Talon had by now been on several different kinds of sea-going vessels, but he was awed by what he beheld here. This boat was massive compared to anything he had ever seen before, and that included the ship in which they had escaped from Persia, which had been a Xebec.
He glanced out at the harbor and noticed with interest that among the forest of masts and dhows there were several other ships of comparable size. These looked as though they were well weathered. After the formal greetings, Allam gestured at the ship. The noise of hammering, sawing and creaking blocks and tackle, combined with the shouts of men, made talking difficult.
“Our father, whom may God protect for many years to come, has given his blessings for us to prepare for our venture to Lamu this year, Talon. God willing, he will soon give his permission for you to join us. This vessel is known as a Baghlah and is one of the largest of the Omani ships that sail the Indian seas.”
“Is this one of your ships?” Reza asked, with awe in his tone. He was craning his neck to look up at the hull above them.
“That depends,” Imaran said, giving them a keen look.
“In order for you to become a merchant of any note in Oman, you must own a ship,” Boulos stated with a twinkle in his eyes as he regarded Talon and Reza.
Talon immediately understood. “Does it have to be a very, very large ship like this?” he asked carefully.
Imaran laughed. “Yes, Talon. Do you see those ships congregating over there on the south side of the harbor? They are our ships, or many of them. See how large they are? Some are Baghlahs like this one, as you can see, and others are the slightly smaller Ganjahs. Both are ideal for long distances, capable of sailing in the unpredictable seas of India and riding out the storms. They transport horses by the hundreds to Al Hind. You have to have a large ship to sail in these seas. You will see very quickly what I mean if you come with us.”
“How much would a ship of this kind cost a person who was interested in buying it?” Reza asked.
“Close to three thousand dinars, I should think.” Imaran said looking up at the ship with a critical eye. “It is not the largest ever build here, but certainly large enough. These are without doubt the most seaworthy of all the ships built in this land.”
“Come, we will show you around, and then you can decide,” Boulos said. Talon glanced at Reza, who grimaced. Their intent to become merchants was already proving to be pricey. He needed to think hard.
They walked around the ship while Boulos and Imaran pointed out the salient features of a good sea-going vessel, explaining the need for a large water-tight hold and spacious passenger room. Allam was as interested in the ship as Talon. He shrugged and laughed depreciatingly. “My brothers are the sea men and navigators of the family, so listen to them, Talon, and learn from the very best.”
They climbed a tall ladder and were shown around the top deck by one of the builders, who was clearly delighted to see the brothers. He almost prostrated himself in front of them, but a sharp word from Imaran made him jerk upright and touch his heart and forehead. He then obsequiously lead them around the wide deck. Wherever they went, men who were working stopped what they were doing and bowed low to the men. Clearly the brothers were well known and very well respected.
Talon estimated that the ship was easily eleven paces across on its waist and probably forty paces long from stem to stern. This was a huge ship by any standards. Imaran pointed out that its hold could accommodate at least thirty horses, perhaps more. He glanced at Reza, who was having trouble keeping his jaw from dropping open. Reza gulped and shook his head with amazement.
“This is so big I wonder that it can float!” he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper aside to Talon.
Boulos spoke rapidly with the shipwright who was guiding them around.
“They are putting the finishing touches to this ship as we speak. It will be launched next week, and then it will have to be fitted out for its maiden voyage to Lamu,” he told them.
Talon had noticed the large piles of timber on the beach, but when he considered the countryside around them, he could not see any sign of woodlands that could provide this kind of timber.
“Where does this timber come from?” he asked. “Are there great forests in the south? I cannot see any near Muscat.”
Imaran smiled. “No, and you are right, we do have forests, but they are not the forests that can provide this kind of wood. The timber that you see on the beach and on some of those ships which have just arrived is from Al Hind and is known as teak. The Indians sell us their wood, we built our ships with it, and then ship horses to them, which we sell for outrageous prices. Everyone is happy!” He chuckled.
“You should know, Suleiman and Reza, that this is no ordinary wood. Most timber for ships would quickly rot and become infested with worms that inhabit the sea. They bore holes right through the hull of a ship and it will sink, but this wood does not attract the worms, neither does it rot in the water. There are some ships out in that harbor which are as old as three generations, and their hulls are still good. One of those over there was built by our grandfather, may his soul be saved,” Boulos stated.
They spent several hours looking over the entire ship, which smelled of new cut timber and some other less pleasant odors. Boulos and Imaran asked the shipwright to show their guests how the strakes of the ship were held together, and he proudly showed them how this was achieved.
Talon had spent some time on the Byzantine ships and understood how they were held together with nails and pegs, so he was astonished to see that the strakes of this ship were sewn together. He stared at the rope stitching that held one edge of a strake tight to another, while the shipwright explained that this was a slow but very sure process.
There were thousands of holes drilled painstakingly in the timber; then they were placed together and a rope of coconut fibre was pushed through from one side. They watched while a man would haul on this until it was taut, while another would beat it with a hammer to make sure it was very tightly hammered home. Then they would repeat the process from the other side. The fibre had the advantage that it would swell when in the water and seal the hole tight. They then hammered fiber into the gaps between the planks and sealed the whole with a tar-like substance which Boulos told theme was shark skin oil rendered down. Talon sniffed at it; the smell was not pleasant close up.
Boulos grinned at Talon’s astonishment. “We do not have iron foundries in Oman, so nails and bronze are very expensive,” he said. “This stitching can be easily repaired and allows movement when in a storm.”
Talon did not see a single nail on the entire ship’s hull. It was clearly a very long process to build such a ship, but apparently it was also a very solid process, and the ships would last.
They visited the hold, where Imaran informed them that they could construct more than thirty stalls for horses and then easily convert them for other cargo when the horses had been unloaded. Then they visited the spacious passenger area, which Talon was interested in. There was ample room for the entire group, including space for the servants, a separate women’s cabin, and several other cabins for passengers. After examining the rest of the ship, they bade the shipwright good bye and descended the ladder.
Talon and Reza stood on the sand and admired the ship. It was sleek, and to Talon’s mind built for any sea. Another was being constructed further down the beach; he could see the ribs and strakes being worked upon.
The discussion about the needs of a ship, its performance, and all the endless details were bewildering, but clearly the two brothers knew exactly what they were talking about, so he resolved to listen very carefully and learn all he could.
It was noon by this time, so Allam invited them all back to his house to continue the discussion. Talon had the impression that, had he not shown so much interest, the conversation would not have continued and the brothers would not have taken his wish to become a merchant seriously. While they were on their way to the house, Reza and Talon had a chance to discuss th
e ship and the price.
“I have never in my whole life seen such a vessel. If I had not seen others in the water, I should not have believed that this monster could sail at all,” Reza muttered, with an eye on the striding brothers ahead of them. Talon scuffed his boot in the sand. Neither he nor Reza had adopted the local form of dress, although he thought it might be prudent before long to do so, as it would allow them to blend in and even disappear if they had to, rather than looking like a pair of scruffy Seljuk cavalry men who had lost their way.
“I will allow it is huge, but I have crossed the Middle Sea in a much smaller vessel, and I agree that when the vessel is larger it is probably safer in wild seas. It has three masts! Even with the largest ships I sailed in before, some had two but one mast was more common. It does not have oars, which I am more used to,” he said, thinking of the sleek galleys he now possessed.
“What do you think of the cost?” Reza enquired with a sideways look at Talon from under his dark brows. They were speaking Farsi, and in undertones.
“I can meet that cost,” Talon told him.
Reza stopped and gaped at him. “You can what?” He held onto Talon’s sleeve. “You mean this?”
“I made a bet on the game of chogan, which Yosef collected. That alone will pay for most of the ship; and if the Jews here can cover my chits, then I can pay for the ship and the crew,” Talon said. “I will tell you later how I came by it all. Some you know already. I am already rich, Brother, but I want to see these places they are always talking about. Close your mouth; it is hanging open.” He laughed at Reza’s surprise and tapped his friend lightly under his lower jaw with a forefinger.
“It is the other costs that concern me. There has to be a crew and a captain, I know that much, and then provisions, too. Then I will need more money to pay for merchandise we will purchase in this place called Lamu. Those costs I will have to discuss with them, to make sure I don’t make a mistake and run short.”
*****
The brothers were surprised at how much Talon already knew about what was needed for a ship to function. While he deferred to their greater knowledge, they were clearly pleased that he was not a total newcomer to the nautical world. They offered much good advice, even though no one actually talked about the final terms of the ship’s purchase. That would have been poor manners.
Eventually, however, they came to this point, and as the sun began to set, the khaffee was brought out and placed in tiny porcelain cups before each of them. The father was now present, and both Talon and Reza were scrupulously polite towards him, as it was evident the brothers deferred unquestioningly to him.
He had sailed the Indian ocean from one end to the other, and Talon was keen to ask him many questions about this. However, he confined himself to the immediate discussion, which was about where to find a reliable crew for the ship and a good captain who could navigate.
“You see, Suleiman,” the old man said, as he leaned over a small bowl in front of him and picked out a fig for himself, “we are Nabatean people, we of the Omani. Do you know what this means?”
It was a small test, and Talon jumped at it. “You are navigators of the deserts, the great wastelands of the empty quarter and the regions north by Rekem?” he asked. Rekem was the Nabatean name for Petra, the city of carved rock where he had first met the Nabateans.
All of the other men stopped what they were doing and stared at him. After a long silence the old man said softly, “How is it that you know of our people when you have never been here before?”
“Oh, Hadj,” said Talon, using the honorary title, “I have never been here before, but I was guided by the people who call themselves the Nabateans from the North near to the desert of Sinai and the place known as Rekem deep into the south. They taught me the use of the Kamal, with which I became familiar while crossing the sands.”
The eyes of Allam, his brothers and even those of the old man were wide with surprise. After a long silence, during which the men sipped at their khaffee and watched Talon, the old man once again began to speak. He appeared to have come to a decision.
“Earlier this week my sons asked me if I approved of your joining us in a sailing venture, first to the South and then perhaps to the East. I confess to having had reservations. It gladdens my ears to hear that you are no novice with too much money who just thinks he can have an adventure. Omani merchants are navigators and sailors first, merchants second. The seas that we venture into are unforgiving and require skill and courage to navigate. You appear to be more accomplished than my son Allam knew. That is very good.”
Talon demurred. “Hadj, I am but a child compared to you and your sons when it comes to navigation, but I ache to learn from the very best.” He knew a little flattery would not hurt, but he also meant it.
The old man began to stand up and Imaran hastened to assist him. He turned to the men still seated. “I am tired now and would go to my rest. I ask God to bless you all, and my sons have my permission to assist you in every way.”
Talon bowed deeply to the old man as he was led away.
The brothers were apparently very relieved by the words of the old man. They immediately continued the animated discussion of everything related to the ship and what Talon and Reza needed to consider.
Reza had up to this point remained silent, but he had been listening carefully. He asked, “How long have your people been sailing to Al Hind and... beyond?”
“For many centuries, Reza.” Imaran assured him. “The Nabateans have been sailing to Al Hind since before the prophet, and even before the prophet of the Christians. We have plotted the way using the stars, and there are books written telling of every port along the way, all the way to the fabled city of Khanfu in China. The Chinese call it Guangzhou.”
“Navigators, some Nabateans and some even of your people, the Persians, have written manuals as guidance. A few became popular, such as Kitab Ma'din al-asrar fi 'ilm al-bihar by Shaikh Nasr bin 'Ali al'Haduri: The Mine of Secrets in the Science of the Seas. This book contains drawings of the position of the sun above the ship.
“Have you ever been to China?” Reza asked.
By way of response, Imaran reached into his robes and withdrew something. He leaned forward and flicked it over to Reza, who caught it and then turned the object over in his hand. “What is it? Is it precious?” he asked.
Boulos laughed and said, “No it is not precious. It is a good luck talisman for me, but it is coinage, and furthermore it came from China. It is their coin. This one is made of iron and is called ‘cash’. They make them by the millions!”
Reza handed the coin off to Talon, who examined it with keen interest. It was a small, round, flat item, with a square hole in its middle. There were symbols all around the periphery that were very well defined, but they meant nothing to him.
“It is so well made!” he exclaimed, comparing it with the coins that existed in this part of the world and further west in Byzantium, and the even cruder coins of his own country. He tossed the coin back to Imaran.
“Imaran and I have travelled there, just the once when we were young boys. You have never seen a country quite like it. It is... another world.”
Boulos seemed to have made up his mind. He came to the point very quickly. “Do you wish to join us, and are you able to do so, Suleiman?” It was a blunt question that raised the eyebrows of his two brothers, but he shrugged off their concerns about good manners and stared hard at Talon. There was an expectant silence from all in the room as they waited for his reply.
“If the Jews of the bazaar are able and willing to honor my chits, then I have the funds to not only purchase the ship but to supply it and more,” Talon informed them.
He sensed the tension leave the others.
“Then you will need a good captain and crew. We will help with that,” Boulos stated briskly.
Imaran smiled. “I am impressed that you can afford this, Talon. It is a good thing, as there is much in the way of riches that await you in t
hese distant lands. At least you will have a new ship that will not be filled with rats and nasty insects.”
Then he laughed. “They will arrive, of course; they can smell a ship with food on it a hundred leagues away. However, for the first voyage you will not have this problem.”
“When do you intend to leave for... Lamu? Or is it Zanzibar?” Talon asked them.
“It will be the Lamu archipelago. The island of Pate is where the Sultan’s palace is located, but Lamu is where we find the markets. The winds are right for a journey south at present, so any time soon. We intend to sail south with the Kaws wind that will blow us all the way southwest to the island of Lamu, which is off the coast of Bilad Al Zanj,” Imran informed them.
“We will stay there for a month, buying the ivory and Myrrh, trading for the gold, and picking up some prime slaves, and then we must catch the wet Azyab wind that will bring us home. If we intend to go on to Kulam Mali to the southeast of Al Hind, or beyond to Kalah Bar where the spice is to be found, then we cannot pause for long here in Muscat. We will stop at Raysat off the region known as the Dhofar and pick up some olibanum,” he continued. Talon knew by now that olibanum was Frankincense.
“At Raysat we will also pick up horses which have come from the Sana and further north in the Arab deserts. These we will take to Al Hind and sell for an outrageous profit,” Boulos said with a grin, rubbing his hands.
“The Indians don’t breed horses of their own?” Reza asked with surprise.
“For some reason horses sicken and die there, like flies. They cannot feed them the right food, nor grow it, nor can they breed them. In the hot, wet, heat of that land the animals suffer. The natives, however, seem impervious, although there is much disease.”
“You will see, Suleiman, that the land there is mostly jungle which is full of fierce and terrible animals; and you feel as though you are drowning in the air, it is so dense,” Imaran added.
Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.”
The Dragon's Breath Page 6
