Abibaal

My name is Abibaal, I am a Phoenician merchant. I was born in the city of Tyre, but when I was nineteen years old I travelled to Gadir, a colony of Phoenicians on the far away Iberian Peninsula. It was a long journey by ship: we had to cross the whole Mediterranean Sea, and we stopped in some other colonies like Carthage to buy goods to sell in Iberia.
I have never travelled back to Tyre, but I send letters back to my family on my trading ships. They sail to the cities of the Levant, my home, to buy glass, dyes, and fabrics. When they arrive back to Gadir I sell them to the local Iberians. Usually they pay me in metals, such as copper and iron, and I send these back to Tyre to sell. This works well for everyone!
Last year I hired some locals to help me with my house and business because I’m getting a bit older now. I am also teaching one of them to read and write with our alphabet so that he can help me with my books and letters.