Knowra Dhow Dhow A dhow is a traditional sailing vessel used across the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and western Indian Ocean. Its forms served fishing, trade, transport, and pearling.
Lateen sail : A triangular sail set on a long yard angled to the mast, used to sail across or partly against the wind. Its characteristic rig let dhow crews make progress under changing monsoon winds.
Indian Ocean trade : The maritime exchange network connecting East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia across the Indian Ocean. Dhows were among the vessels that carried people and goods through this network.
Oman : A country on the southeastern Arabian Peninsula with a long history of maritime trade. Omani shipbuilding and seafaring are closely associated with dhow traditions.
Junk (ship) : A traditional East Asian sailing ship, commonly built with a flat-bottomed hull and battened sails. Its hull and sail traditions developed in a different maritime region from dhow types.
Sewn boat : A boat whose planks are fastened together with stitches or lashings rather than relying solely on metal nails. Some Indian Ocean dhows were built with lashed plank seams, a regional construction tradition.
Monsoon : A seasonal reversal of prevailing winds, especially prominent around the Indian Ocean. Sailors timed dhow voyages to the winds that alternated direction with the seasons.
Arabian Sea : The northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, bordered by the Arabian Peninsula and South Asia. It was a central sailing ground for dhow crews and their trading routes.
Feluca : A small traditional sailing boat used on the Nile and in parts of the eastern Mediterranean. It shares lateen-style sailing but belongs to a different regional vessel tradition.
Mtepe : A sewn-plank sailing vessel of the Swahili coast, traditionally associated with the Lamu archipelago. It is a distinctive East African vessel often grouped within the wider dhow tradition.
Pearl diving : The practice of retrieving natural pearls from oysters, historically by divers working from boats. Dhow crews supported pearl fisheries in the Persian Gulf and nearby waters.
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