Episode 16: Apricocks, Cowcumbers, and Home Invasions

As the trade mission from Duke Frederick of Holstein prepares to leave Ardebil, our author investigates the local religious institution built by the city’s founder and expanded by his son. Its wealth amounts to many millions in gold, that it could supply more ready cash than the Shah of Persia himself, and that it is capable of raising and maintaining a powerful army all on its own. The tomb of Sheik Sefi has the additional critical function of providing certificates that can be used to prove a pilgrim’s Islamic faith, protect the bearer against disgrace and misfortune, and even save them from execution.They leave Ardebil on June 10, with 160 horses and 12 camels, and eight days later reach the village of Kamahl and find their assigned lodgings to be unacceptable. So they force their way in to several occupied homes, evicting families of men, women and children into the night. As you might expect, this does not end well.At the little city of Senkan, they encounter a man with wooden hands and no feet, although he appears to ride as well as anyone else. The son of an important family in the city, the young man had been guilty of “strange debauches and extravagances” including the frequent rape of women and girls in their own homes. His behavior had become so bad that the shah could have ordered his execution. But his father’s good reputation at court saved his life, and the penalty was merely that his hands and feet were cut off, and the stumps thrust into boiling butter to stop the bleeding.In Sulthanie, 15 members of the embassy get sick from the sudden changes in temperature – extreme cold at night to the excessive heat of the day – and all suffer fits and a violent burning fever. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit semipropilgrim.substack.com