Dhow ribs
Exposed wooden hulls.
Davide Mauro — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francesco Bini — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bernhard Dunst — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fabio Achilli from Milano, Italy — CC BY 2.0 · Andries Oudshoorn — CC BY-SA 2.0
A workshop for building traditional wooden ships in Sur, capital of South Ash Sharqiyah on the Gulf of Oman. By the sixth century Sur was an established centre for trade with East Africa, and Ibn Battuta described it as the roadstead of a large village on the seashore. Sur has built traditional Omani ships for centuries, and its craftsmen still shape huge wooden hulls by hand using the old methods, so visitors see exposed ribs, stacks of timber and tools, and dhows at every stage of construction. Nearby, an open-air museum displays the «Fatah Al Khair», a ghanja built in Sur that was brought back from Yemen and restored to stand on dry land as a witness to the town's seafaring heritage, alongside other traditional boats. The visit is free, per visitor guides; ask before photographing the craftsmen. Combine it with a stroll through Sur and the view of the Al Ayjah quarter, its lighthouse and the old watchtowers on the lagoon.
Exposed wooden hulls.
A Sur-built ghanja.
Lighthouse and towers.
Sur, near the lagoon
A traditional ghanja built in Sur, brought back from Yemen and restored, now displayed on land in an open-air museum near the dhow yard.