World of Gor

The Shores of Thassa (from north to south)

HELMUTSPORT -- A port City of the far north of Gor, located to the north of Kassau, on the shores of Thassa.

KASSAU -- A town of lumber and fishing that sits on the shores of Thassa, on the north edge of what is known on Gor as 'the Northern Forest' which serves as a border to Torvaldsland. Kassau is the seat of the High Initiates of the north.

Kassau is a town of wood, and the temple is the greatest building in the town. It towers far over the squalid huts, and stabler homes of merchants, which crowd about it. Too, the town is surrounded by a wall, with two gates, one large, facing the inlet, leading in from Thassa, the other small, leading to the forest behind the town. The wall is of sharpened logs, and is defended by a catwalk. The main business of Kassau is trade, lumber and fishing. The slender, striped parsit fish has vast plankton banks north of the town, and may there, particularly in the spring and fall, be taken in great numbers. The smell of the fish-drying sheds of Kassau carries far out to sea.... The population of Kassau I did not think to be more than eleven hundred persons...
The most important thing about Kassau, however, was that it was the seat of the High Initiate of the north. It was, accordingly, the spiritual center of a district extending for hundreds of pasangs around...
---Marauders of Gor, 2:27-28

PORT KAR -- Jewel of Gleaming Thassa, Port Kar, the scourge of the sea, is a port city located on the shores of the Tamber gulf at the coastal edge of Thassa, 100 pasangs from the northwestern edge of the delta. Ruled initially by a group of Ubars, the city's administration, following the finding of the Home Stone of Port Kar, was taken over by a Council of Captains, led by Samos the Slaver, First Captain of the Council of Captains, agent of Priest Kings. Surrounded on the landward side by the vast Vosk delta marshes and said to be 100 pasangs south of the closest solid land, it is virtually inaccessible except by ship or tarn back. Known as a den of thieves and pirates, its raiding fleets are among the most feared upon Gor, for they are squalid and decadent, often virtually lawless. Famed for its tavern dancers and the fact that it is the only city on Gor to have an organized Caste of Thieves , and the only one as well to have been built by slaves.

The most important reason for not finding a guide, of course, even among the eastern rence growers, is that the delta is claimed by Port Kar, which lies within it, some hundred pasangs from its northwestern edge, bordering on the shallow Tamber Gulf, beyond which is gleaming Thassa, the Sea.

Port Kar, crowded, squalid, malignant, is sometimes referred to as the Tarn of the Sea. Her name is a synonym in Gorean for cruelty and piracy. The fleets of tarn ships of Port Kar are the scourge of Thassa, beautiful, lateen-rigged galleys that ply the trade of plunder and enslavement from the Ta-Thassa Mountains of the southern hemisphere of Gor to the ice lakes of the North; and westward even beyond the terraced island of Cos and the rocky Tyros, with its labyrinths of vart caves.

...

I was in the delta of the Vosk, and making my way to the city of Port Kar, which alone of Gorean cities commonly welcomes strangers, though few but exiles, murderers, outlaws, thieves and cutthroats would care to find their way to her canaled darknesses.
---Raiders of Gor, 1:5-6

Port Kar, squalid, malignant Port Kar, scourge of gleaming Thassa, Tarn of the Sea, is a vast, disjointed mass of holdings, each almost a fortress, piled almost upon one another, divided and crossed by hundreds of canals.......It is, in effect, walled, though it has few walls as one normally thinks of them. Those buildings which face outwards, say, either at the delta or along the shallow Tamber gulf, have no windows on the outward side, and the outward walls of them are several feet thick, and they are surmounted, on the roofs, with crenellated parapets. The canals which open into the delta of the Tamber were, in the last few years, fitted with heavy, half-submerged gates of bars....
---Raiders of Gor, 9:103

Not one stone could be placed in either wall or tower by a man or woman who was not free. The only city I know of on Gor which was built by the labor of slaves, beneath the lash of Masters, is Port Kar which lies in the delta of the Vosk.
---Assassin of Gor, 5:60-61

I held up the rock. "Do we have a Home Stone?" I asked the men.

"I will accept it as my Home Stone," said the slave boy, Fish. None of the men laughed. The first to accept the Home Stone of Port Kar was only a boy, and a slave. But he had spoken as a Ubar.
---Raiders of Gor, 16:252

BRUNDISIUM -- A large, walled, port-city on the shores of Thassa, located 100 pasangs to the south of the Vosk delta.

...I understood that Brundisium was one of the largest and busiest ports of this world. It was a commercial metropolis of sorts....
---Dancer of Gor, 10:147

SCHENDI -- A seaport on the edges of the equatorial rainforests, Schendi is a major trade center and host of a huge harbor of 8 pasangs wide and 2 or 3 deep where spices, metals, jewels and other trade goods are shipped to the rest of Gor. The Schendi harbor opens at its east end, onto the Nyoka River which flows through it from Lake Ushindi into Thassa.

Many goods pass in and out of Schendi, as would be the case in any major port, such as precious metals, jewels, tapestries, rugs, silks, horn and horn products, medicines, sugars and salts, scrolls, papers, inks, lumber, stone, cloth, ointments, perfumes, dried fruit, some dried fish, many root vegetables, chains, craft tools, agricultural implements, such as hoe heads and metal flail blades, wines and pagas, colorful birds and slaves. Schendi's most significant exports are doubtless spice and hides, with kailiauk horn and horn products also being of great importance. One of her most delicious exports is palm wine. One of her most famous and precious exports are the small carved sapphires of Schendi. These are generally a deep blue, but some are purple and others, interestingly, white or yellow. They are usually carved in the shape of tiny panthers, but sometimes other animals are found as well, usually small animals or birds. Sometimes however the stone is carved to resemble a tiny kailiauk or kailiauk head. Slaves, interestingly, do not count as one of the major products in Schendi, in spite of the fact that the port is the headquarters of the League of Black Slavers. The black slavers usually sell their catches nearer the markets, both to the north and south. One of the major markets, to which they generally arrange for the shipment of girls overland, is the Sardar Fairs, in particular that of En'Kara, which is the most extensive and finest. This is not to say of course that Schendi does not have excellent slave markets. It is a major Gorean port. The population of Schendi is probably about a million people. The great majority of these are black. Individuals of all races, however, Schendi being a cosmopolitan port, frequent the city.
---Explorers of Gor, 6:115

BAZI -- A free port city of southern Gor.

The shores of the Vosk (from west to the east) -- Most of the major towns on the Vosk are on the northern bank.

I had gone from Lara to White Water, using the barge canal, to circumvent the rapids, and from thence to Tancred's Landing. I had later voyaged down river to Iskander, Forestport, and Ar's Station. ... West of Ar's Station on the river I had visited Jort's Ferry, Point Alfred, Jasmine, Siba, Sais, and Sulport. I had stopped also at Hammerfest and Ragnar's Hamlet, the latter actually, now, a good-sized town. Its growth might be contrasted with that of Tetrapoli, much further west on the river....
---Rogue of Gor, 6:62-63

AR'S STATION -- Freshwater river port town on the Vosk, originally not a city but rather a colony of Ar.

...Ar's Station, incidentally, did not exist at the time of the massing of the horde of Pa-Kur. It was established four years afterward, as an outpost and trading station on the south bank of the Vosk. It also commands, in effect, the northern terminus of one of the great roads, the Viktel Aria, or Ar's Triumph, leading toward Ar....
---Rogue of Gor, 6:63

TURMUS -- Port town on the north bank of the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League and said to be the last river port on the Vosk before the delta.

VEN -- Port town on the south bank of the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

"What lies west on the Vosk," asked Aemilianus.
"On the southern bank, Ven," said Marcus. Turmus, which is the last major town west on the Vosk, is on the northern bank.
"And what beyond Ven?" asked Aemilianus.
"The delta"
---Renegades of Gor, 24:424

TETRAPOLI -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

Tetrapoli, on the other hand, began as four separate towns, Ri, Teibar, Heiban and Azdak, as legend has it founded by four brothers. These towns grew together along the river and were eventually consolidated as a polity. The four districts of the city, as might be supposed, retain the names of the original towns. The expression 'Tetrapoli' in Gorean, incidentally, means "Four Cities" or " Four Towns."
---Rogue of Gor, 6:63

PORT COS -- A freshwater river port town on the Vosk, originally a colony of Cos.

TAFA -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

VICTORIA -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

I knew something of the Vosk League. Its headquarters was in the town of Victoria, on the northern bank of the Vosk, between Fina and Tafa....
---Renegades of Gor, 20:346

FINA -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

RAGNAR'S HAMLET -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

...Ragnar's Hamlet began as a small village and, from this central nucleus, expanded.
---Rogue of Gor, 6:61-62

HAMMERFEST -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

SULPORT -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

SAIS -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

SIBA -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

JASMINE -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

POINT ALFRED -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

JORT'S FERRY -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

FOREST PORT -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

ISKANDER -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

TANCRED'S LANDING -- Port town on the Vosk, a member of the Vosk League.

WHITE WATER -- First major town west of Lara, White Water was so named for the presence of rapids in its vicinity. This port town on the easternmost end of the Vosk's north bank is a member of the Vosk League, and is said to be located east of Ar's Station. There are three major towns between Ar's Station and White Water. They are Forest Port, Iskander and Tancred's Landing, which three towns, like White Water, are members of the Vosk League.

The Shores of the Laurius

LAURA -- River trading port city at the mouth of the Laurius River, 200 pasangs upriver from Lydius.

...He was bound, traveling over the hills and meadowlands east and north of Ko-ro-ba, for the city of Laura, which lies on the banks of the Laurius river, some two hundred pasangs inland from the coast of the sea, called Thassa. Laura is a small trading city, a river port, whose buildings are largely of wood, consisting mostly it seems of warehouses and taverns. It is a clearing house for many goods, wood, salt, fish, stone, fur and slaves....
---Captive of Gor, 7:59

LYDIUS -- An important northern free port at the mouth of the Laurius river. Lydius is known for its rather eclectic collection of cultural tidbits, collected over time, from the cosmopolitan visitors which pass through it.

We were fifty pasangs north of Lydius, which port lies at the mouth of the Laurius River. Far above the beach we could see the green margins of the great northern forests.
---Hunters of Gor, 2:18

Lydius is one of the few cities of the north which has public baths, as in Ar and Turia, though much smaller and less opulent.

It is a port of paradoxes, where one finds, strangely mingled, luxuries and gentilities of the south with the simplicities and rudeness of the less civilized north. It is not unusual to encounter a fellow with a jacket of sleen fur, falling to his knees, sewn in the circle stitch of Scagnar, who wears upon his forehead a silken headband of Ar. He might carry a double-headed ax, but at his belt may hang a Turian dagger. He might speak in the accents of Tyros, but startle you with his knowledge of the habits of wild tarns, knowledge one would expect to find only in one of Thentis. Those of Lydius pretend to much civilization, and are fond of decorating their houses, commonly of wood, with high, pointed roofs, in manners they think typical of Ar, of Ko-ro-ba, of Tharna and Turia, but to settle points of honor they commonly repair to a skerry in Thassa, little more than forty feet wide, there to meet opponents with axes, in the manner of those of Torvaldsland.
---Hunters of Gor, 3:45

The Shores of the Olni (north to south)

TI -- Walled river city situated on the Olni River and north of Tharna. The main member and founder of the Salerian Confederation.

The retinue was the betrothal and dowry retinue of the Lady Sabina of the small merchant polis of Fortress of Saphronicus bound overland for Ti, of the Four Cities of Saleria, of the Salerian Confederation. Ti lies on the Olni, a tributary of the Vosk, north of Tharna.
---Slave girl of Gor, 5:110

PORT OLNI -- A large freshwater port on the north bank of the Olni River, member of the Salerian Confederation.

VONDA -- A fairly large port city on the north bank of the Olni River, member of the Salerian Confederation, known for its fighting slaves.

LARA -- Walled northern city-state, member of the Salerian Confederation, which sits at the juncture of the Olni and Vosk rivers, settled both on the south bank of the Olni and the north bank of the Vosk. Lara, is the westernmost city in the Salerian Confederation.

The Shores of Lake Ushindi

UBARATE OF BILA HURUMA -- A kingdom born of the merger of six ubarates of the south shores of lake Ushindi which grew over time and through warfare to extend to the rest of the lake's shores as well as east to the shores of Lake Ngao.

"Have you heard of Bila Huruma?" asked Samos.
"A little," I said.
"He is a black Ubar," said Samos, "bloody and brilliant, a man of vision and power, who has united the six ubarates of the southern shores of Ushindi, united them by the knife and the stabbing spear, and has extended his hegemony to the northern shores, where he exacts tribute, kailiauk tusks and women, from the confederacy of, the hundred villages. Shaba's nine boats had fixed at their masts the tufted shields of the officialdom of Bila Huruma."
---Explorers of Gor, 1:17

NYUKI -- An inland village of the north shore of Lake Ushindi, noted for its honey.

His father had, many years ago, fled from an inland village, that of Nyuki, noted for its honey, on the northern shore of lake Ushindi.
---Explorers of Gor, 16:219

The Shores of Lake Ngao

UKUNGU -- A country of small villages on the northeast shores of Lake Ngao.

"Ukungu," said Kisu, "lies to the northeast, on the coast." Ukungu was a country of coast villages, speaking the same or similar dialects. It was now claimed as a part of the expanding empire of Bila Huruma.
---Explorers of Gor, 25:277-278

NYUNDO -- Central village of the Ukungu region.

We stood in the clearing of Nyundo, the central village of the Ukungu region.
---Explorers of Gor, 56:451

Shores and Oases of the Tahari

KASRA -- A trade river port of the Tahari which sits on the shores of the Lower Fayeen.

...West of Tor, on the Lower Fayeen, a sluggish, meandering tributary, like the Upper Fayeen, to the Cartius, lay the river port of Kasra, known for its export of salt....
---Tribesmen of Gor, 1:32-33

KURTZAL -- A village of the Tahari's Lower Fayeen river located north of Tor, upriver from Kasra.

...From Kasra I had taken a dhow upriver on the Lower Fayeen, until I reached the village of Kurtzal, which lies north, overland, from Tor....
---Tribesmen of Gor, 2:41

OASIS of the Battle of Red Rock -- Last of the major oases of the Tahari located on the far east edge of the Tahari, where the dune country begins.

This was irritating to Hassan, and did not much please me either, for the oasis of the Battle of Red Rock was the last of the major oases of the Tahari for more than two thousand pasangs eastward; it lay, in effect, on the borders of the dreaded dune country; there are oases in the dune country but they are small and infrequent, and often lie more than two hundred pasangs apart; in the sands they are not always easy to find; among the dunes one can, unknowingly, pass within ten pasangs of an oasis, missing it entirely....
---Tribesmen of Gor, 11:179

OASIS of Four Palms -- Kavar outpost far to the south of Red Rock.

The march of Hassan had as its object not Red Rock, northwest of Klima, but Four Palms, a Kavar outpost known to him, which lay far to the south of Red Rock. Unfortunately Four Palms was farther from Klima than Red Rock. On the other hand, his decision seemed to me a sound one. Red Rock was a Tashid oasis under the hegemony of the Aretai, enemies of the Kavars. Furthermore, between Klima and Red Rock lay the regions patrolled by the men of Abdul, the Salt Ubar, who had been known to me as Ibn Saran....
---Tribesmen of Gor, 19:270-271

OASIS of Nine Wells -- Said to be south of Tor.

OASIS of Farad -- Location not specified.

"She was bought for two tarsks, from a caravan master named Zad of the Oasis of Farad," he said.
---Tribesmen of Gor, 2:55

OASIS of the Lame Kaiila -- Location not specified.

On foot, on the trail, they would have only enough water to reach the tiny oasis of Lame Kaiila, where there would be for them doubtless sympathy, but little aid in the form of armed men. Indeed, it lay in a direction away from Nine Wells, which was the largest, nearest oasis where soldiers might be found. By the time word of the raid reached Nine Wells the raiders might be thousands of pasangs away.
---Tribesmen of Gor, 8:136

OASIS of the Sand Sleen -- Location not specified.

OASIS of Stones of Silver -- Named for the silvery shine of dew on the stones about the oasis. Its location is not specified.

"...Merchants will not care to risk their goods. It is their intention that Suleiman not receive these goods. It is their intention to divert them, or most of them, to the Oasis of the Stones of Silver." This was an oasis of the Char, also a vassal tribe of the Kavars. Its name had been given to it centuries before, when thirsty men, who had moved at night on the desert, had come upon it, discovering it. Dew had formed on the large flat stones thereabouts and, in the light of the dawn, had made them, from a distance, seem to glint like silver....
---Tribesmen of Gor, 5:93-94

OASIS of Two Scimitars --Location not specified.

The oasis of Two Scimitars is an out-of-the-way oasis, under the hegemony of the Bakahs, which, for more than two hundred years, following their defeat in the Silk War of 8,110 C.A., has been a vassal tribe of the Kavars....
---Tribesmen of Gor, 10:151

Isles (from north to south)

...My four commercial voyages had been among the exchange islands, or free islands, in Thassa, administered as free ports by members of the Merchants. There were several such islands. Three, which I encountered frequently in my voyages, were Teletus, and, south of it, Tabor, named for the drum, which it resembles, and, to the north, among the northern islands, Scagnar. Others were Farnacium, Hulneth and Asperiche. I did not go as far south as Anango or Ianda, or as far north as Hunjer or Skjern, west of Torvaldsland. These islands, with occasional free ports on the coast, north and south of the Gorean equator, such as Lydius and Helmutsport, and Schendi and Bazi, make possible the commerce between Cos and Tyros, and the mainland, and its cities, such as Ko-ro-ba, Thentis, Tor, Ar, Turia, and many others.
---Raiders of Gor, 10:137

HUNJER -- One of the two northernmost islands of Thassa.

SKJERN -- One of the two northernmost islands of Thassa.

...Skjern is an island in Thassa, muchly distant from Ko-ro-ba. It lies west of bleak, rocky Torvaldsland, substantially above even the vast, green belt of the northern forests....
---Raiders of Gor, 11:198

NORTHERN ISLANDS -- An archipelago of small islands which extends in the waters of Thassa, in a scimitar shape at the northeastern end of Cos. It is unclear if any of the islands said to be of the north, other than Scagnar, are actually a part of this grouping.

There were the northern islands, of course, and they were numerous, but small, extending in an archipelago like a scimitar northeastward from Cos, which lay some four hundred pasangs west of Port Kar. But these islands were not united, and, indeed, the government of them was usually no more than a village council. They usually possessed no vessels more noteworthy than clinker-built skiffs and coasters.
---Raiders of Gor, 9:106

SCAGNAR -- A trade island of the northern waters, located offshore of Torvaldsland, which is said to be among the northern islands.

HULNETH -- A trade island of Thassa. The exact location of Hulneth within the pattern of free islands is to date unclear. It is simply mentioned in lists of trade islands.

FARNACIUM -- A trade island of Thassa. The exact location of Farnacium is to date unclear. It is simply mentioned in lists of trade islands.

TELETUS -- The largest of the central "exchange islands," governed by merchant law. Although we can locate Teletus as being north of Tabor and therefore above Asperiche, its exact location with regards to the more other trade isles is not clearly defined.

...The governance of Lydius, under the merchants, incidentally, is identical to that of the exchange islands, or free islands, in Thassa. Three with which I was familiar, from various voyages, were Tabor, Teletus and, to the north, offshore from Torvaldsland, Scagnar. Of these, to be honest, and to give the merchants their due, I will admit that Tabor and Teletus are rather strictly controlled. It is said, however, by some of the merchants there, that this manner of caution and restriction, has to some extent diminished their position in the spheres of trade....
---Hunters of Gor, 3:43

TABOR -- One of the exchange islands, south of Teletus, named for its shape which is said to resemble the drum of the same name.

Tabor is an exchange island in Thassa, south of Teletus. It is named for the drum, which, rearing out of the sea, it resembles.
---Hunters of Gor, 3:42

ASPERICHE -- The exact location of Asperiche is unclear. On one hand, it is clearly stated to be south of Tabor, which would place it fairly low on the island list, but we also see it listed as a northern trade island. It is perhaps that anything above the equator is considered northern territory even though the author tends to reserve that term to areas less central to the map.

Asperiche, incidentally, is an exchange island, or free island, in Thassa. It is south of Teletus and Tabor. It is administered by merchants.
---Players of Gor, 6:129

COS -- One of the largest known islands of Thassa, the terraced isle of Cos, some 400 pasangs out to sea, west of Port Kar, a powerful enemy of Ar herself, is known for its famous wines, made of the Cos grown Ta grapes and its vast fleets of trading ships.

I had wanted to see both Tyros and Cos.
Both lie some four hundred pasangs west of Port Kar, Tyros to the south of Cos, separated by some hundred pasangs from her.... Cos is also a lofty island, even loftier than Tyros, but she has level fields to her west. Cos had many terraces, on which the Ta grapes are grown....
---Raiders of Gor, 10:139

...The grapes were purple and, I suppose, Ta grapes from the lower vineyards of the terraced island of Cos some four hundred pasangs from Port Kar.... If they were indeed Ta grapes I supposed they must have come by galley from Cos to Port Kar, and from Port Kar to the Fair of En'Kara. Port Kar and Cos are hereditary enemies, but such traditions would not be likely to preclude some profitable smuggling. But perhaps they were not Ta grapes for Cos was far distant, and even if carried by tarns, the grapes would probably not seem so fresh....
---Priest-Kings of Gor, 6:45

...There are four major cities on Cos, of which Telnus is the largest. The others are Selnar, Temos and Jad.
---Raiders of Gor, 13:174

--- TELNUS -The largest major city located on Cos, capitol city of the Cos Ubarate.

...Telnus, our destination, is the capital city of the island of Cos, one of Gor's two largest maritime ubarates. Cos lies north of Tyros and west of Port Kar, which latter city is located in the Tamber Gulf, which lies just beyond the Vosk's delta. There are four major cities on Cos, Telnus, Selnar, Temos and Jad. Telnus is the largest of these and has the best harbor. The Ubar of Cos is Lurius, from the city of Jad....
---Slave Girl of Gor, 16:322

--- TEMOS -One of the major cities on Cos.

--- SELNAR -One of the major cities on Cos.

--- JAD -One of the major cities on Cos.

TYROS -- A rocky island of Thassa, 100 pasangs south of Cos, on which several cities exist, known for its great fleets of raiding ships and its large vart cave.

I had wanted to see both Tyros and Cos.
Both lie some four hundred pasangs west of Port Kar, Tyros to the south of Cos, separated by some hundred pasangs from her. Tyros is a rugged island, with mountains. She is famed for her vart caves, and indeed, on that island, trained varts, batlike creatures, some the size of small dogs, are used as weapons....
---Raiders of Gor, 10:139

--- KASRA -Capitol city of the island of Tyros. Chenbar was from Kasra.

...The capital of Tyros, Gor's other largest maritime ubarate, is Kasra....
---Slave Girl of Gor, 16:322

---TENTIUM -One of two major cities on the island of Tyros.

...Kasra is the capitol of Tyros; its only other major city is Tentium.
---Raiders of Gor, 13:174

IANDA -- Merchant island near the shores of the southernmost areas of Thassa, located to the north of Anango.

... I suspected, from the use of the hands and beads, had been trained in Ianda, a merchant island north of Anango....
---Explorers of Gor, 8:133

ANANGO -- A large exchange jungle island near the shores of the southernmost waters of Thassa; said to be the home of magicians.

...Anango, like Asperiche, is an exchange, or free, island in Thassa, administered by members of the caste of merchants. It is, however, unlike Asperiche, very far away. It is far south of the equator, so far south as to almost beyond the ken of most Goreans, except as a place both remote and exotic. The jungles of the Anangoan interior serve as the setting for various fanciful tales, having to do with strange races, mysterious plants and fabulous animals. The "magicians of Anango," for what it is worth, seem to be well known everywhere on Gor except in Anango. In Anango itself it seems folks have never heard of them.
---Players of Gor, 6:130

ISLANDS OF THE UA -- There is mention on numerous isles, said to be the width of several pasangs, at the mouth of the Ua.