Simply by cutting berdi reeds "in August," Thor Heyerdahl builds a
leakless, buoyant craft that magnificently overcomes all that
Mother Nature contrives - only to succumb to pollution and
politics. The result is a less rousing, less exciting adventure
than that of the Kon-Tiki or the two Ra, but a more focused,
scientific expedition. "The ability to navigate to given
destinations had become more of a challenge," Heyerdahl writes,
than the "drifts" of the Ra with the winds and the currents.
Assembling his international crew at the aptly-named Garden of Eden
Rest House on the Tigris River in Iraq, Heyerdahl copies the
age-old methods of construction and form of a Sumerian magur - as
much as can be gleaned from ancient sources and living traditions;
then, with the usual multilingual mishaps, he proceeds down river
to the Arabian/Persian Gulf to trace one of the earliest trade
routes (ca. 3000 B.C.) from the cradle of civilization, the
Tigris-Euphrates Valley, to legendary Dilmum (Bahrain), Makan
(Oman?), Meluhha (the Indus Valley in Pakistan?), and Punt
(Somalia?). Highly speculative about the connections between the
Old and the New Worlds, Heyerdahl distinguishes himself from those
with "simpler minds" (as he calls them) who believe in
extra-terrestrial visitors by actually putting his theories to the
test; and the expedition does indeed establish the ancient trade
routes - if not the actual ports of call - already hinted at by
archaeological finds. With persistent political impingements
(including some stray Russians) and only passing shipboard perils,
not as dramatic a story as its predecessors - but rewarding, still,
as an eye-witness passage into the dim past. (Kirkus Reviews)
Along with his companions from nine nations, Heyerdahl set sail in
a boat made of reeds in search of the sea routes which he was sure
must have been used by the Sumerians in vessels like his own, 5000
years ago. Heyerdahl recounts the many discoveries and hazards that
occurred on his journey down the Tigris, through the Gulf and on to
the Indian Ocean - tales of modern shipping, bandits, reefs and the
political dispute which finally led to the ceremonial burning of
the boat.
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