CHAPTER VIII
THESTORIDES OF PHOCAEA
Outside the shop of oils, the princesses were attracted to racks of finely embroidered cloth from the upper Nile region. Anna was busy examining an exotic Egyptian design when the man they had spoken to in the shop interrupted her.
“Excuse me my dear,” said the man, with counterfeit timidity, “but if I am not mistaken, you are newly arrived in this land.”
He spoke Greek with an accent peculiar to the northern Aegean. “You are Greek?” asked Anna, ignoring the man’s inquiry.
“Yes my dear, and if I am not mistaken, you are from Tyre, are you not?”
“Yes, but how can you tell, sir?”
“Well, your accent for one thing, although you speak Greek quite well. Also, your purple garments are quite scarce in this part of the world, unless you happen to be royalt
