تحفة النظار في غرايب الامصار وعجايب الاسفار 10.4.2

10.4.2

Over half of it is a wooden cabin reached by steps, and on top of it is a seat prepared for the amīr to sit on; his companions sit before him and the mamlūks stand to the right and left, while the oarsmen, about forty of them, row. Accompanying this ahwara are four vessels, to its right and left: two of them carry the amīr's insignia of rank, that is, the standards, drums, trumpets, horns and ṣurnāyāt (which are shawms), and the other two carry the musicians. The drums and trumpets play by turns and the singers sing by turns, and they continue so from the beginning of the day until the time of the midday meal.