. My map collection back in Greece had many different names for everything. I attributed these recent changes primarily to the spread of Islam. We were also informed we would make a quick stop in Jeddah to pick up some Muslim missionaries.

Cairo and an Injury

Mark and I made it to Alexandria and visited the ruins of the Great Lighthouse. We then went on to Cairo by camel. At Cairo we visited the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. Mark sketched a colorful picture of the Great Pyramids since he found it so beautiful. He could not believe that people from so long ago were able to build such a large creation. We also visited some more Greek traders in the city who gave us some tips on how we should go about traveling on the Sea Roads. We then departed to Port Sokhna where we would be catching our first ship on our journeys through the Indian Ocean. On the way, Mark was practicing his swordplay and his sword sliced into my hand when I was walking past him. I can not write as well and I hope that Mark can soon succeed me as our travel scribe... He has alot to learn though.

Tripoli

We had finally reached Tripoli after months of traveling. Mark and I were just about ready to retire that very day because of everything we had gone through. Ibn explained to us how much of the World there was left to see and to quit now would be quitting out on life itself. We did negotiate with him somewhat though. We would stay in Tripoli for a few weeks before going on to Cairo and the Red Sea. Tripoli was a great city with a population of about 100,000 people. One thing that we noticed though was many men apparently getting for war. The armories were packed to the brim with orders and it was going to take almost 2 weeks for our swords to get repaired and sharpened. The clothing stores were also filled with military orders and we couldn’t design any new clothes. We just had to take what they had already made. We were able to sell all the salt we brought though since the soldiers would need it while traveling. When we asked who these soldiers were going to fight they said the Ottomans. We ultimately decided to give them a large discount on the salt we were selling since they were fighting a common foe, the same enemy who had attacked and destroyed our home. Our time in Tripoli was full of exquisite meals as well because of its location as a trading hub. We were able to eat foods from all over Eurasia and Africa. I guess our stomachs weren’t ready for some of the foods though since we got sick a few times. I do feel bad for whoever has to clean up that outhouse, thats for sure. While we were there we learned much about the religion sweeping the World. Islam was very interesting to us and Ibn loved meeting all the Muslims we met in these lands because he too was a Muslim. We shared our ideas of Christianity with some of the people we met as well and were surprised to see many similarities in our religions. We even visited the St George Church which was the oldest Greek Orthodox church in North Africa. There was many Greek traders and people in the Church during the service. Afterwards we talked to them and they too were war refugees who had been forced to leave their homes. We enjoyed speaking with them and hoped to see more Greeks in our travels. The next morning we left Tripoli and we started our journey to Alexandria followed by Cairo. We were planning on taking a ship which would sail along the Coast until it reached the city of Alexandria in Egypt.

Oasis

After our camel meal and 6 more days of traveling we finally reached an oases. There was a town on this oases though by the name of Ghadames. We were forced to pay an exorbitant amount of gold to be allowed to use their water source.It was worth it though because without it we probably wouldn’t have made it another day. After our bout of extreme dehydration we all decided to stay at the town for a few days and relax. We were definitely not in traveling shape. Luckily both Mark and Ibn had medical experience and were able to help keep us from dying and get back in shape. The town was almost entirely populated by Arabs who had recently conquered and built it. We enjoyed our time in the town and left it feeling great and rejuvenated. The trip to Tripoli was hard because we had to avoid two sandstorms that nearly blinded us. Also another one of our camels perished on the way and we had to take turns riding the last two. We were just glad that we finally made it to the gates of the greatest African city on the Mediterranean Sea.

Camel Meal

    We were able to get through Timbuktu and Taghaza fairly quick and were now on the final leg of our journey. We were headed to Tripoli back in the Hafsid empire. We were actually impressed that they were able to spread Islam all throughout the regions we traveled through. We were now in the middle of the Sahara when our canteens went dry. We thought nothing of it and headed to the wagon to refill them. The gallon containers of water we brought with us were slashed though. Someone had cut open our water containers and they were empty! There was not a single oases within sight. While our camels would be ok we would eventually become dehydrated. We decided our only choice would be to keep going and hope nightfall came soon. After 18 hours in the burning sun we decided we could go no more. Our mouths could no longer make saliva and we were not even urinating anymore. The camels suddenly seemed like our only choice. Those luscious humps and stringy hair… We didn’t want to but it was our only choice. We cut open the hump of our weakest camel and had our canteens pick up any liquid that poured out. The water was surprisingly clean considering it was inside of it. We made a fire and cooked up the remains of our camel. It took quite a while to make sure all of the lice and hair on it died and it was safe to eat. After that disgusting meal we headed back on the road in search of an oases to refill our water sources with.

Jenne

After our recent attack we watched all around us and looked for anything suspicious. Luckily Jenne was nearby and we made it in quickly. It was night when we made it in so we decided to set up shop so everything would be ready when the village awoke. A man in formal military attire approached us and told us that he was the tax administrator. He worked for the Mali Empire and he demanded that we give him 30% of the gold we made in the city. We reluctantly agreed, however we did not actually plan to pay. When morning came people from all over the city came to see our stuff. A few even tried to steal some items. That was put to an end however when Mark unleashed capital punishment on one of the would be thieves. We were able to sell all of our goods within just 2 days. Apparently a caravan had not been through in months and people were becoming desperate for their luxury goods. We were finished packing up some of the salt we got from trades and all the gold we received when the tax administrator came back around. We knocked him down and hopped on our camels and escaped. As we left we could see the army of the city getting ready to chase us. We were now headed back to Taghaza and onwards to Tripoli.

Desert Attack

We were on our way to Jenne when we were attacked by local warriors. It was just 5 men and I believed them to have little to no experience in fighting. Ibn, who was unarmed, tried to find a weapon while Mark and I attempted to fight off the attackers. The attackers had not made a plan of attack obviously, and attacked one at a time. This made it much easier for Mark and I to disable to stop them. Within a relatively quick time, all of them were either seriously injured or dead. We managed to escape nearly scrape free except for a few bruises from being hit by rocks. Mark and I chose to bury the dead and regretfully, loot their corpses. We found a fairly large amount of gold on them and behind the rock that they came from was some goods like dates and cloth. We figured they must of robbed some traders before us. We took these items and added them to our wares and returned to our travels.

Gao

      We surprisingly reached Gao with very little trouble. After a fairly quick journey with only one long stop in Timbuktu we were at Gao and ready to trade. The people of the Songhai capital were very excited to see us and our wares. However, very few people had money. A great caravan had previously came in before us and many citizens had bought goods from it. We were only able to sell about half of the things we had brought which meant we could not head to Tripoli yet. We would have to make another stop in Jenne to get rid of our other goods. At Gao we traded our goods for large amounts of gold, surpassing the amount of gold we started with. We almost had enough to be able to travel all the way to China without monetary worries. We just needed to get to Jenne. Our new friend, Ibn was an amazing salesman as well. He knew many languages and understood the local customs and was able to flatter the locals and make them happy. We stayed in Gao for 10 days, long enough to sell as many goods as the people were willing to buy. We enjoyed the city very much and even visited the tomb of Askia, the former emperor of Songhai. Ibn himself “ lavishly praised the good character and generosity of the local rulers he encountered and was very pleased with the abundance of food and the fertility of Gao.” The rulers were generous as well and let us stay at their palace. After our time in Gao we doubled back towards Timbuktu and towards Jenne in the Malian Kingdom.

Taghaza

Finally we reached Taghaza after many days on the road. We were also now in the territory of the Songhai Empire. Outside the city we meet a man who appears to be out of place. He introduces himself to us as Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan explorer. He also has similar plans to travel the World and we hit it off immediately. He agrees to travel with us as our companion and share ⅓ of any profits we make off of trading. He described the “village as an unattractive, desolate place of sand, with salty water and no trees.” He also talked about how  “houses were built from blocks of rock salt, with roofs of camel skin.” This turned us off from the city and made us want to leave as soon as possible. In the city we purchased 2 more camels and traded our old ones for fresh ones. We also traded out some of our glassware for some copper that we would take South with us. We refilled our water canteens and containers and set back off. Our new friend however was reluctant to go. He “worried about running out of water, losing their way, and falling prey to the demons which hunted those wastes” We reassured him all would go well and left the desolate city behind.

Trouble in the Sahara

As we left Tunis, an old Berber man came up to us and warned us of the dangers of the Saharan Desert. He stated, “Many go in, but few ever can escape the devilish sands and heat of the great desert.” We ignored him because we knew we had Ghassan, the self proclaimed best guide in all of Africa. At first we were going pretty fast, almost 3 miles per hour in fact. We made stops at every oases along the way which were usually about 50 miles in between. However after about 17 days and many miles, our camels started to break down on us. A mysterious illness seemed to be plaguing them causing them to collapse and ultimately die. Only 2 camels managed to survive so we were forced to drop some of the extra clothing we had behind as well as take turns riding the camels. Ghassan even abandoned us and headed back towards Tunis, only giving us simple directions to Taghaza. This slowed down our journey by a ton because of all the excess weight slowing our remaining camels down.

Tunis

        We enter the rich capital city of Tunis after a short journey from Venice. It is not as hot as we expected for May. Our stories as children always considered Africa a dry and extremely hot wasteland, yet this land was mild and crops grew just outside the city. The city is quite accepting of Christians and merchants because it is largely dependent on trade to support its empire. It is a Sunni Islamic city however and we choose to respect their customs so they in turn will respect us. The city is large with a population of about 100,000, much bigger than we are used to since our own home had only about 15,000 people. Thanks to our privileged upbringing we are well versed in many languages including Arabic, the lingua franca of the city. We head to a merchant shop to learn more about what our journey will be, what we will need, and what to expect.

    We meet with the merchant Shihad to speak with about our trip. He is a kindly, elderly man who has much experience and has made trips across the Sahara many times in his lifetime and has helped other travelers cross. He introduces us to a translator and a guide, Ghassan, who will help us on our travels. He also supplies us with 10 camels for us and a wagon to carry the goods we will transport South. He locates and gives to us the supplies we will need including: 6 canteens full of water along with 3 gallons in the cart, 2 months supply of food including salted meat, biscuits, fruit, and rice, a roughly drawn map of the route we will take along with oases along the way, 2 changes of white clothing, 4 pairs of socks and underwear, and 2 pairs of boots each. We paid for all of these items with some of the gold we brought along. He also supplied us with some goods for trade including various colored cloth, some ornate glassware, Arabic books, varied manufactured goods, and some modern weapons. We were all outfitted with handcannons originating from China, and French Falchions which were lightweight, single hand swords. We only hoped we wouldn’t need to use any of our weapons. With all of our new supplies Mark, Ghassan, and I left the beautiful city behind and began our journey which would entail going all throughout Western and Northern Africa before ending in Tripoli.

Why We Left Home

The War has taken almost everything from us. My best friend and I have fought bravely for almost 10 years against the Ottoman Turks, but after many injuries, we have been forced to retire. As our city and home, Adrianople, is being besieged and and attacked by the Ottomans, we are getting ready to leave. The wars have caused the deaths of our parents and siblings and now its just us. Me, Nicky Casseb, and my best friend, Mark Benn. We gather all the valuable items that we can carry, including gold, valuable jewelry, some food, the clothes on our back, and our trusty horses. We head to the one place that we know that war hasn’t reached and where we can escape the war-torn Europe. We head to the cosmopolitan city of Venice, Italy to begin our journey. Our first place we decide to head to is the the capital of the Hafsid dynasty, Tunis.