Sasson Ḥay Castiel

Born in Constantinople to a family likely of Spanish origin, Sasson ḥay Castiel was a merchant who dealt largely in precious stones, whose business took him to a series of extraordinarily far-flung locations, including Italy, the Low Countries, North Africa, Iraq, and India. Castiel recorded his travels in his manuscript travel diary, Sefer ha-masa‘ (Book of the Journey), first published in the mid-twentieth century. Castiel’s manuscript is unique among early travel writings by Jews, as it provides a view of Jewish communities in Mediterranean and eastern lands that is not framed by a Western European perspective.