arriving in the Ottoman Empire, he went through a 'middle passage' in the hands of his first mistress. While travelling with the raiders, the numbers of kidnapped Africans increased by stages until the arrival at the port. Without knowing the exact duration of this journey, he explains that it lasted days and nights through jungles and salt lakes. ${ }^{8}$ When the children got tired, the raiders put them on mules and, when they arrived at the salt lakes, the children were made to wear sandals and cover their mouths with masks. This journey through the salt lakes took place during the night, and they rested under a canvas during the day. Nadir Agha adds that the raiders selected isolated places intentionally since they were afraid of being captured by commanders who were obliged to follow slave raiders. ${ }^{9}$ Toledano states that the 'longer, more difficult routes taken by the slave dealers in order to avoid foreign observers and Ottoman officials increased the suffering of the slaves and raised the death toll' (1982, p. 11). During their journey, they were fed rice in small quantities, one cup for two children. Nadir Agha states that he could never forget this. After they arrived in Djibouti, where he witnessed the tide, ${ }^{10}$ Nadir Agha states that they sailed towards the port of Jidda. ${ }^{11}$ During the journey, the children had to stay in the stowage where they suffered from seasickness. After their arrival, they travelled on camelback towards the centre of Mecca, a journey that lasted 18 hours. Nadir underscores the fact that slave traders could walk calmly since slavery usually went uncontrolled there. In the market of Mecca, the trader could not find a customer for him because he looked too thin and weak, so the trader fed him with oil, but to little avail. Eventually