And Samanda. As for the city which is in the land of Malal, which we have mentioned before, it is a small city like a village, without walls, situated on a hill of red earth, with a strong side. Its inhabitants are fortified there against those who attack them from the rest of the Sudan. Their water comes from a hot spring that emerges from the mountain to its south, and its water is bitter, not sweet. To the west of this city, along the stream from which they drink, down to where it falls into the Nile, are many naked tribes of Sudan who do not cover themselves with anything. They engage in intercourse without dowries or rights, and they are the most numerous in offspring. They have camels and goats, from whose milk they live, and they eat fish and camel meat. The inhabitants of the neighboring lands raid them at all times with various stratagems, drive them out to their lands, and sell them to merchants. Large numbers of them go out every year to the far west. All those in the land of Malal are branded with fire on their faces as a mark, as we have mentioned. From the city of Malal to the great city of Ghana is about eleven stages through sand and dust, with no water. Ghana is two cities on the banks of the sweet sea, and it is the largest land of the Sudan in terms of population, number of inhabitants, and extent of trade. Wealthy merchants from all the surrounding lands and from all the lands of the far west come to it. Its inhabitants are Muslims, and its king, as described, is from the descendants of Salih ibn Abd Allah ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib. He rules himself, but he is under the obedience of the Commander of the Faithful, the Abbasid. He has a palace on the bank of the Nile, whose construction is perfected, its foundations are strengthened, and its rooms are adorned with various carvings, decorations, and glass mosaics. The construction of this palace was in the year 110 AH. His kingdom and land connect to the land of Wangara.