Now I will speak of another thing that is beyond Babylon, above the Nile, towards the desert, between Africa and Egypt; that is, of the granaries of Joseph[318], that he caused to be made, to keep the grains against the dear years. They are made of stone, well made by masons' craft; two of them are marvellously great and high, the others are not so great. And each granary has a gate to enter within, a little above the earth; for the land is wasted and fallen since the granaries were made. Within they are all full of serpents; and above the granaries without are many writings in divers languages. And some men say that they are sepulchres of great lords, that were formerly; but that is not true, for all the common rumour and speech of the people there, both far and near, is that they are the granaries of Joseph; and so find they in their writings and chronicles. On the other side, if they were sepulchres, they would not be empty within; for you may well know, that tombs and sepulchres are not made of such magnitude or elevation; wherefore it is not credible that they are tombs or sepulchres.
Now I will proceed to tell you the other ways that draw towards Babylon, where the sultan dwells, which is at the entry of Egypt; because many people go thither first, and after that to Mount Sinai, and then return to Jerusalem, as I have told you before. For they perform first the longer pilgrimage, and return by the nearest ways; because the nearer way is the more worthy, and that is Jerusalem; for no other pilgrimage is to be compared to it. But to accomplish their pilgrimages more easily and safely, men go first the longer way. But whoever will go to Babylon by another way, and shorter from the countries of the west, he may go by France, Burgundy, and Lombardy. It is not necessary to tell you the names of the cities and towns in that way, for the way is common, and known to every body. There are many ports where men take the sea; some embark at Genoa; some at Venice, and pass by the Adriatic Sea, which is called the Gulf of Venice, and divides Italy and Greece on that side; and some go to Naples; some to Rome, and from Rome to Brindes[319], and embark there, and in many other places. Some go by Tuscia, Campania, Calabria, by Apulia, and by the mountains of Italy Chorisque, by Sardinia, and by Sicily, which is a great and good isle. In that isle of Sicily is a kind of garden, in which are many different fruits; and the garden is green and flourishing at all seasons of the year, as well in winter as in summer. That isle contains in compass about three hundred and fifty French miles. Between Sicily and Italy there is but a little arm of the sea, which men call the Faro of Messina; and Sicily is between the Adriatic Sea and the Sea of Lombardy. From Sicily to Calabria is but eight Lombard miles. In Sicily there is a kind of serpent by which men assay and prove if their children be bastards or not; for if they are born in lawful marriage, the serpents go about them, and do them no harm; but if they are illegitimate, the serpents bite them and kill them with their venom: and thus many wedded men ascertain if the children be their own. Also in that isle is Mount Etna, which men call Mount Gybell, and volcanoes, that are ever burning. And there are seven places which burn and cast out flames of divers colours; and by the changing of those flames, men of that country know when it will be dearth or good time, or cold or hot, or moist or dry, or in all other manners how the time will vary. From Italy to the volcanoes is but twenty-five miles; and they say that the volcanoes are ways to hell[320].