"Between 1405 and 1433, seven naval expeditions were organized to "barbarian" lands. The admiral of the fleet, Zheng He, a Muslim from Yunnan recruited as a child to become a eunuch in the service of the state, let those diplomatic missions to the coast of Sian, Java, Ceylon, India, the Persian Gulf, East Africa and Arabia. They sailed as far as Mogadishu, Aden, Jeddah and the port of Meca. The Chinese envoys contacted thirty seven countries. Silk Road, Monks, Warriors & Merchants on the Silk Road, P 367, by Luce Boulnois
Arabic Dhow, at Sheik Faisal b Qassim al Thani Musem, Qatar, Photo by G. Brundage