70v

Further, Persia appears
on the other shore of that sea, to the south.
Off to the west towards Turkey
is the great and rich land of Taurus.
From there it is as far again to Damascus
as it is from Trebizond—
that is to say twenty days—and Savasto, Ancona, and Florence
are in the same climate zone.^{1See the climate diagram infra. meaning that the climate is the same in these Italian cities as in the Eastern locations cited. We think it refers to latitude, thus the verb, s'adima that suggests height.}

Next there are mountains whose foothills
extend a great distance. They are very high and
much discussed in writings, but they remain obscure
because people do not care to learn.
Great rivers flow from them. This is where
long ago, simple people believed
it to be the Paradise of Delights,
since it is a land of great abundance.

Above all, [this land] is very well endowed
with all things, with all the elements.
In addition, it is well placed,
surrounded by many lands on every side.
It towers over all of them,
overlooking the entire world.
This region once abounded
with everything you could imagine.