And as you passe the riuer Euphrates from Bir to Feluchia, there are certein places which you must passe by, where you pay custome certaine medines vpon a bale, which custome is belonging to the sonne of Aborise king of the Arabians and of the desert, who hath certaine cities and villages on the riuer Euphrates. Feluchia and Babylon. [Sidenote: The olde Babylon hath great trade with marchants still.] Feluchia is a village where they that come from Bir doe vnbarke themselues and vnlade their goods, and it is distant from Babylon a dayes iourney and an halfe by land: Babylon is no great city but it is very populous, and of great trade of strangers because it is a great thorowfare for Persia, Turkia, and Arabia: and very often times there goe out from thence Carouans into diuers countreys: and the city is very copious of victuals, which comme out of Armenia downe the riuer of Tygris, on certaine Zattares or Raffes made of blowen hides or skinnes called Vtrij. This riuer Tygris doeth wash the walles of the city. These Raffes are bound fast together, and then they lay boards on the aforesayd blowen skinnes, and on the boards they lade the commodities, and so come they to Babylon, where they vnlade them, and being vnladen, they let out the winde out of the skinnes, and lade them on cammels to make another voyage. This city of Babylon is situate in the kingdome of Persia, but now gouerned by the Turks. On the other side of the riuer towards Arabia, ouer against the city, there is a faire place or towne, and in it a faire Bazarro for marchants, with very many lodgings, where the greatest part of the marchants strangers which come to Babylon do lie with their marchandize. [Sidenote: A bridge made of boats.] The passing ouer Tygris from Babylon to this Borough is by a long bridge made of boates chained together with great chaines: prouided, that when the riuer waxeth great with the abundance of raine that falleth, then they open the bridge in the middle, where the one halfe of the bridge falleth to the walles of Babylon, and the other to the brinks of this Borough, on the other side of the riuer: and as long as the bridge is open, they passe the riuer in small boats with great danger, because of the smalnesse of the boats, and the ouerlading of them, that with the fiercenesse of the streame they be ouerthrowen, or els the streame doth cary them away, so that by this meanes, many people are lost and drowned: this thing by proofe I haue many times seene. Of the tower of Babylon.