تحفة النظار في غرايب الامصار وعجايب الاسفار 13.56.5

13.56.5

The citadel of al-Duwayqīr which we mentioned is a single block of rock on a plain; it has been hewn, and a fortress built on its top, which is ascended by a ladder made of leather that is raised at night. In it live the mufradūn, who are the zimāmīs, with their children. In it, in pits, are imprisoned those guilty of great crimes, and there are huge rats there, bigger than cats; the cats flee from them and cannot fight them, for they overpower them! They can only be caught by tricks devised against them. I saw them there and marvelled at them.