According to some late sources, the Sultan gave Francis permission to visit the sacred places in the Holy Land and even to preach there. All that can safely be asserted is that Francis and his companion left the Crusader camp for Acre, where they spent 9–11 months. From Acre, they embarked for Italy in the latter half of 1220. The Franciscan Order has been present in the Holy Land almost uninterruptedly since 1217 when Brother Elias arrived at Acre. It received concessions in 1333 from the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt Al-Malik Al-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad (reign 1310–1341) with regard to certain Holy Places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.