Concerning a Voyage to India via the Strait of Hormuz

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As vacation season kicks off, we revisit 14th-century traveler Friar Odoric at the very start of his journey, as he crosses from the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf, passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and makes shore in India.

Today’s Texts:

• Odoric of Friuli. “The Eastern Parts of the World Described, By Friar Odoric the Bohemian, of Friuli, in the Province of Saint Anthony.” In Cathay and the Way Thither, edited by Henry Yule, vol. 1, Hakluyt Society, 1866. Google Books.
• “Viaggio del Beato Frate Odorico di Porto Maggiore Del Friuli.” Edited by Ramusio, Delle Navigationi et Viaggi, vol. 2, Venice, Giunti, 1583. pp. 253-257. Google Books.

References:

• Small, Margaret. “Transformer and Influencer: Giovanni Battista Ramusio’s Impact on Wester European Geography. Journal of Early Modern Studies, vol. 12, 2023, pp. 39-54. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36253/JEMS-2279-7149-14383.
• Walker, Shaun. “The Last of the Zoroastrians.” The Guardian, 6 Aug. 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/06/last-of-the-zoroastrians-parsis-mumbai-india-ancient-religion.

Image Credit: Hormuz illustration, 1572: Georg Braun & Frans Hogenberg, Beschreibung vnd Contrafactur der vornembster Stät der Welt (Band 1), Köln, 1582. Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, VD16 B 7188, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.3698 (via Wikimedia Commons).