 |
Add caption |
Launching an Uru (Arabian trading vessel) at Beypore -KERALA -INDIA
Dhow building station in Ras al Khaimah
Modern map IRAQ
old map IRAQ showing mesopotamia and babylonia
Uruk: The First City OF ANCIENT BABYLON AREA
Mari aerial
Uruk
In discussing the origin of Cities, Marc Van de Mieroop says that Uruk, which gave its name to the Uruk period, was essentially "the first city in
world history." This is not precisely a statement of its antiquity, as Eridu most likely.
world history." This is not precisely a statement of its antiquity, as Eridu most likely.
Ishtar Gate Babylon
Babylon aerial
Eridu-Enki's boat trip
See full size image(777 x 865 · 101kB · jpeg) · More sizes
... to History 2: The Rise of Urban Civilzation in the Ancient Near East
RELATED SEARCHES
A floating reed island on Lake Titicaca-SOUTH AMERICA
Pictures of Uros, Peru The Floating Islands Lake Titicaca
The Uros are an indigenous people pre-dating the Incas
.(POSSIBLE CONNECTION TO THE CITY URUK AND UR OF IRAQ?)
They live, still today, on man-made floating islands scattered across Lake Titicaca. These islands are also constructed from totora reeds
.(POSSIBLE CONNECTION TO THE CITY URUK AND UR OF IRAQ?)
They live, still today, on man-made floating islands scattered across Lake Titicaca. These islands are also constructed from totora reeds
documentary on lake Titicaca
Making Water Reed Boat in Ethiopia
Reed boat
The earliest discovered remains from a reed boat are 7000 years old, found in Kuwait. Reed boats are depicted in early petroglyphs and were common in Ancient Egypt. A famous example is theark of bulrushes in which the baby Moses was set afloat. They were also constructed from early times in Peru and Bolivia, and boats with remarkedly similar design have been found in Easter Island. Reed boats are still used in Peru, Bolivia, Ethiopia, and until recently in Corfu.
Thor Heyerdahl
Heyerdahl wanted to demonstrate that ancient Mediterranean or African people could have crossed the Atlantic and reached the Americas by sailing with the Canary Current.
In 1969, Heyerdahl constructed a reed boat he named Ra after the ancient Egyptian sun god. Its design was based on ancient Egyptian models and drawings.
The boat was built by boatmen from Lake Chad in theRepublic of Chad with papyrus reeds from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It was launched off the coast ofMorocco, and set sail in an attempt to cross the Atlantic. After several weeks, its crew modified the vessel in a manner that caused Ra to sag and take on water. Eventually Ra broke apart and was abandoned.
In 1969, Heyerdahl constructed a reed boat he named Ra after the ancient Egyptian sun god. Its design was based on ancient Egyptian models and drawings.
Ra II reed boat
The boat was built by boatmen from Lake Chad in theRepublic of Chad with papyrus reeds from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It was launched off the coast ofMorocco, and set sail in an attempt to cross the Atlantic. After several weeks, its crew modified the vessel in a manner that caused Ra to sag and take on water. Eventually Ra broke apart and was abandoned.
The following year, Heyerdahl organised the building of another similar boat, the Ra II.
Boat builders from Lake Titicaca built this in Bolivia. Again, the vessel set sail from Morocco, succeeding this time and reaching Barbados.
Boat builders from Lake Titicaca built this in Bolivia. Again, the vessel set sail from Morocco, succeeding this time and reaching Barbados.
The reed boat Ra II
In 1978, Heyerdahl constructed a third reed boat, the Tigris. The purpose of building this vessel was to demonstrate that Mesopotamia could have been linked through trade and migration to the Indus Valley Civilization, now modern-day Pakistan. Tigris was constructed in Iraq and sailed along the Persian Gulf, then to Pakistan, finally entering the Red Sea. She remained at sea in a seaworthy manner for five months. Then in Djibouti, Tigris was burnt deliberately in protest
at the wars that were then raging everywhere around the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.
at the wars that were then raging everywhere around the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.
Hopes sink for dhow heritage unit
KOZHIKODE: Efforts to revive the age-old tradition of building dhows
(Uru), by imparting training in heritage shipbuilding technologies have
come to a halt following the decision of the governing body of the Centre for Heritage Studies (CHS) to scrap the courses and training programme conducted at the Heritage Ship Technology Unit, Beypore.
The governing body citing grave irregularities in the conduct of courses and closed the unit on February 2012. The unit offered PG diploma and certificate courses on heritage ship technology at a rented building at Beypore. A temporary shipbuilding unit was also set up at Beypore for imparting training to the students.
The unit was launched in 2010 with the consent of the ministry of cultural affairs to spread the glory of dhow building heritage of Beypore. Former vice-chancellor of Calicut University K K N Kurup was the director general of CHS during the commencement of the course. Forty students were enrolled in the first batch and a total of Rs 20 lakh was spent for the commencement of the courses.
The governing body also decided to stop all recurring payments, except the wages to the watchman, and to terminate the service of the temporary staff.
Explaining the reasons for the discontinuation of the courses, director general of CHS M G S Narayanan said CHS is a body entrusted with heritage studies. "As we do not have the infrastructure and backing of engineering staff to carry out construction, we decided to stop the functioning of Ship Technology Unit," he said.
It was also alleged that there was no need to open a shipbuilding centre to train students as large number of private parties own shipbuilding yards, which could have been utilized as training grounds.
Meanwhile, responding to the allegation that the former governing body had appointed unqualified trainers, K K N Kurup said the entire faculty at the institute was highly qualified and competent. "Mechanical engineers and guest faculty from National Institute of Technology and engineering colleges handled classes."
"O P Aandikkutty, a master craftsman of dhows who died recently and his brother Narayanan were guiding the students on the traditional aspects of dhow building," he said. "Besides, a master carpenter was appointed to train students on wooden works."
"Whatever be the claims, the aim to retain the tradition of Beypore has gone futile thanks to the apathy of the present governing body," said Kurup.
The governing body citing grave irregularities in the conduct of courses and closed the unit on February 2012. The unit offered PG diploma and certificate courses on heritage ship technology at a rented building at Beypore. A temporary shipbuilding unit was also set up at Beypore for imparting training to the students.
The unit was launched in 2010 with the consent of the ministry of cultural affairs to spread the glory of dhow building heritage of Beypore. Former vice-chancellor of Calicut University K K N Kurup was the director general of CHS during the commencement of the course. Forty students were enrolled in the first batch and a total of Rs 20 lakh was spent for the commencement of the courses.
The governing body also decided to stop all recurring payments, except the wages to the watchman, and to terminate the service of the temporary staff.
Explaining the reasons for the discontinuation of the courses, director general of CHS M G S Narayanan said CHS is a body entrusted with heritage studies. "As we do not have the infrastructure and backing of engineering staff to carry out construction, we decided to stop the functioning of Ship Technology Unit," he said.
It was also alleged that there was no need to open a shipbuilding centre to train students as large number of private parties own shipbuilding yards, which could have been utilized as training grounds.
Meanwhile, responding to the allegation that the former governing body had appointed unqualified trainers, K K N Kurup said the entire faculty at the institute was highly qualified and competent. "Mechanical engineers and guest faculty from National Institute of Technology and engineering colleges handled classes."
"O P Aandikkutty, a master craftsman of dhows who died recently and his brother Narayanan were guiding the students on the traditional aspects of dhow building," he said. "Besides, a master carpenter was appointed to train students on wooden works."
"Whatever be the claims, the aim to retain the tradition of Beypore has gone futile thanks to the apathy of the present governing body," said Kurup.
Thank you for the great information of boats and shipping from the silk route time to Thor Heyedahl's experiements with the Ra and Ra II. Gtreat .. Tahnks..
ReplyDeleteDr George Easaw
Thanks for the stuff on Uruk and especially for its early trading routes. cool stuff
ReplyDelete