Three: Ancient Ports: Avalites

Zoskales was a petty king mentioned in Periplus Maris Eritraea. And paragraph Five does not mention any ports, but the availablity of Obsedian, a volcanic glass used as sharp cutting tool. It is also used in jewellery. In paragraph Six a market is described where clothes for Barbaroi and articles from Arsinoe and Diospolis, and Roman money for resident foreigners were available. It was a local market for local people but there were foreign merchants from Arsinoe and Diospolis, Egyptian cities under Greek influence. Monache means cotton clothes worn by ascetic women; single threaded fine woven cloth. Sagmatogene is a compound word of two Greek elements: Sagma meaning packsaddle, covering or stuffing. "gene" is a suffix indicating the origin. So, sagmatogene means packsaddle made of heavier or more durable stuff. Kaunakai refers to thick shaggy cloth or tufted woolen garments characterised by fringe or petal-like structure. Men often wear it as girdle around waist. Women often wrap it over shoulder and breasts. Garments of molochinon means mallow fiber textiles or clothing. A textile made from mallow fiber. 

5. Avalites 

The fifth port mentioned in the Periplus Maris Eritraea. There are divergent opinions about its location. Some think, it is the port town of Zeila also called Sylac in present day Somaliland, near the boarder of Djibouti. It is at the upper base of the Horn. In antiquity it was situated at the entrance to the Red Sea where the Gulf of Aden narrows at the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. A second opinion places it near Assab in Eritraea. Okelis and Muza were on the opposite coast of Arabian subcontinent. Both of these ancient ports are not identified. They were somewhere around modern site of Mocha. Tortoise shells and myrrh and ivory were the export items from Avalites. Assorted glass stones, and unripe olives were imported from Diospolis multiple Greek and Roman settlements in Egypt. The inhabitants were barbarians and unruly.