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The saga of a maritime legend

By Saleh Abdullah Al Khamyasi

The Sultanate of Oman has unique geographical characteristics, which combine the desert, the mountain, the plain and the sea. Therefore if the agricultural side with its mountains, deserts and plains represent one side of the Omani culture, the sea with its formidable challenges represents the other.

Oman is blessed with 1700 km of coastline that stretches from the tip of Musandam in the north of Oman to Dhalkut, the last point in the governorate of Dhofar. It was through towns such as Muscat, Muttrah, Sur, Sohar, and Salalah that Oman was able to interact with other nations and reap the fruit of their civilisations and in turn transfer the essence of the Islamic civilisation to the other nations with whom our merchants traded. This evidently indicates that Omani people were seafarers since ancient times. Today we will trace along with our readers the story of a maritime legend which traded across the Indian ocean and moved among several countries in the Gulf, Indian subcontinent, and East Africa and was an ambassador of Oman wherever she landed.

Therefore it is not a surprise that Sur approves the Ghanjah — a type of ship — as its symbol to signify its deep rooted maritime heritage and fame as the shipbuilding centre not only in Oman but also in the Gulf region. There is an opinion that Sur was the actual home of the Phoenicians before they emigrated to establish the Sur in Lebanon. According to Dr Mohammed R Bhacker "This legend can be traced to the Greek historian Herodotus who, writing in the 6th century BC, says that the Phoenicians of Tyre (Sur in Arabic) in the Lebanon themselves told him that their ancestors came from the Gulf where they had had trading settlements all along its shores and Islands.

After leaving Oman and settling down in Greater Syria, they are said to have built a town in the Lebanon giving it the same name of Sur (Tyre) to remind them of their erstwhile home town in Oman. Recent archaeological evidence has thrown considerable doubts on this theory but it remains an intriguing thought." The Omani researcher and translator Mohammed Eid Alaraimi stressed in a study which was published in A'siraj Magazine in October 1992 that "whether Sur was Pheonician or not, it is certainly a reputed town and an important historical harbour. Its coast provides the needed protection from both winds and waves. Its long and peaceful bay is a secured resort for the sailors from the sea turbulence. In addition, its location at the mouth of Wadi Fulaij leading to the interior of Oman enabled her to become an important town through the years, precisely after the deterioration of her sister Qalhat in early 16th century."

The dhow "Fatah Al-Khyr" whose name means "triumph of the good" was given such a name due to the fact that it rained on the first day of her construction as well as the name signifies an optimistic expectations of her later commercial activities. It is of the ghanjah type, which is characterised with its small stem-head ornament that has a rounded projectioncarved with concentric circles. Surmounted by a trefoil crest, with an iron ring. This trefoil crest is the hallmark of the ghanjah." There is a great similarity between the baghlah (also a name of a ship) and the ghanjah. However, the ghanjah's design owe, more to the Indian Kutiya. Fatah Al-Khyr was built in Sur in 1951 under the supervision of an excellent and master carpenter Mohammed bin Khamis alshagage Alaraimi with the help of many skillful carpenters and was the first dhow to shift to a diesel engine in 1957. It was built in Alrashah (the name of the place in Sur) for the Suri captain Said bin Ali bin Khamis Walad Shailah Alqasimi.It is a large ship of around 220 tonnes and therefore its construction took one year.

According to Rabeei Ambar Alaraimi, a keen researcher of Sur maritime history, "once the ship construction is completed, the whole town will be invited to the event of celebrating the Takweer — a process of pulling the ship from the dry land to the sea as if she was a bride inaugurating her marriage life. This is a well planned event where invitations are extended a week earlier and when the D-day arrives the ship will be decorated and people will gather into two parallel rows and then embark on Alshawbaani — a sailors song performed by a group in a singing march beating traditional drums.

Once the ship is landed in the sea the participants carry on their march singing, heading towards the houses of the tribesmen of the owner of the ship where they will be rewarded with whatever available at that moment, in addition to the rewards bestowed on them by the owner of the ship. It is worth mentioning that people of both genders participate in this event." This dhow was destined to work in Sur for 24 years where she was among the Omani ambassadors who traded with countries such as the Gulf countries, Yemen, India, and East Africa. Among the nawkhudas (sea captains) who sailed Fatah Al-Khyr for many years in its voyages were Abdullah bin Rahid bin Said Muhana Alsinani and Said bin Mubarak al Attiqi Alfarsi.

After performing with her original owner for almost a quarter of a century this dhow was sold to Saif bin Said Aljarawani a merchant in Dubai to end up with a Yemeni merchant. Ever since that time she embarked on her agony and sense of alienation as a result of being away from her hometown. Even though she was executing her tasks efficiently and trying her best not to reveal her misery, when the night darkness shelter her surrounding, she aired out her grievances alone in the beach and promised herself to return to Sur one day, as if she was repeatedly singing the song of the renowned Lebanese Singer Fairouz "we will return home one day". She actually never gave up hope and her prayers were answered in 1993. In order to preserve this valuable heritage, the Suris raised the required amount to purchase this dhow — the only Ghanjah believed to be existing to date. The idea emanated back in 1993. As stated in the Observer publication, Oman people and Heritage "The story began in March 1993 during Eid al-Fitr when His Majesty Sultan Qaboos camped at Sur.

The town raised RO 150,000 to celebrate the occasion…. When His Majesty left RO 20,000 remained. The people met to decide what to do with the money. One of them said why do not we purchase the ghanjah from Yemen because there is now no vessel like it in Oman." Once the decision was made, the man entrusted to accomplish the mission was the retired sea captain Mohammed bin Hamad bin Najim al Ghailani, who spared no time and flew to Aden to initiate the negotiation of the deal and defied the expectation of his fellow Suris when he brought Fatah Al-Khyr to her cradle place. Since the sea is rough during the summer people thought that he would bring her to Salalah and stop there. The people of Sur were so delighted to see one of their pearls restored. They flooded towards the beach to stare at her with admiration and happiness. They were overwhelmed with her arrival to the same station where she was built, after a long separation and they could not help but reveal their joy.

Some of the Suri poets expressed their utmost happiness for her return through their poems. Among those who wrote poems welcoming this treasure were Nassir bin Ali Albilal and Mohammed bin Ali Bahwan. Staring at her Mohammed attempted to calm her down and assured her that she reached home safe and that she is among her loved ones. He could see her shocked since modernity had changed the characteristics of the place, and that she was seeing youngsters whom she was not familiar with. Therefore he tried to attract her attention with his poem which he titled The Returnee and said:

Oh returnee do not show the tears of sorrow
Your posture can tell more than your tears
Do not complain I feel your tears run in my blood
It is revealed as a result of agony through expression
Oh my darling do not ask who I might be
I am the grandson of those who acquired their fame as seafarers
I am the grandson of those who crossed the ocean in you.
Those whose determination never abates.

Once the dhow reached her original station people started thinking about how they could lift her up on to dry land without any damage so that they could start implementing the necessary maintenance. The Suris were keen that their pearl was lifted without any impairment because of the memory of her sister Atiyat al-Rahman's tragic end on Muttrah's beach in the late 1970s which marked the extinction of the second last ocean going ghanjah built in Sur more than 60 years back. While brainstorming their alternatives, the name of engineer Munir M Noor of PDO suddenly jumped to the mind of Shaikh Nassir bin Hamad Almukhaini because he recalled reading about a similar incident which Munir played a vital part.

Therefore he decided to probe him and he did. The officials at PDO rendered their help to this cause and instructed him to get ready for the rescue mission. In the PDO News Issue 4-94 and 1-95 Munir stated: "I was honoured and enthusiastic when they requested me to do this task. I was confident of my abilities…..Once I was given the green light from my superior Mr Said bin Yahya al Kindi, I went to Sur on a Thursday to see the ship prior to my acceptance to adhere to the required mission." Dr Mohammed R Bhacker in his essay (Sur and Sea: reflection in History) published in 1-96 PDO NEWS revealed that "Munir advised the people of Sur to support the giant dhow first by beams running under its keel, and then move it very slowly using the ancient method of rocking the boat gently from side to side using hydraulic jacks and quickly filling the sides with sand thus raising the boat.

Once above the water, rails were placed under the keel and the boat pushed to shore along the rails. This method, thought to have been used by the Pharoahs in Egypt to transport large stones for the building of the Pyramids, was successful in finally bringing the dhow onto the land without mishaps. The gratitude of the people of Sur for Munir's efforts is written on their faces and in the high regard they hold for Munir." The rescue mission of this valuable dhow was made possible through the support and financial assistance rendered by the people of Sur, and Shaikh Suhail bin Salim Bahwan, owner of Bahwan group of companies, and Galfar owner Shaikh Salem bin Said al Araimi and the inspiration of P Mohammed Ali, the managing director of Galfar and his team.

Fatah Al-Khyr is certainly an added value to the maritime heritage of Oman. It will be the centerpiece among the treasures currently available at the Maritime Museum in Sur. This museum was established in 1987 by the people of Sur and presently housed in Alaroubah Club. Such maritime heritage ought to be given importance and efficiently utilised to promote cultural tourism so that the deep-rooted Omani civilisation is exposed to both the people of Oman in the various regions as well as our guests who are either working or touring the country. This can enhance cultural understanding and create the right image about the place.

Therefore co-ordination ought to be made between the tourism department in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the heritage affairs in the Ministry of Heritage and Culture as well as the concerned faculty at the Sultan Qaboos University and any private sector initiative to preserve this side of our rich heritage. It is also worth mentioning that awarding those self motivated individuals who spare no time or efforts to research their heritage and go beyond the limits to preserve it is a matter of paramount importance. Today Fatah Al-Khyr remains the legend, which speaks loudly about Oman's maritime heritage and brings to mind similar stories such as that of Sultanah who sailed as an Omani ambassador to New York back in the 1830s and many many others.

One of Dr Mohammed R Bhacker's conclusions is that "There is no doubt that the ebb and flow of the tides still exert a powerful pull on the people of Sur, particularly those over the age of fifty most of whom were seafarers of one sort or another as young lads and who still hark back nostalgically to their past when the opportunity to reminisce arises. And here in their own backyard was the sole surviving ghanjah, built by their grandfathers some 70 years ago, back in their waterfront, hauled ashore on the sand as a memorial to their great sailing tradition which, some day is gone forever." But hopefully the upcoming museum which is waiting to be built near the site where Fatah Al-Khyr stands, through an appreciated gesture on the part of OLNG will help reduce their sense of alienation and prove that the modernisation process in Oman is not adhered to at the expense of the tradition. Rather there is a well balanced formula.

Oman Observer 27th July 2002