Monday 13th July

A trabuco which came in to the bay this morning, reported to us that during the night she had been chased by two large boats full of pirates, & would have been taken had a breeze not sprung up.  We left Kovello in the morning & sailed with a slight air past Farmaco (see map) where the pirates were & crossed the Gulf of Hassan Kalassi or Mandaleyah, we passed the islands of Anti Furmaco, Calymnos (see map), Kavabaghla & Kos  (see map) & anchored in seven fathoms outside the harbour of Boudroon.  The town is in a beautiful bay in the centre of which a rock projects, on which a fine old castle stands, at the back of the bay are high rocky mountains; we rowed ashore & took a look at the castle first, it is a fine place, mounts fifty pieces of cannon, & built in the walls are to be seen splendid sculptures, some of the finest of which the English Government have purchased from the Turks.  The Castle is supposed to have been originally built by the Crusaders, from whom it passed to the Knights of Rhodes, then to the Venetians & is now in possession of the Turks.  The town consists of a number of flat roofed houses, huddled together without any regularity intermixed with gardens, containing an immense number of Palm trees; the women are plain, but wear beautiful ornaments of Gold Coins in their hair & round their necks.  From the town we walked to the remains of a fine theatre, cut out in the side of a mountain, it seems Greek & is well preserved, above it are a number of curious tombs, in my opinion Phenician, they are cut out of the face of the rock.  The inhabitants were much surprised at what they called our rashness in coming there in a small cutter, they warned us that four piratical vessels were on the coast & had been doing a great deal of harm.  Boudroon was the ancient Halicarnassus.