This province produces great quantities of excellent white incense, and also dates in great abundance. No grain is grown here except rice, and not much of that; but it is imported from abroad at a big profit. Fish is plentiful, notably tunnies of large size, which are so abundant that two of them can be bought for a Venetian groat. The staple diet consists of rice, meat, and fish. What is the author’s reason for writing this text? to persuade the reader to follow a certain diet to convince the reader to travel to Shihr to inform the reader about the products and foods that a region offers to entertain the reader with stories about what the author has bought