Now to returne to my voyage; from Ormus I went to Balsara or Basora, and from Basora to Babylon: and we passed the most part of the way by the strength of men by halling the boat vp the riuer with a long cord. From Babylon I came by land to Mosul, which standeth nere to Niniue, which is all ruinated and destroyed: it standeth fast by the riuer of Tigris. From Mosul I went to Merdin, which is in the countrey of the Armenians; but now there dwell in that place a people which they call Cordies or Curdi. From Merdin I went to Orfa, which is a very faire towne, and it hath a goodly fountaine full of fish, where the Moores hold many great ceremonies and opinions concerning Abraham: for they say he did once dwell there. From thence I went to Bir, and so passed the riuer of Euphrates. From Bir I went to Aleppo, where I stayed certaine moneths for company; and then I went to Tripolis; where finding English shipping, I came with a prosperous voyage to London, where by Gods assistance I safely arriued the 29 of April 1591, hauing bene eight yeeres out of my natiue countrey. * * * * * The report of Iohn Huighen van Linchoten concerning M. Newberies and M. Fitches imprisonment, and of their escape, which happened while he was in Goa. In the moneth of December, Anno 1583, there arriued in the towne and Iland of Ormus, foure English men, which came from Aleppo in the countrey of Syria, hauing sailed out of England, and passed thorow the straights of Gibralter to Tripoli a towne and hauen lying on the coast of Syria, where all the ships discharge their wares and marchandises, and from thence are caried by land vnto Aleppo, which is nine dayes iourney. In Aleppo there are resident diuers marchants and factours of all nations, as Italians, French men, English men, Armenians, Turks and Moores, euery man hauing his religion apart, paying tribute vnto the great Turke. In that towne there is great traffique, for that from thence euery yeere twise, there trauell two Caffyls, that is, companies of people and camels, which trauell vnto India, Persia, Arabia, and all the countreys bordering on the same, and deale in all sorts of marchandise, both to and from those countreys, as I in another place haue already declared. Three of the sayd English men aforesayd, were sent by a company of English men that are resident in Aleppo, to see if in Ormus they might keepe any factours, and so traffique in that place, like as also the Italians do, that is to say, the Venetians which in Ormus, Goa, and Malacca haue their factours, and traffique there, aswell for stones and pearles, as for other wares and spices of those countreyes, which from thence are caried ouer land into Venice. [Sidenote: Iohn Newbery had beene in Ormus before. Anno. 1581.] One of these English men had bene once before in the sayd towne of Ormus, and there had taken good information of the trade, and vpon his aduise and aduertisement, the other were as then come