- The sun is at its full height now and fully visible. It's shining upon the sand and making the rocks on land super hot, bringing out color and sparkle in the physical landscape.
- There are houses, a mosque, and a village, which the sun also lights up. Also, there are white-haired, "long-breasted" women by a river, beating out their laundry on stones (5a.1). Hmm, where are we?
- There are also some steamers floating through the sea, and the sun is beating through canopies onto the steamers' passengers (whoa, more people).
- Meanwhile, the sun is also beating down on land, passing over the hills and into riverbeds. The water level appears to be evaporating in the heat of the sun. The washerwomen can't even get the clothes wet.
- Meanwhile, there are also some skinny mules wandering around through the stones.
- The narrator describes the effect of the light on the landscape and the objects there (natural and otherwise). In so doing, s/he is talking about a huge amount of space, referring both to "the hills" of an unnamed location and those further north.
- Now we're back in "the garden" with some birds (it's not stated explicitly that this is the same garden as in previous chapter intros, but one might assume it is). They're singing a song meant for "one ear only" (5a.3) before stopping. The garden is now in full bloom.
- The sun is striking "the house," and as in previous chapter intros, the narrator describes the effect of the midday light on the objects within the room (again, we can guess that this is the same room referred to previously).
- Now we're back at the ocean, where the deep blue waves are breaking on the shore. The narrator compares their rippling to that of the backs of "great horses" and the rhythm of their cascade to that of a beast stamping. There's that beast again (5a.5).