Captains of Ancient Routes

Since the time of Sindbad the Sailor, and even earlier, seamen have coursed the Indian Ocean waters on their traditional wooden boats (Lenj) going from the Persian Gulf to India and Africa trading all sort of goods. Lenjs are traditionally hand-built vessels that are used by inhabitants of the of the Persian Gulf for sea journeys, trading, fishing, and pearl diving. The related traditional knowledge includes comprehensive oral literature, performing arts, sailing, navigation as well as weather forecasting techniques and the skills of wooden boatbuilding itself. Today, with emergence of new technology, Lenjs are being pushed off from their ancient routes putting the invaluable traditional knowledge in danger.

Qeshm Island, Iran - A shipbuilder walking in one of the Iran's largest fiberglass Lenj construction workshops at Peiposht, south of Iran. Lenjs (also known as dhow) are traditional trading vessels that have been used since hundreds of years ago in t

Bushehr, Iran - Couple of Lenjs, traditional trading boats, are docked at Bushehr fishing pier. These hand-built wooden vessels have been used by inhabitants of the northern coast of the Persian Gulf for sea journeys, trading, fishing and pearl divin

Guran, Iran - Shipwright constructs a wooden Lenj from scratch. Very few skillful workers are left who are able to build traditional wooden Lenjs. With increasing prices and lack of high-quality timbers, demand for traditional Lenjs has remarkably dr

Qeshm Island, Iran - A group of workers finishing a long day at Peiposht fiberglass Lenj construction workshop. Demand for fiberglass Lenjs has recently increased despite their lower quality compared to the wooden ones. Main reason is lower material

Kong, Iran - Several wooden Lenjs are under repair at one of the only left wooden Lenj workshops at Kong, Iran. Several years of experience is needed for workers to learn the skills needed for building traditional Lenjs. Despite decreasing demand for

Kong, Iran - Workers repair a highly deteriorated wooden Lenj. One of the advantages of the wooden Lenjs, beside their better aquadynamic, is their repairability. The newer fiberglass Lenjs are not as repair-friendly as their wooden counterparts whic

Kong, Iran - A shipwright cuts timbers to be used for repairing damaged wooden Lenjs. Many wooden Lenj construction workshops are being transformed into repair shops for the older Lenjs as demand for new wooden Lenjs is giving its place to the fiberg

Kong, Iran - Workers clean a fiberglass Lenj as a part of its yearly maintenance plan. Maintenance costs take a heavy toll on Lenj owners who are already struggling with diminishing market as cargo ships are taking over a big part of the market. Many

Laft, Iran - A group of elderly Nakhodas (Lenj captains) sitting at the waterfront. There is only a handful of Nakhodas still alive who used to travel with sail Lenjs before they give their place to the Lenjs with engine. The transition occurred grad

Laft, Iran - Nakhoda Soleiman standing in front of his store. After getting retired, he got himself busy with an electricity store. "We sailed the routes that captains have sailed for more than twenty centuries. We brought dates and other goods from

Kong, Iran - Nakhoda Sarhang explains about steering Lenjs in traditional way before the era of GPS. "Navigation was mainly done by sextants, compasses and charts. Precise navigation techniques were needed to locate the ship according to the position

Kong, Iran - Captain Mohammad (left) is among the youngest generations of Lenj Nakhodas. "Today, everything is much easier. Engines and GPS have facilitated the process. Some part of the ancient knowledge, however, might be disappeared in the close f

Guran, Iran - Nakhoda Ismael prepares food on board of his Lenj. "In the past, Lenjs were the main mean of sea trade. We used to travel to Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Emirates, Oman, Yemen, India, and also the east coast of Africa. There were different t

Guran, Iran - Nakhoda Ismael (center) and his son (left) sitting in the wheelhouse of their Lenj. Most of the times, working with Lenj is a business passed from father to son. After Nakhoda Ismael got retired, his son took over the business. Now, the

Kong, Iran - Nader taking rest after spending 9 consecutive days on the sea. Many Lenjs are currently involved with fishing industry. Sailors usually spend 8 to 9 days on board to fish as much as possible and then return to the wharf. Relatively, les

Kong, Iran - Sailors unloading fish after spending several days on the sea. Another main application of Lenjs, that hasn't that much affected by modernity, is fishing. The catch will be sold in the local market, will be sent to other cities, or will

Kong, Iran - Sailors unloading fish after spending several days on the sea. Working as a sailor in a fishing Lenj is extremely hard. Sailors spend more than a week on the sea, rest for 2 - 3 days and again go back to the sea. Most of the sailors come

Kong, Iran - Lenj workers waiting at the pier for a load of Gypsum. One of the main items that is still transported by Lenjs, is bulk gypsum. Due to its polluting nature, modern cargo docks do not accept bulk gypsum so it is usually loaded manually i

Bushehr, Iran - A vast area known as the graveyard of Lenjs where dozens of wrecked vessels can be seen everywhere. Although wooden Lenjs can be in service for several decades provided that they receive proper maintenance, some Lenjs are not fortunat

Captains of Ancient Routes

Loneness Road

Conservation Efforts of Kichwa Communities