Dias was either a Muslim who had been converted to Christianity or a Portuguese who had been captured and held by the Moroccans on Gibraltar for a long time – the sources are unclear. At any rate he spoke good Arabic and had an excellent knowledge of Islamic rituals, prayers and Koranic verses. He offered to be landed on the desert shores of Arabia and travel by way of Jeddah, Mecca and Suez to Cairo, pick up a Venetian ship at Alexandria, then return to Portugal with information for the king. His alibi was to be that of a runaway slave. To this end a shackle was put on his leg and he was
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