As soon as he received this intelligence, Susneos sent a company of
guards to Orbat's capital to take possession of his young relative.
Zaga, however, being warned by a friendly Venetian, who was serving
under the usurper, managed, or was permitted, to elude his captors,
and, accompanied by a large body of followers, after a series of
dangerous adventures contrived to reach a portion of the Turkish
domain. Desirous of traversing Arabia Deserta, with a view of reaching
Egypt, the young wanderer now dismissed all his followers with the
exception of fifty, who elected to share his dangers. A few days after
this little band had penetrated into the desert, the greater portion of
its baggage was stolen by a native chieftain; and some days later, in
seeking for water, fifteen out of the fifty men were lost through the
giving way of the cistern walls. After a tedious and trying passage,
however, the devoted band succeeded in reaching a small town on the
Egyptian frontiers.
After a rest of three months, the young pretender pursued his journey
to Cairo, where a large body of his countrymen and co-religionists
resided. Zaga was enthusiastically received by his compatriots, whilst
the Turkish pacha, or governor of the city, treated him with every
respect, and for several days even lodged him in his own palace. After
a short stay at Cairo, the young prince started for Jerusalem, taking
with him only fifteen servitors, the remainder electing to stay with
their brethren in Egypt. A large number of pilgrims also accompanied
the caravan, which reached the Holy City safely about Lent, 1632.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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