soudan, above viii[10] thousand persons or folk that take all theyr necessaries at the Soudans courte. I should well knowe it, for I dwelled with him soudiour[11] in his warres a great while agayne the Bedions,[12] and he wold haue wedded me to a great princes daughter ryght richly, if I would haue forsaken my faith. [Footnote 1: Sultan.] [Footnote 2: Certainly, surely.] [Footnote 3: Day's march.] [Footnote 4: Athylec, Abylech, Alhylet, Alhelet, Abylet.] [Footnote 5: Query Canopus, a city 12 miles from Alexandria, named after the pilot of Menelaus' vessel, who was buried here.] [Footnote 6: Mersur, Morsyn.] [Footnote 7: Aleppo.] [Footnote 8: Cairo.] [Footnote 9: True faith.] [Footnote 10: Other editions say 6,000.] [Footnote 11: Soldier.] [Footnote 12: Bedouins.] CAP. XII. _Yet here followeth of the Soudan and of his Kingdomes that he hath conquered, which he holdeth strongly with force._ AND ye shall understand that the Soudan is lorde of v Kingdomes: the which he hath conquered and gotten to him by strength, and these be they--the Kingdome of Canopate (_that is_) the Kingdome of Egipte, the Kingdome of Hierusalem: whereof David and Salomon were Kings, the Kingdome of Surry, of the which the citie of Damas[1] was the chiefe, the Kingdome of Alape in the lande of Dameth, and the Kingdome of Arabya: which was one of the three Kinges that made offeryng to our Lorde when he was borne, and many other landes he holdeth in his hande, and also he holdeth Calaphes[2] that is a great thing to the Soudan, that is to say, among them Roys[3] yle and this vale is colde. [Illustration] [Illustration] And then men go uppon the mount of Sainct Katherina and that is much higher than the mount Moyses. And there as saint Katheryn was graven[4] is no church ne castell, ne other dwelling place, but there is an hyll of stones gathered togither, about the place there she was graven of Aungels, there was wont to be a chapell, but it is all cast downe & yet lyeth there a great parte of the stones. But under the foote of mount Sinay is a monasterie of Monkes, and there is the church of Sainct Katherine wherein be many lamps brenning, and they have oyle onlye enough to eate and to brenne, and that they haue by myracle of God, there come certaine of all maner of byrdes euery yeare once, lyke pylgrymes and eche of them bringeth a braunch of olyve in token of offering, whereof they make much oyle. [Footnote 1: Damascus.] [Footnote 2: Khalifs.] [Footnote 3: Who are accounted there as kings.] [Footnote 4: Buried.] CAP. XIII. _For to returne fro Sinay to Hierusalem._