ABSTRACT
I return now to the story of my voyage, which I interrupted at the point where we were entering the Red Sea to give an account of its coasts, waters and name, and of the other things I observed there, as I have related. We did not consider ourselves safe on passing through the entrance to this sea because of the Turks who lie in wait there for the ships from India. Through God's mercy we caught sight of the narrows toward evening - excellent timing since we could sail through the narrows under cover of darkness without danger of falling into the hands of the Turks. And this we did, entering the narrows at approximately nine o'clock at night. And as we had a weak wind we were not able to sail far enough during the rest of the night to be far from danger in the morning. However, since we entered by way of the channel on the Ethiopian side and the ships were not large, we stayed as far away from the island as possible, and with the little wind we had, we found ourselves in the morning far enough away so that we could not be seen from the other side of the island as long as the Turks were in the other channel. And as we purposely sailed close to the mainland as long as it was daylight, we began to keep a careful watch for the port of Bailur which was our destination. Since this port was not very well known, even though we had pilots of that sea aboard who had often come to it, they did not have much information concerning that port because it was not frequented by ships from India. All agreed, however, that it was a few leagues beyond the narrows, and, in the opinion of those who spoke with most authority, it was only twelve leagues beyond the narrows.
