تحفة النظار في غرايب الامصار وعجايب الاسفار 13.102.11

13.102.11

وأقمت بالمركب ونزل صاحبه إلى البر على الدفة وشرع البحرية في عمل أربع من المعادي فجاء الليل قبل تمامها ودخل معنا الماء فصعدت إلى المؤخر وأقمت به حتى الصباح، وحينئذ جاء إلينا نفر من الكفار في قارب لهم، ونزلنا معهم إلى ساحل ببلاد المعبر، فأعلمناهم أنا من أصحاب سلطانهم وهم تحت ذمته، فكتبوا اليه بذلك، وهو على مسيرة يومين في الغزو، وكتبت أنا إليه أعلمه بما اتفق علي، وأدخلنا أولئك الكفار إلى غيضة فأتونا بفاكهة تشبه البطيخ يثمرها شجر المقل ، وفي داخلها شبه قطن فيه عسيلة يستخرجونها ويصنعون منها حلواء يسمونها التل وهي تشبه السكر وأتوا بسمك طيب.

I stayed on the ship, while its owner went down to the land on the rudder. The sailors set about making four rafts, but night came before they were finished and the water came in on us, so I climbed to the stern and stayed there until morning. Then a party of infidels came to us in a boat of theirs, and we went down with them to a shore in the land of al-Maʿbar. We told them that we were associates of their sultan, under whose protection they were, and they wrote to him about it; he was two days' journey away, on campaign. I also wrote to him, informing him of what had befallen me. Those infidels took us into a thicket and brought us a fruit resembling a melon, borne by the muql tree; inside it is something like cotton containing a honey-like juice, which they extract and from which they make a sweet they call al-tall, which resembles sugar. They also brought good fish.