I took a hard decision. Instead of being left to rot, Tigris should have a proud end, as a torch that would call to men of reason to resume the cause of peace in a comer of the world where civilization first took foothold. We should set the reed bundles ablaze at the entrance to the Red Sea as a fiery protest against the accelerating arms race and the fighting in Africa and Asia.
The others were informed of my decision as they came on board next morning and we aU gathered around the breakfast table. They were shocked at first, but everybody gave wholehearted support to the plan.
That day I was received at the Djibouti Palace by President Hassan Gouled Aptidon, an elderly leader of a young nation, and a
wise, friendly and human representative of black Africa. I asked him for permission to dissolve the expedition and abandon ship in his country, and explained to him how precisely we had been forced to navigate to reach his neutral territory. *You were lucky," he said with a calm smile; "your vessel was able to sail away from the war. But my Httle nation is forced to remain here, with war on all sides, and with constant fear of invasion." He added that we were welcome to leave our ship and move ashore, but we should know that his nation was full of refugees, aU roads to the outside world were blocked and the only railway out, to Addis Ababa, had been blown up. Some meat was flown in from Nairobi, but all other food came by air from Paris, and his people suffered because they could not afford the prices. Apart from the port, the Republic of Djibouti had no source of income, as the limited country around the city was pure desert.
A very cordial reception by the French rear-admiral Darrieus on board the floating navy dock ship TCD Ouragan followed, and a buffet dinner hosted by the charming American couple Chantal and Walter Clarke, who were as depressed at the local situation as we were. As charge d'affaires Walter Clarke had not yet had time to open an American embassy, so young was the repubhc.
Only one person had to know about our plan: the harbormaster. Otherwise the port fire brigade and navy hehcopters would come out the moment they thought they detected an accident. We wanted to be alone at the end.
Tigris was towed out of the harbor with usual clearance papers and anchored, sails up, off the lighthouse on Musha Island, a small coral isle outside the port. Before we lowered the United Nations flag I wrote a telegram to the man who had granted Tigris the right to sail symbohcally under this flag. The message was passed to everyone on board for approval or disapproval:
Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim,
United Nations.
As the multinational crew of the experimental reed ship Tigris brings the test voyage to its conclusion today we are grateful to the Secretary-General for the permission to sail under United Nations flag and we are proud to report that the double objectives of the expedition have been achieved to our complete satisfaction.
Ours has been a voyage into the past to study the qualities of a prehistoric type of vessel built after ancient Sumerian principles. But it has also been a voyage into the future to demonstrate that no space is too restricted for peaceful coexistence of men who work for common survival. We are eleven men from countries governed by diflPerent political systems. And we have sailed together on a small raft-ship of tender reeds and rope a distance of over six thousand kilometres from the Republic of Iraq by way of the Emirate of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Pakistan to the recently born African nation of Djibouti. We are able to report that in spite of different political views we have lived and struggled together in perfect understanding and friendship shoulder to shoulder in cramped quarters during calms and storms, always according to the ideals of the United Nations: cooperation for joint survival.
When we embarked last November on our reed ship Tigris we knew we would sink or survive together, and this knowledge united us in friendship. When we now, in April, disperse to our respective homelands we sincerely respect and feel sympathy for each other's nation, and our joint message is not directed to any one country but to modern man everywhere. We have shown that the ancient people in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and Egypt could have built man's earliest civilisations through the benefit of mutual contact with the primitive vessels at their disposal five thousand years ago. Culture arose through intelligent and profitable exchange of thoughts and products. Today we burn our proud ship with sails up and rigging and vessel in perfect shape to protest against the inhuman elements in the world of 1978 to which we have come back as we reach land from the open sea. We are forced to stop at the entrance to the Red Sea. Surrounded by military aeroplanes and warships from the world's most civilised and developed nations we are denied permission by friendly governments, for security reasons, to land anywhere but in the tiny and still neutral republic of Djibouti, because elsewhere around us brothers and neighbours are engaged in homicide with means made available to them by those who lead humanity on our joint road into the third millennium.
To the innocent masses in all industrialised countries we direct om: appeal. We must wake up to the insane reality of our
time which to all of us has been reduced to mere unpleasant headlines in the news. We are all irresponsible unless we demand from the responsible decision makers that modem armaments must no longer be made available to the people whose former battle axes and swords our ancestors condemned. Our planet is bigger than the reed bundles that have carried us across the seas and yet small enough to run the same risks unless those of us still ahve open our eyes and minds to the desperate need of intelligent collaboration to save ourselves and our common civihsation from what we are about to convert into a sinking ship.
The Republic of Djibouti, 3 April, 1978*
Everybody signed. Thor, Norman, Yuri, Carlo, Torn, Detlef, Gherman, Asbjom, Rashad, HP, Norris. All eleven. Then we ate a last meal at the plank table between the two cabins: Yuri's dried rainbow runner, Rashad's pickled flying fish, biscuits. We had great memories from around this table. Norman remarked that we had sailed 6,800 kilometers together; 4,200 miles. Tigris had now been afloat 143 days, or twenty weeks and three days, that is a good five months.
Norris looked at his watch and pointed at his camera. The sun was getting low. It would soon set behind the blue mountains of Africa, which fell off in a blunt cape at the entrance to the Red Sea. Everybody but HP, Asbjom and I were set ashore on the low coral banks with the dinghy. We had chartered a httle yacht to bring us back to port. The captain and his mate brought it into safety behind the island when they realized what we were up to. HP had been a peacetime demohtion sergeant in the Norwegian army and had bought an innocent clocklike timekeeper in a Djibouti photo shop. It was zero hour for Tigris. Asbjom had been in charge of our kerosene lamps on board and knew where to find the fuel. HP where to pour it. I looked at the empty table as I jumped into the dinghy after the others. Nobody had troubled to clean the table tonight. Provisions for eleven men for another month, blankets and everything else serviceable had been carried ashore to the refugees.
•Editorial note: The Secretary-General responded with a long and extremely positive message, extending his wannest congratulations on the successful outcome of the experiment and assuring that the appeal would not go unheeded at the United Nations.
We lined up ashore and none of us could say much. "Take oflF your hats," I said at last as the flames hcked out of the main cabin door. The sail caught fire in a rain of sparks, accompanied by sharp shotlike reports of splitting bamboo and the crackling of burning reeds. Nobody else spoke, and I barely heard myself mumble:
"She was a fine ship."
REFERENCES
CHAPTEH 1
1. P. Amiet, La Glyptique Mesopotamienne Archaique, Paris, 1961.
2. A. Salonen, "Die Wasserfahrzeuge in Babylonien," ed. K. Tallqvist, Studia Orientalia Edidit Societas Orientalis Fennica, Vol. 8, No. 4, p. 70, 1939.
3. The New English Bible, Genesis 15: 18-21, 1970.
4. K. Tallqvist, Gilgatnes-eposet, p. 92, Stockholm, 1977.
5. The New English Bible, Genesis 6:
14-16, 1970.
6. Tallqvist, op. cit., p. 125.
7. P. V. Glob, Al-Bahrain, p. 214, Copenhagen, 1968.
CHAPTER 4
1. G. Bibby, Looking for Dilmun, p. 253, New York, 1969.
2. S. N. Kramer, Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievements in the Third Millennium B.C., pp. 37-38,60, Philadelphia, 1944.
CHAPTER 5
1. A. L. Oppenheim, "The Seafaring Merchants of Ur," Joum. Amer. Oriental Soc, Vol. 74, No. 1, pp. 6-17,1954.
2. E. I. Gordon, "The Sumerian Proverb Collections: A Preliminary Report," Joum. Amer. Oriental Soc, Vol. 74, No. 2, pp. 82-85, i954'
3. A. Salonen, op. cit., pp. 12-14, 49, 66, 70.
4. C. L. Woolley, The Sumerians, pp. 7-8,192-94, New York, 196s.
5. C. L. Woolley, op. cit., pp. 35-45.
6. S. N. Kramer, op. cit., p. 60.
7. G. Bibby, op. cit., p. 80.
8. Ibid.
9. Danish archaeologists resumed excavations at this Dilmun port shortly after Tigris left Bahrain. They now discovered a large and deep basin with embankment walls inside the proper city walls. At high tide shallow vessels could sail straight into a sheltered dock cut into the bedrock inside the seaward wall of the city, which also served as a protective mole against the sea. (G. Bibby, "Gensyn med Bahrain," Sfinx, No. 4, pp. 99-103.)
10. G. Bibby, op. cit., pp. 186-89.
11. T. Heyerdahl, Aku-Aku. The Secrets of Easter Island, London, 1958; The Art of Easter Island, London, 1976.
12. M. E. L. Mallowan, Nimrud and Its Remains, Vol. 1, pp. 78-81, 323, New York, 1966.
13. G. Bibby, op. cit., pp. 69-77,160-61.
CHAPTER 7
1. Journal of Oman Studies, igjS.
2. G. Bibby, op. cit., pp. 191, 219-20.
4. G. Bibby, op. cit, p. 220.
5. Pliniiis Gaius Secundus (a.d. 77), Naturalis Historic, Book VI, 98, The Loeb Classical Library.
CHAPTER 8
1. G. Bibby, op. dt, p. 219.
2. S. N. Kramer, op. cit, p. 112.
3. G. Bibby, op. dt., pp. 221-22.
4. G. Bibby, op. dt., p. 192.
5. G. F. Dales, "Harappan Outposts on the Makran Coast," Antiquity (1962), Vol. 36, No. 142, pp. 86-92.
6. Plinius, op. cit., Book VI, 97-98.
CHAPTER 9
1. F. A. Khan, "Indus Valley Civilization," Cultural Heritage of Pakistan, p. 11 (Karachi, 1966).
2. R. L. Raikes, "The End of the Andent Cities of the Indus," American Anthropologist, VoL 66, No. 2, p. 291 (1964).
3. S. R. Rao, "Shipping and Maritime Trade of the Indus People," Expedition, University of Penn., Philadelphia, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 30-37 (1965).
4. S. R. Rao, "A 'Persian Gulf Seal from Lothal," Antiquity, Vol. 37, No. 146,
PP-96-99 (1963)-
5. E. J. H. Mackay, Further Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro, Nev/ Delhi Government Press, 1938, Vol. I, pp. 340-41.
6. R. LeBaron Bowen, Jr., "Boats of the Indus Civilization," The Mariner^s Mirror, 41-42, pp. 279-90 (1956).
7. W. A. Fairservis, The Roots of Ancient India, George Allen & Unwin, London, 1971, pp.277-78.
8. Plinius, op. dt., Book VI, p. 205.
9. MS. February 26,1977.
CHAPTER 10 1. T. Heyerdahl, Early Man and the Ocean, Ch. 2 with map, George AUen & Unwin, London, 1978.
CHAPTER 11
1. Red Sea and Gulf of Aden PUot, pp. 557 and 559, London, 1967.
2. Plinius, op. dt., Book VI, pp. 398-421.
3. V. Karageorgis, The Ancient Civilization of Cyprus, p. 37, New York, 1969.
4. J. D. Evans, The Prehistoric Antiquities of the Maltese Islands, pp. 212-14, London, 1971.
5. S. Hood, The Minoarts: Crete in the Bronze Age, p. 29, London, 1971.
6. Plato (ca. 427-347 B.C.), Timaeus and Critias, Penguin Classics, pp. 33-38, 141, London, 1965.
7. This topic and the argiunents for transatlantic contact in pre-European times are dealt with in detail in T. Heyerdahl, Early Man arid the Ocean, London, 1978.
Abadan, 82-83
Abdo, Imran, 98-99, 100
Abdul Alim Vasta, 53, 55
Abraham (patriarch), 2, 22, 25, 26, 71, 117, 120, 125, 130; as an historical personage, 20-21
Abu Dabi, 288
Academy of Sciences (U.S.S.R.), 73
Adam and Eve, 117, 125, 324
Aden, 332
Adobe, art of, 278-79
Akademik Stechkin (ship), 224
Akkad (capital), 139
Akkadians, 96, 123
Al Baghly, Ibrahim, 97-98
Alexander the Great, 96, 97, 123, 243
Al Gassar, village of, 27, 29
Al Hamra, town of, 208, 209
Ali cemetery (Bahrain), 135, 136, 146-47, 149
Ali (servant), 36, 40, 51, 53, 68
Al Matrah, town of, 206
Al Qatar peninsula, 166, 167
Amara, town of, 47
Amri (mound), 269, 271
Anapsky (trawler), 322
Aptidon, Hassan Gouled, 334-35
Arabian Gulf, 32-33
Arabian peninsula, 204, 222, 233,
257. 27i> 312, 324 Arabian Sea, 187, 191, 239-40 Arabic language, 2, 37, 40, 41, 50,
55, 107, 193, 225, 248, 260, 317 Arabs, 3-4, 5, 20, 62, 69, 90, 91, 130,
138, 140, 148-49, 161, 207, 208,
278; See also Marsh Arabs; names
of countries Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard
(asry), 133, 134, 153, 161 Archaeology, 4, 23, 236, 326; See also
names of sites Arrian (biographer), 243 Aryans, 266, 277 Asbjom, see Damhus, Asbjom
Assurbanipal, King, 22
Assyria, 3, 8, 18, 21, 22, 139, 143,
147, 271, 273; deluge stories,
22-24; shipbuilding of, 24-25;
writing system, 22 Astola Island, 243, 246 Atchuievsky (trawler), 322 Atlantic College (Wales), 31 Atlantis, 5, 327, 328, 329 Aymara Indians, 9, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48,
49, 50, 54, 64 Aztec Indians, 44, 74, 330
Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, 312, 332 Babylon, 3, 19, 24, 126, 139, 265 Babylonia, 3, 8, 96, 139, 142, 147,
271, 275 Bagdad, 3, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19, 29,
32, 33, 36, 41, 45, 46, 50, 56, 75 Baghdad Museum, 96, 195, 236, 287 Baghdad Museimi Library, 121 Bahrain, 25, 57, 94-98, 121, 130, 131-63, 165, 166, 168, 196, 200, 201, 207, 211-12, 216-18, 233, 234, 237, 239, 247, 268, 273, 287, 320, 325, 336; Ali mounds, 135, 136, 146-47, 149; buried cities, 139-40; "Enid's" wells and pools, 137-38; excavations, 149-50, 214; fishermen's boats, 151-53; limestone beds, 141-42; pearl divers, 154; stonework and masonry, 143-46, 150-51 Bahrain Radio, 177, 201, 223, 224,
234, 240, 256, 286, 311, 315 Baker, Norman, 6, 7, 53, 55-58, 60, 68, 70, 72, 77-79, 88, 91, 95, 103, 104, 106, 107, 118-21, 130, 154, 161, 162, 164, 166, 169, 172-73, 177, 181, 184-86, 196-97, 198, 201-3, 209, 210-11, 221, 223-26, 233-35, 240, 241, 243, 247, 248, 251-52, 257, 258, 264, 277, 285, 286, 287, 288, 290-91, 307, 311, 313-20, 330, 332, 337 Balam, 17 Baluchistan, 246, 277
Index
Banerji, R. D., 265
Basra, port of, 29, 35, 40, 42, 49, 51, 52, 55, 68, 72, 79, 80, 91, 94, 286
Basra University, 55
Baath party, 9-10
Beit Wafi, village of, 70-71
Bell, Dale, 224
Berbers, 276
Berdi reeds, 9, 20, 29, 41, 43, 47, 50, 59, 65, 85, 89, 118, 153, 193, 277, 278, 283, 287; cutting of, 15; skin and pulp layers, 47-48
Bibby, GeofFrey, 97, 133-34, 146, 149-52, 154-56, 195, 196, 211-15, 217, 235, 237, 238, 266
Bible, 19, 20, 21, 120, 208
BiUiarzia worms, 28-29
Blue sharks, 300
Bogazkoy, 150
Bohn, Hans Peter "HP," 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 42, 46, 50, 53, 57, 58, 102, 119, 167, 168, 175, 184, 188, 200, 202, 224-25, 234, 238, 239, 241, 250, 251, 291, 299, 304, 307, 316, 330, 337; backgroimd of, 75
Bombay, 52
Brak, 236, 273
British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC), 30, 31, 32, 33, 45-46, 52, 80, 106, 130, 198, 332-33
British Museum, 8
Brock, Norris, 53, 77, 93, 155, 160,
162, 173, 188, 191, 194, 210-11,
222-25, 233, 235, 241, 244-46, 284, 291, 318, 331, 333; background of, 75 Brunette (freighter), 224 Budayia, village of, 155 Buddhists, 265, 266-67, 330 Buduma reed-boat builders, 16
Cddiz, port of, 276 Calendar systems, 330 Canary Islands, 88, 276, 280 Cape Guardafui, 323 Carlo, see Mauri, Carlo Camine (or Nasola) Island, 243
343
Carrasco, Gherman, 45, 53, 65, 67-68, 88-89, 94> 100-1, 108, 122, 151, 153, 155, 183, 188, 200, 211, 224, 226, 228, 241, 243, 256, 258, 287, 295, 300-4, 307, 319, 320, 330, 337; background of, 73-74
Carthage, 145
Central African Budumas, 9
Cerro Colorado pyramid, 278-79
Ceylon, 260, 262, 322, 325
Cheops, Pharaoh, 25
China, 325
China Sea, 285
Chola mats, jy
Clark, Peter, 80, 286
Clarke, Chantal and Walter, 335
Columbus, Christopher, 271
Corfu, 276
Cortez, Hernando, 44
Coryphaena hippuras, 295
Costa, Mrs. Germana, 215
Costa, Paolo, 207-13, 215, 217, 222
Cowasjee & Sons, 282
Crete, 126, 325, 327, 330
Critias (Plato), 328-29
The Tigris Expedition Page 42
