New hint:
Relevance of hints:
Hint 1: refers to two "things" that have one thing in common. What is it, and how can it help?
Hint 2: The direction of the wind is relevant (essential) in all paragraphs
Hint 3: Assume it says Qari. (It's written differently because "names fade"
Hint 4: The starting _city_ could not have been derived from the original puzzle, only the area. The end city could be derived from the puzzle.
Hint 5: Using Hint 2, you can draw lines on a map. (Directions are only approximate. South-east can for instance be very close to east (like 95 degrees))