Ships were lost during these dark voyages, and said to have had a good end, perhaps ending up in the great river Xaros. For this reason, the Xaros became famous as a holy place, where the spirits of those who died a painful death were thought to reside. Others say it was for this very reason that they were obliged to keep a fire burning, in case a ship was driven off course by the maelstrom and came to rest at the very foot of the sacred mountain, which is situated at the mouth of the river, and where it was customary to burn a human sacrifice. They would then climb up to the peak of the mountain, and bury the ashes there. The Mamelukes had founded many commercial relations with other nations, and especially the Venetians. It was by way of one of their merchantmen that the first news of the birth of the Savior came to Venice. It so happened that the ship had been shipwrecked, and the crew made prisoner by an Arab tribe. The Arab chief's daughter fell in love with the Venetian captain, who had been captured before her. She became pregnant by him and bore a child. They gave him back his liberty, and the gift of the mother. At this stage the Captain decided that, before starting for home, it was necessary for him to pay a visit to his own country. But the tribe for whom he was prisoner, not wishing to lose a man who was in fact no slave of theirs, but a freebooter, had to give him a parting gift. To the great disappointment of the captain, the ransom demanded by the tribe was a precious gem which the captain had with him, an unblemished diamond. The Venetian captain could not believe his good fortune. But one has to get hold of something one wants, and he sold it to the Arab chiefs for two hundred Venetian ducats. It was with this money that the Venetian merchants, among other rich gifts, were building a palace and a church to the Most High and to Our Lady. To bring about their own downfall, the Venetians built an arsenal and a docks, and the result was that a good many ships were burnt there, and this was the end of their trade with other nations. After a long quarrel between the Venetian city and the Mameluke city, the latter prevailed, but it seems they never recovered their former grandeur. ## Notes 1. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _Memories of the Road_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Alastair Hamilton. 2. al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 18. 3. ibid. 4. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _Memories of the Road_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Alastair Hamilton. 5. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 19. 6. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 20. 7. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 24. 8. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 34. 9. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 35. 10. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 35. 11. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 38. 12. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 40. 13. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 39. 14. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 42. 15. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 55. 16. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 56. 17. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 58. 18. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 63. 19. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 64. 20. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 64. 21. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 72. 22. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 77. 23. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 88. 24. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 90. 25. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 99. 26. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 101. 27. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 102. 28. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 104. 29. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 104. 30. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 104. 31. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 104. 32. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 110. 33. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 111. 34. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 117. 35. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 118. 36. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 119. 37. Al-Muqaddasi: see al-Idrisi, _The Book of Pleasure_ , translated from the Arabic and annotated by Mouna Saber, p. 120. 38. Al-Muq