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NOTE |
The following texts are frequently cited by Islamic scholars as supporting voyages to the New World by Islamic sailors from Spain, Africa, or the Near East prior to Columbus. None actually supports this claim. Al-Mas'udi writes only of the Atlantic Ocean with no indication that any trans-oceanic land had been reached. The same goes for Al-Idrisi; in both cases the Canaries or Azores might be the origin of the story. Chinese texts speak of what is most likely Spain, not America, despite claims in 2014 from the Turkish president to the contrary. Columbus did not see a mosque but rather a pretty hill, and he also seemed to try to identify Afro-Arab stories of the Azores or Canaries with the Caribbean. The final text is a hoax, and one explicitly meant to hoax a trip to the Canaries, but which modern writers have misread as America.
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Al-Mas’udi
Meadows of Gold, Fields of Gems 12 (c. 947 CE)
On the limits where these two seas, the Mediterranean and the Ocean join, pillars of copper and stone, have been erected by King Hirakl the giant [i.e. Heracles]. Upon these pillars are inscriptions and figures, which show with their hands that one cannot go further, and that it is impracticable to navigate beyond the Mediterranean into that sea (the ocean), for no vessel sails on it: there is no cultivation nor a human being, and the sea has no limits neither in its depths nor extent, for its end is unknown. This is the sea of darkness, also called the green sea or the surrounding sea. Some say that these pillars are not on this strait, but in some islands of the ocean and their coast.
Some people consider this sea as the origin of all others. There are some wonderful stories related respecting it, for which we refer the reader to our book the Akhbár ez-zemán; there he will find an account of those crews who have risked their lives in navigating this sea, and who of them have escaped, and who have been shipwrecked, also what they have encountered and seen. Such an adventurer was a Moor of Spain, of the name of Khoshkhash. He was a young man of Cordoba: having assembled some young men they went on board a vessel which they had ready on the ocean, and nobody knew for a long time what had become of them. At length they came back loaded with rich booty. Their history is well known among the people of el-Andalos (the Moors in Spain).
trans. Aloys Sprenger
Meadows of Gold, Fields of Gems 12 (c. 947 CE)
On the limits where these two seas, the Mediterranean and the Ocean join, pillars of copper and stone, have been erected by King Hirakl the giant [i.e. Heracles]. Upon these pillars are inscriptions and figures, which show with their hands that one cannot go further, and that it is impracticable to navigate beyond the Mediterranean into that sea (the ocean), for no vessel sails on it: there is no cultivation nor a human being, and the sea has no limits neither in its depths nor extent, for its end is unknown. This is the sea of darkness, also called the green sea or the surrounding sea. Some say that these pillars are not on this strait, but in some islands of the ocean and their coast.
Some people consider this sea as the origin of all others. There are some wonderful stories related respecting it, for which we refer the reader to our book the Akhbár ez-zemán; there he will find an account of those crews who have risked their lives in navigating this sea, and who of them have escaped, and who have been shipwrecked, also what they have encountered and seen. Such an adventurer was a Moor of Spain, of the name of Khoshkhash. He was a young man of Cordoba: having assembled some young men they went on board a vessel which they had ready on the ocean, and nobody knew for a long time what had become of them. At length they came back loaded with rich booty. Their history is well known among the people of el-Andalos (the Moors in Spain).
trans. Aloys Sprenger
Al-Idrisi
Nuzhat al-Mushtaq 4.1 (c. 1153 CE)
It was from Lisbon that the Maghrurin or Deluded Folk, left on an expedition to find out what the (Atlantic) ocean contains and its limits, as we have discussed above. There is still in Lisbon a street at the foot of the hot baths which bears the name of these Maghrurin.
These were eight in number, all related to one another as first cousins. They built a boat, fitted for ocean sailing and for the transport of a large amount of fresh water and provisions, and thus equipped for many months they set out from Lisbon with the first east wind. After eleven days they reached a sea, whose thick waters had a foetid smell, concealed numerous reefs, and were but faintly lighted. Fearing for their lives, they changed their course, and sailed to the south for twelve days more. In this way they reached an island which they found to be uninhabited, except by large flocks of sheep. Some of these they killed on landing, but they found the flesh so bitter that they could not eat it, and only took the skins. Some wild figs and a spring of fresh water were the only other things they remarked in the island, which they called Al Ghanam (‘the Isle of Sheep’). Again they sailed southwards for twelve days, and so came to another, dotted with houses and cultivated fields. They landed, and were at once surrounded, made prisoners, and carried in their own boats to a city on the sea shore. Here they were confined in a house, where they saw some of the inhabitants, men of tail stature and red color, with little body hair and wearing their hair long (not curly). Along with these were some women of great beauty. For three days they were left alone, but on the fourth day, the king’s interpreter came to them and questioned them in Arabic. Two days afterwards they were brought out of their prison and presented to the king, who asked them the same questions as the interpreter had done. Especially he wished to know what they wanted in his country. They replied that they were seeking out the wonders of the ocean and its limits.
At this the king laughed heartily and said to the interpreter:—“Tell them my father once ordered some of his slaves to venture out upon that sea, and they sailed across the breadth of it for a month, but then they found themselves deprived of the light of the sun, and returned without having learnt anything.” The king ordered the interpreter to ensure the Wanderers of his benevolence so they would have a good opinion of him, which was done. So saying, he dismissed the Wanderers, and sent them back to their prison, where they remained until a west wind arose. At this they were brought out, blindfolded, put into a boat, and sent off to sea again; “We sailed,” they say, “about three days and three nights, and then came to the mainland (of Africa). Here we put ashore, with our hands tied behind our backs, and so left in this sad state until the dawn. Soon after the rising of the sun, we heard shouts of laughter, and the chatter of many voices; and we cried out, to attract the attention of these people. So the inhabitants of the region came to us in our situation so miserable, and they unbound us. They asked questions, and we shared the story of our adventure. One of them told us they were Berbers. ‘Do you know the distance between you and your country?’ At our negative response he added: ‘Between the point where you are and your country it is two months’ journey.’” The leader of the Wanderers exclaimed, “Alas, Alas,”--wasafi; which is why the name of that place is called Asafi today. This is the port of which we have spoken as being located in the extremity of the West.
trans. C. Raymond Beazley; corrected by Jason Colavito
Nuzhat al-Mushtaq 4.1 (c. 1153 CE)
It was from Lisbon that the Maghrurin or Deluded Folk, left on an expedition to find out what the (Atlantic) ocean contains and its limits, as we have discussed above. There is still in Lisbon a street at the foot of the hot baths which bears the name of these Maghrurin.
These were eight in number, all related to one another as first cousins. They built a boat, fitted for ocean sailing and for the transport of a large amount of fresh water and provisions, and thus equipped for many months they set out from Lisbon with the first east wind. After eleven days they reached a sea, whose thick waters had a foetid smell, concealed numerous reefs, and were but faintly lighted. Fearing for their lives, they changed their course, and sailed to the south for twelve days more. In this way they reached an island which they found to be uninhabited, except by large flocks of sheep. Some of these they killed on landing, but they found the flesh so bitter that they could not eat it, and only took the skins. Some wild figs and a spring of fresh water were the only other things they remarked in the island, which they called Al Ghanam (‘the Isle of Sheep’). Again they sailed southwards for twelve days, and so came to another, dotted with houses and cultivated fields. They landed, and were at once surrounded, made prisoners, and carried in their own boats to a city on the sea shore. Here they were confined in a house, where they saw some of the inhabitants, men of tail stature and red color, with little body hair and wearing their hair long (not curly). Along with these were some women of great beauty. For three days they were left alone, but on the fourth day, the king’s interpreter came to them and questioned them in Arabic. Two days afterwards they were brought out of their prison and presented to the king, who asked them the same questions as the interpreter had done. Especially he wished to know what they wanted in his country. They replied that they were seeking out the wonders of the ocean and its limits.
At this the king laughed heartily and said to the interpreter:—“Tell them my father once ordered some of his slaves to venture out upon that sea, and they sailed across the breadth of it for a month, but then they found themselves deprived of the light of the sun, and returned without having learnt anything.” The king ordered the interpreter to ensure the Wanderers of his benevolence so they would have a good opinion of him, which was done. So saying, he dismissed the Wanderers, and sent them back to their prison, where they remained until a west wind arose. At this they were brought out, blindfolded, put into a boat, and sent off to sea again; “We sailed,” they say, “about three days and three nights, and then came to the mainland (of Africa). Here we put ashore, with our hands tied behind our backs, and so left in this sad state until the dawn. Soon after the rising of the sun, we heard shouts of laughter, and the chatter of many voices; and we cried out, to attract the attention of these people. So the inhabitants of the region came to us in our situation so miserable, and they unbound us. They asked questions, and we shared the story of our adventure. One of them told us they were Berbers. ‘Do you know the distance between you and your country?’ At our negative response he added: ‘Between the point where you are and your country it is two months’ journey.’” The leader of the Wanderers exclaimed, “Alas, Alas,”--wasafi; which is why the name of that place is called Asafi today. This is the port of which we have spoken as being located in the extremity of the West.
trans. C. Raymond Beazley; corrected by Jason Colavito
Chou Ch’a-fei
Ling-wai tai-ta 3.4 (1178 CE)
The ships which sail the Southern Sea and south of it are like houses. When their sails are spread they are like great clouds in the sky. Their rudders are several tens of feet long. A single ship carries several hundred men. It has stored on board a year’s supply of grain. They feed pigs and ferment liquors. There is no account of dead or living, and no going back to the mainland when once they have entered the dark blue sea. When on board the gong sounds the day, the animals drink gluttonly, guests and hosts by turn forgetting their perils. To the people on board all is hidden; mountains, landmarks, the countries of the foreigners, all are lost in space. […] The big ship with its heavy cargo has naught to fear of the great waves, but in shallow water it comes to grief.
Far beyond the Western Sea of the Arabs’ countries lies the land of Mu-lan-p’i (Southern Spain). Its ships are the biggest of all. One ship carries a thousand men; on board are weaving looms and marketplaces.
trans. Friedrich Hirth and W. W. Rockhill in Chau Ju-Kua (1911).
While the remainder of the passage has not been translated into English, a copy of it by Chau Ju-Kua has been translated:
Ling-wai tai-ta 3.4 (1178 CE)
The ships which sail the Southern Sea and south of it are like houses. When their sails are spread they are like great clouds in the sky. Their rudders are several tens of feet long. A single ship carries several hundred men. It has stored on board a year’s supply of grain. They feed pigs and ferment liquors. There is no account of dead or living, and no going back to the mainland when once they have entered the dark blue sea. When on board the gong sounds the day, the animals drink gluttonly, guests and hosts by turn forgetting their perils. To the people on board all is hidden; mountains, landmarks, the countries of the foreigners, all are lost in space. […] The big ship with its heavy cargo has naught to fear of the great waves, but in shallow water it comes to grief.
Far beyond the Western Sea of the Arabs’ countries lies the land of Mu-lan-p’i (Southern Spain). Its ships are the biggest of all. One ship carries a thousand men; on board are weaving looms and marketplaces.
trans. Friedrich Hirth and W. W. Rockhill in Chau Ju-Kua (1911).
While the remainder of the passage has not been translated into English, a copy of it by Chau Ju-Kua has been translated:
Chau Ju-Kua
Chu-fan-chi 1.35 (1225 CE)
The country of Mu-lan-p’i is to the west of the Ta-shi country. There is a great sea, and to the west of this sea there are countless countries, but Mu-lan-p’i is the one country which is visited by the big ships of the Ta-shi. Putting to sea from T’o-pan-ti in the country of the Ta-shi, after sailing due west for full an hundred days, one reaches this country. A single one of these (big) ships of theirs carries several thousand men, and on board they have stores of wine and provisions, as well as weaving looms. If one speaks of big ships, there are none so big as those of Mu-lau-p’i.
The products of this country are extraordinary; the grains of wheat are three inches long, the melons six feet round, enough for a meal for twenty or thirty men. The pomegranates weigh five catties, the peaches two catties, citrons over twenty catties, salads weigh over ten catties and have leaves three or four feet long. Rice and wheat are kept in silos for tens of years without spoiling. Among the native products are foreign sheep, which are several feet high and have tails as big as a fan. In the spring-time they slit open their bellies and take out some tens of catties of fat, after which they sew them up again, and the sheep live on; if the fat were not removed, (the animal) would swell up and die.
If one travels by land (from Mu-lan-p’i) two hundred days journey, the days are only six hours long. In autumn if the west wind arises, men and beasts must at once drink to keep alive, and if they are not quick enough about it they die of thirst.
trans. Friedrich Hirth and W. W. Rockhill in Chau Ju-Kua (1911).
Chu-fan-chi 1.35 (1225 CE)
The country of Mu-lan-p’i is to the west of the Ta-shi country. There is a great sea, and to the west of this sea there are countless countries, but Mu-lan-p’i is the one country which is visited by the big ships of the Ta-shi. Putting to sea from T’o-pan-ti in the country of the Ta-shi, after sailing due west for full an hundred days, one reaches this country. A single one of these (big) ships of theirs carries several thousand men, and on board they have stores of wine and provisions, as well as weaving looms. If one speaks of big ships, there are none so big as those of Mu-lau-p’i.
The products of this country are extraordinary; the grains of wheat are three inches long, the melons six feet round, enough for a meal for twenty or thirty men. The pomegranates weigh five catties, the peaches two catties, citrons over twenty catties, salads weigh over ten catties and have leaves three or four feet long. Rice and wheat are kept in silos for tens of years without spoiling. Among the native products are foreign sheep, which are several feet high and have tails as big as a fan. In the spring-time they slit open their bellies and take out some tens of catties of fat, after which they sew them up again, and the sheep live on; if the fat were not removed, (the animal) would swell up and die.
If one travels by land (from Mu-lan-p’i) two hundred days journey, the days are only six hours long. In autumn if the west wind arises, men and beasts must at once drink to keep alive, and if they are not quick enough about it they die of thirst.
trans. Friedrich Hirth and W. W. Rockhill in Chau Ju-Kua (1911).
Al-Umari
Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār (before 1349)
I asked the Sultan Musa [of Mali] how it was that power came into his hands. “We are,” he told me, “from a house that transmits power by heritage. The ruler who preceded me [i.e., Abu Bakr II] would not believe that it was impossible to discover the limits of the neighboring sea [i.e. the Atlantic]. He wanted to find out and persisted in his plans.
“He had two hundred ships equipped and filled them with men, and others in the same number filled with gold, water and supplies in sufficient quantity to last for years. He told those who commanded them: ‘Return only when you have reached the extremity of the ocean or when you have exhausted your food and water.’ They went away; their absence was long before any of them returned. Finally, a sole ship reappeared. We asked the captain about their adventures.
“‘Prince,’ he replied, ‘we sailed for a long time when we encountered in mid-ocean something like a river with a violent current. My ship was lost. The others sailed on, and gradually as each of them entered this place, they disappeared and did not come back. As to me, I returned where I was and did not enter that current.’
“But the emperor did not want to believe him. He equipped two thousand vessels, a thousand for himself and a thousand for water and supplies. He conferred power on me (Mansa Musa) and left with his companion on the ocean. This was the last time I saw him and the others, and I remained absolute master of the empire.”
tans. Basil Davidson (1969).
Masālik al-abṣār fī mamālik al-amṣār (before 1349)
I asked the Sultan Musa [of Mali] how it was that power came into his hands. “We are,” he told me, “from a house that transmits power by heritage. The ruler who preceded me [i.e., Abu Bakr II] would not believe that it was impossible to discover the limits of the neighboring sea [i.e. the Atlantic]. He wanted to find out and persisted in his plans.
“He had two hundred ships equipped and filled them with men, and others in the same number filled with gold, water and supplies in sufficient quantity to last for years. He told those who commanded them: ‘Return only when you have reached the extremity of the ocean or when you have exhausted your food and water.’ They went away; their absence was long before any of them returned. Finally, a sole ship reappeared. We asked the captain about their adventures.
“‘Prince,’ he replied, ‘we sailed for a long time when we encountered in mid-ocean something like a river with a violent current. My ship was lost. The others sailed on, and gradually as each of them entered this place, they disappeared and did not come back. As to me, I returned where I was and did not enter that current.’
“But the emperor did not want to believe him. He equipped two thousand vessels, a thousand for himself and a thousand for water and supplies. He conferred power on me (Mansa Musa) and left with his companion on the ocean. This was the last time I saw him and the others, and I remained absolute master of the empire.”
tans. Basil Davidson (1969).
Christopher Columbus
Journal of the First Voyage, October 29, 1492
Remarking on the position of the river and port, to which he gave the name of San Salvador, he describes its mountains as lofty and beautiful, like the Peña de las Enamoradas, and one of them has another little hill on its summit, like a graceful mosque. The other river and port, in which he now was, has two round mountains to the S.W., and a fine low cape running out to the W.S.W.
trans. Clements Markham
Journal of the First Voyage, October 29, 1492
Remarking on the position of the river and port, to which he gave the name of San Salvador, he describes its mountains as lofty and beautiful, like the Peña de las Enamoradas, and one of them has another little hill on its summit, like a graceful mosque. The other river and port, in which he now was, has two round mountains to the S.W., and a fine low cape running out to the W.S.W.
trans. Clements Markham
Bartolomé de Las Casas
General History of the Indies 1.130-131 (1561)
130. …it was concluded that the King of Portugal should have 370 leagues to the west from the islands of the Azores and Cape Verde, from north to south, from pole to pole. And the Admiral [Columbus] says further that the said King Don Juan was certain that within those limits famous lands and things must be found. Certain principal inhabitants of the island of Santiago came to see them and they say that to the south-west of the island of Huego, which is one of the Cape Verdes distant 12 leagues from this, may be seen an island, and that the King Don Juan was greatly inclined to send to make discoveries to the south-west, and that canoes had been found which start from the coast of Guinea and navigate to the west with merchandise. […]
131. Wednesday, July 4 [1498], he ordered sail made from that island in which he says that since he arrived there he never saw the sun or the stars, but that the heavens were covered with such a thick mist that it seemed they could cut it with a knife and the heat was so very intense that they were tormented, and he ordered the course laid to the way of the south-west, which is the route leading from these islands to the south, in the name, he says, of the Holy and Individual Trinity, because then he would be on a parallel with the lands of the sierra of Loa and cape of Sancta Ana in Guinea, which is below the equinoctial line, where he says that below that line of the world are found more gold and things of value: and that after, he would navigate, the Lord pleasing, to the west, and from there would go to this Hispaniola, in which route he would prove the theory of the King John aforesaid: and that he thought to investigate the report of the Indians of this Hispaniola who said that there had come to Hispaniola from the south and south-east, a black people who have the tops of their spears made of a metal which they call ‘guanin,’ of which he had sent samples to the Sovereigns to have them assayed, when it was found that of 32 parts, 18 were of gold, 6 of silver and 8 of copper.
trans. John Boyd Thatcher
General History of the Indies 1.130-131 (1561)
130. …it was concluded that the King of Portugal should have 370 leagues to the west from the islands of the Azores and Cape Verde, from north to south, from pole to pole. And the Admiral [Columbus] says further that the said King Don Juan was certain that within those limits famous lands and things must be found. Certain principal inhabitants of the island of Santiago came to see them and they say that to the south-west of the island of Huego, which is one of the Cape Verdes distant 12 leagues from this, may be seen an island, and that the King Don Juan was greatly inclined to send to make discoveries to the south-west, and that canoes had been found which start from the coast of Guinea and navigate to the west with merchandise. […]
131. Wednesday, July 4 [1498], he ordered sail made from that island in which he says that since he arrived there he never saw the sun or the stars, but that the heavens were covered with such a thick mist that it seemed they could cut it with a knife and the heat was so very intense that they were tormented, and he ordered the course laid to the way of the south-west, which is the route leading from these islands to the south, in the name, he says, of the Holy and Individual Trinity, because then he would be on a parallel with the lands of the sierra of Loa and cape of Sancta Ana in Guinea, which is below the equinoctial line, where he says that below that line of the world are found more gold and things of value: and that after, he would navigate, the Lord pleasing, to the west, and from there would go to this Hispaniola, in which route he would prove the theory of the King John aforesaid: and that he thought to investigate the report of the Indians of this Hispaniola who said that there had come to Hispaniola from the south and south-east, a black people who have the tops of their spears made of a metal which they call ‘guanin,’ of which he had sent samples to the Sovereigns to have them assayed, when it was found that of 32 parts, 18 were of gold, 6 of silver and 8 of copper.
trans. John Boyd Thatcher
Don Manuel Ossuna Saviñón
Resumen de la geografía física y política, y de la historia natural y civil de las islas Canarias (1844)
(Hoax text claiming to be an Arabic text of Ibn Umar al-Gutiyya)
Al-Jazir Al-Kaledat, that is, the Fortunate Isles, says Ibn-el-Qouthia, were inhabited in the late tenth century, when the famous Ben-Farroukh traveled to them with other Arabs, landing on the island of Canaria. This expedition, which took place in the reign of Abdelmehc in the Arab year of 334, year 999 of Jesus Christ, was the first of which we have certain knowledge. Ben-Farroukh, who at the time commanded one of the vessels defending the coasts of Spain against two Norman invasions, supposed there existed islands beyond the Atlas Mountains, which because of their mild climate and fertility the ancients had rightly given the name of Fortunate.
Carried away by this ephemeral hope, he set out for the archipelago, and sighting the island of Gran Canaria, discovered the port of Gando, in which he landed in the month of February in the year 999. He entered at the head of 130 men that were with him, having to overcome all the difficulties that may hinder communications in a wild country, for the mountains were covered with thick forests, in which he could barely make his way through the trees.
A foreign presence was not a new spectacle for the Canaria natives, for they remembered several other expeditions of the Arabs, from which some of their companions had stayed among them so that the first relations of the captain with the islanders were very friendly. He visited Guanariga, who was King or Guanarteme of Gáldar, and the Guayres or Counselors, and gave them to understand, through his interpreter, that he and his companions were sent by a powerful monarch to pay tribute to the goodness, courage, and generosity of this prince, and that they had braved the dangers of a long journey to establish friendly relations with him on behalf of their sovereign.
Guanariga was flattered with the embassy and intrigued by so much deference, believing himself to be even more powerful than in reality he was, since a monarch of some distant nation had come to ask his friendship; he sent to have the Arabs conducted to his palace, which they found adorned with flowers and palm branches, and well supplied with fruits and roasted barley flour, which is done in the Canaries to entertain new guests.
Ben-Farroukh, who wanted to visit the whole archipelago of the Fortunates, sailed to the west, and surveyed four islands, designating them by the names of “Ningaria,” rising to the clouds; “Junonia,” a small island located to the south and very close to the first; and the islands “Aprositus” and “Hero,” of which the last was the westernmost. Navigating then to the east of Canaria he found “Capraria” and next to it “Pluitana,” which was near the African coast.
Having surveyed the other islands of the archipelago and visited some of them on foot, Ben-Farroukh decided to return to Spain, not only because food was scarce but because they had to report to their monarch about the lands they had explored. So they returned in May of the year 999, after having remained in the islands about three months.
trans. Jason Colavito
Resumen de la geografía física y política, y de la historia natural y civil de las islas Canarias (1844)
(Hoax text claiming to be an Arabic text of Ibn Umar al-Gutiyya)
Al-Jazir Al-Kaledat, that is, the Fortunate Isles, says Ibn-el-Qouthia, were inhabited in the late tenth century, when the famous Ben-Farroukh traveled to them with other Arabs, landing on the island of Canaria. This expedition, which took place in the reign of Abdelmehc in the Arab year of 334, year 999 of Jesus Christ, was the first of which we have certain knowledge. Ben-Farroukh, who at the time commanded one of the vessels defending the coasts of Spain against two Norman invasions, supposed there existed islands beyond the Atlas Mountains, which because of their mild climate and fertility the ancients had rightly given the name of Fortunate.
Carried away by this ephemeral hope, he set out for the archipelago, and sighting the island of Gran Canaria, discovered the port of Gando, in which he landed in the month of February in the year 999. He entered at the head of 130 men that were with him, having to overcome all the difficulties that may hinder communications in a wild country, for the mountains were covered with thick forests, in which he could barely make his way through the trees.
A foreign presence was not a new spectacle for the Canaria natives, for they remembered several other expeditions of the Arabs, from which some of their companions had stayed among them so that the first relations of the captain with the islanders were very friendly. He visited Guanariga, who was King or Guanarteme of Gáldar, and the Guayres or Counselors, and gave them to understand, through his interpreter, that he and his companions were sent by a powerful monarch to pay tribute to the goodness, courage, and generosity of this prince, and that they had braved the dangers of a long journey to establish friendly relations with him on behalf of their sovereign.
Guanariga was flattered with the embassy and intrigued by so much deference, believing himself to be even more powerful than in reality he was, since a monarch of some distant nation had come to ask his friendship; he sent to have the Arabs conducted to his palace, which they found adorned with flowers and palm branches, and well supplied with fruits and roasted barley flour, which is done in the Canaries to entertain new guests.
Ben-Farroukh, who wanted to visit the whole archipelago of the Fortunates, sailed to the west, and surveyed four islands, designating them by the names of “Ningaria,” rising to the clouds; “Junonia,” a small island located to the south and very close to the first; and the islands “Aprositus” and “Hero,” of which the last was the westernmost. Navigating then to the east of Canaria he found “Capraria” and next to it “Pluitana,” which was near the African coast.
Having surveyed the other islands of the archipelago and visited some of them on foot, Ben-Farroukh decided to return to Spain, not only because food was scarce but because they had to report to their monarch about the lands they had explored. So they returned in May of the year 999, after having remained in the islands about three months.
trans. Jason Colavito
