Crusade against the Pope

Chapter 235 Living Environment
"If I am alone and don't have much money, what kind of house should I choose?"

"A house? No, sir, you only need a bed, not a room, in fact, perhaps not even a bed..."

As he was talking, Aaron thought of himself. In fact, he didn't even need a bed. He just slept on a pile of straw.

The city of Tyre is already overcrowded, and this is not just a description but a fact.

The truth was worse than Gillis imagined.

In this city where the per capita land area is only 20 to 30 square meters, the area of ​​public areas is pitifully small.

Whether it was the refugees caused by the war, or the pilgrims and crusader volunteers from afar, they began to occupy every house and every corner of the city.

After Aaron took Garys for a walk around the dock area, Garys had a basic understanding of the living conditions in Tyre.

I also gained a basic understanding of why this city can accommodate so many people.

First, most of the houses in Tyre were built with stone exterior walls, so they could be stacked up to two or three stories high.

A house that is six meters wide may be twelve meters deep.

In this 72-square-meter residential land, if it is a two-story building, then there will be about 140 square meters of usable area, which is enough to cut out 4 rooms.

Each room can accommodate a small family of about 2-4 people. Excluding the corridor, the average living area per person is less than 10 square meters, and the average homestead area per person is only 5 to 6 square meters.

In such a room, a family can live and wash, cook, and sleep...

If it is a three-story building, it can be even more exaggerated.

A small 6*12 house can accommodate 20 people like sardines.

Under this extreme sardine lifestyle, how many extremely poor people a city can accommodate is a very metaphysical matter.

Leaving behind the long-term rental house, Garys, under the guidance of Aaron, came to a tavern near the dock.

Although it is called a pub, it actually provides quite cheap hotel accommodation.

"Are there any empty beds?"

Gellis asked the innkeeper, a short, thin old woman who was dirty and looked like a Frank.

The other party examined Garys's clothes, and then looked at Aaron next to Garys.

"Yes, I have……"

Her tone was listless and perfunctory, as if in the other person's eyes, Garys could not afford to pay for her bed.

But no matter what, the other party took Gailis to see the room.

Just like youth hostels in later generations, many of the rooms here have four beds.

But unlike the youth hostels of later generations, there were no clean beds here, only various dirty and torn sheets with straw underneath.

"If you give me 2 silver dirhams a week, I can also give you a meal every day."

As they were talking, Garys noticed the lice in the other person's hair.

"So how do I take a shower?"

"Take a bath? Uh... why do I need to take a bath?"

Well, indeed, Gellis asked a question that the Franks would not normally consider.

Why take a shower?

Even though Frank nobles like Gellis integrated into Arab culture after arriving in Palestine, they became a little more hygienic.

I take a shower at least once a week on average.

But for the lower-class Franks, bathing was something that was not encouraged religiously, not supported economically, and not understood intellectually.

Those families who had their own private rooms could only wipe their bodies with a cloth filled with water.

As for a hotel like this that is so crowded that it can only accommodate four beds, there is no possibility of taking a shower.

This is a hotbed of disease. …

Garys settled down here. He wasn't sure how long he could stay here, nor whether his body could endure it.

Considering that he had not been sick since that rainy night, perhaps his immune system had become extraordinary and would no longer be defeated by ordinary diseases.

Gailis took out the silver coins, paid for a week's bed rent, and then went downstairs to eat the meal provided by the landlady.

Aaron was sitting next to him, and at the same table was another young man.

The young man had rough skin, a weather-beaten face, and a salty smell about him.

Maybe he was someone making a living at the dock, or simply a sailor.

This young man had a strange look on his face when he saw Garys.

He noticed many details about Garys before asking a tentative question.

"Crusaders?"

The other party was very perceptive. No matter how Garys tried to hide his identity, he was still discovered to be one of those people who made a living by killing people.

"Well... there was a shipwreck, and I lost most of my money and weapons."

"Oh~ This is fate..."

After hearing the tragedy described by Garys, the other party showed an expression of deep agreement and then seemed much more friendly.

Obviously, the other party could not have an equal dialogue with a crusader, but could sympathize with a survivor of a shipwreck.

Due to the other party's keenness, Gailis showed a little more enthusiasm, spread out a lot of coppers, ordered two more glasses of wine and water, and placed them in front of the other party.

The free food provided by the hotel is actually black bread. Because it is hot, it is still very hard on the teeth, but at least it can be swallowed.

Over two drinks, Gillis heard the young man's story.

Like Aaron, he was a native of Tyre, but relatively speaking, he had a more definite Frankish ancestry, but that was maternal.

Crusader ancestry on his mother's side meant that his father was a native Greek.

Greek men did not undertake military service, which meant that they had to make a living on their own.

When he was a child, this guy made the streets and docks his home. Usually, he could get some food by begging or acting as a pickpocket, relying on his slightly Frankish face.

This was the greatest benefit his mother brought him.

When one day he grows up to be able to carry bags at the dock and is able to live at sea, he will reach his peak.

The money he earned was enough to live for a long time in an inn that provided meals, and since he didn't have to support a family, he could get himself much drunker than Aaron's father.

When Gillis asked him what he lived for, the young man, who was probably no more than 22, immediately answered: "Wine?"

When Garys asked again, don’t you want to have a home or a house?

The other party’s response was: “House? You ask me why I don’t buy a house?”

"Ha! I could carry bags at the dock all my life until I broke my legs, but I still wouldn't have a suite in Tyre!"

"Home? Why do I need a home? Women are the source of trouble! What else can they do except spend my money?"

"As for that kind of thing, wouldn't it be more special to have one that's just yours?"

"I mean, the money I earn from buying a house, finding a wife and raising children is enough for me to live happily here for many years!"

"Come on, let's have another drink!"

When the tavern's waitress passed by the young man, the drunken man slapped her hard on the buttocks.

As the maid turned around with an angry expression, the young man laughed twice.

　Second update. There will be two more updates today. The fourth update will probably be after midnight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)