The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

Before Mandeville progresses further, he talks about other routes to Babylon (i.e., Cairo). Some go from an Italian port or Sicily and sail to Alexandria, a city on the Nile, and then to Babylon. In Sicily, he mentions that there are snakes that can discern the true parentage of children and vents near Mount Etna called the Gates to Hell. They shoot flames of different colors that can predict the future. In the Nile are precious river stones, as well as medicinal wood that drifts from the Earthly Paradise.

Mandeville now details the route from Babylon to Mount Sinai. The traveler can go through the deserts of Arabia or down the Red Sea, which got its name from the red gravel on its shores. When explaining these routes, Mandeville points out attractions, such as places where Moses stopped. Once the traveler reaches Mount Sinai, they should visit a church of Saint Katherine at the bottom of the mountain. Birds that visit each year miraculously supply oil for the church’s lamps. These lamps are used to show when an abbot has died and which new one should be elected. Moving up the mountain, a traveler can see the rocks behind which Moses hid when he saw God’s burning bush; an imprint marks the spot where Moses was.