Abu'l Abbas al-Hijazi

Abu'l Abbas al-Hijazi, was a 12th-century Arab Muslim traveler, merchant and sailor and is known to have spent forty years in China.

He had 12 ships coming from China, but 11 of them were lost in a storm in the Indian Ocean. Only one ship reached Egypt and was filled with rich cargo from China which included porcelain and aloe wood. The content of this one ship was enough for Abu'l Abbas al-Hijazi to re-attain his wealth ant to continue with the import of goods from China, India, Abyssinia, Ceylon and the Indonesian Islands. He positioned his seven sons, from seven different wives, in the key areas for his operations. Each one of them had mastered the languages and business practice of the markets in question. They sent goods to their father in Egypt, receiving in return Levantine, Maghribi and Frankish goods.