The waye to Babylon whereas the Soudan dwelleth.
AND whoso wyll go through the lande of Babylon where the Soudan1 dwelleth, to have leave to go more sykerly2 throughe the Churches & countreys, and to go to mount Sinay before he come to Hierusalem, and then turne agayne by Hierusalem; he shall goe from Gaza to the castell Dayre. And after a man commeth out of Surry, and goeth in the wildernesse, where the waye is full sandy, and the wyldernesse lasteth eyght Journeys,3 where men findeth all that them nedeth of vytayles and men call that wyldernesse Archelleke,4 and whan a man commeth out of this deserte, hee entreth into Egypte, and they call Egypte, Canopat,5 and in another language men call it Mersyne,6 and the fyrste goode towne that men fynde is called Beleth, and it is at the ende of the Kingdome of Alape,7 and from thence men come to Babylon and to Kayre,8 and in Babylon is a fayre churche of our lady, where she dwelled vii yeare when she was oute of the lande of Jewes, for dreade of Kynge Herode. And there lyeth the bodye of Saynte Barbara vyrgyn, and there dwelled Joseph whan he was solde of his brethrene, and there made Nabugodonosor put the children in (the) fire, for they were of right9 trouth, the which chyldren men call Anania, Azaria, and Misael (as ye psalme of Benedicite saith) but Nabugodonosor called them thus, Sydrac, Mysac, Abdenago, that is to say, God glorious, God victorious, God over all Kingedomes, and that was for myracle that he made Goddes sonne, as he sayd, go wyth those chyldren throughe the fyre. There dwelleth the Soudan, for there is a faire citie and a stronge castell and it standeth upon a rocke. In that Castell is always dwellyng to kepe the castell and to serve the soudan, above viii10 thousand persons or folk that take all theyr necessaries at the Soudans courte. I should well knowe it, for I dwelled with him soudiour11 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.
