Richard Hakluyt, The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation

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Of things without the City.

WITHOUT the city and on every side are most faire gardens, with many fountaines of most sweet water, infinite pondes, abundance of fruit, with much honest living, so that this place is very pleasant and delightfull. This city hath three gates, one of which is an hospitall caused to be built by Cassachi, called the Rose, who was wife to Sultan Soliman grandfather to this emperour. The sayd hospitall hath nought els woorthy mention, save that it is fairely built, and hath large revenues belonging thereunto, and nourisheth many poore people. A mile from the city are certaine houses whereof they affirme one to be the same, where Mahumet in his lifetime dwelt. This house hath on every side very many faire date trees, amongst which there are two which grow out of one stocke exceeding high, and these, they say, their Prophet grafted with his owne hand: the fruit thereof is alwayes sent to Constantinople, to be presented unto the Grand Signior, and is sayd to be that blessed fruit of the Prophet. Nere unto the date trees is a faire fountaine of cleere and sweet water, the which by a conduct pipe is brought into the city of Medina. Also there is a little Mosquita, wherein three places are counted holy, and greatly reverenced : the first they affirme, that their Prophet made his first prayer in, after he knew God: the second is that whither he went when he would see the holy house of Abraham, where when he sate downe to that intent, they say the mountaines opened from the toppe to the bottome to shew him the house, and after closed againe as before: the third holy place is in the midst of the sayd Mosquita, where is a tombe made of lime and stone fouresquare, and full of sand, wherein, they say, was buried that blessed camell which Mahumet was alwayes woont to ride upon. On the other side of the city are other tombes of holy Mahumetans, and every one of them hath a tombe built upon foure pillers, amongst which three were the companions of Mahumet, to wit, Abubacar, Ottoman, and Omar; all which are visited of the pilgrims as holy places.