ABSTRACT
From the aforesaid Ṣāghar we travelled on to the town of Kinbāya [Cambay] which is situated on an arm of the sea resembling a river; 1 it is navigable for ships and its waters ebb and flow. I myself saw the ships there lying on the mud at ebb-tide and floating on the water at high tide. This city is one of the finest there is in regard to the excellence of its construction and the architecture of its mosques. The reason is that the majority of its inhabitants are foreign merchants, who are always building there fine mansions and magnificent mosques and vie with one another in doing so. Amongst the great mansions in the town is the house of the sharif al-Sāmarrī with whom I was involved in the incident of the sweetmeats, and to whom the 'king' of the intimate courtiers gave the lie. 2 I have never seen heavier baulks of wood than those which I saw in this house, and its gate is like that of a city. Beside it there is |54 a large mosque which is known by his name. 3 Other mansions are those of the 'king of the merchants' al-Kāzarūnī, alongside which is his mosque also, and that of the merchant Shams al-Dīn Kulāh-Dūz, which means the sewer of caps.
