أبناء السندباد

by Alan Villiers, ألن فلييرز, نايف خرما (ترجمة)

قصة الابحار مع العرب في مراكبهم الشراعية فى البحر الاحمر، و حول ساحل الجزيرة العربية، الى زنجبار و تنجانيقا، و قصة الغوص على اللؤلؤ في الخليج .

يحكي الكتاب قصة الرحالة الأسترالي ألن فلييرز مع رحلة تجارية بحرية أنطلقة من الكويت

Genres: History, Travel, Nonfiction, Middle East, Africa, Adventure

638 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Mr. Alan Villiers was an Australian who had won considerable fame for himself as a result of his voyages in sailing-ships. Mr. Villiers preferred the excitement and the danger of small sailing-ships to the comfort and the safety of the modern ship.

Reviews

[Talal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a unique, entertaining, and historically significant book. Villiers, a professional sailor and prolific writer, seeks to provide an account of the last remaining regions in which sailing ships still dominate the seas. In the late 1930s, the most significant of these areas is the Indian Ocean, where the ancient dhow trade still continues despite the competition of steamships and the restrictions introduced by Western colonialism.

Villiers' mission takes him aboard a Kuwaiti dhow sailing from Aden to Zanzibar, and then back to Kuwait. He passes through numerous East African and Arabian ports including Mogadishu, Mombasa, Mukalla, Muscat, and Manama, providing detailed accounts of these places and their cosmopolitan visitors and inhabitants. What emerges is a vivid portrait of the rich hybrid culture of the Indian Ocean world. The author manages to convey a great deal of information in a witty, engaging style, thus appealing to academics and casual readers alike. He also avoids the imperious tone found in other contemporary Western accounts of Arabia and the Arabs.

Read this book if you have any interest in the history of the Gulf. Maritime trade was the lifeblood of this region, yet there is relatively little written on this subject, and certainly nothing as enjoyable as Villier's account.

[Bob Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...and all I ask is a tall ship..."

By 1939, Alan Villiers, an Australian, had already sailed in most kinds of sail-powered ships still at sea. He wondered how it would be to sail with the fabled Arab navigators who still ran dhows and other types of traditional craft from Arabia's rocky shores to India and down the East African coast. Being a man of action, he (by some means not quite clearly described) managed to become a passenger on board two trading vessels. The first took him on a short cruise up the eastern coast of the Red Sea. The second, the description of which takes up most of the book, sailed along the coast of what is now Yemen, then doubled back, crossed to Somalia (then under Italian rule), and slowly moved down the coast to Kenya, Zanzibar and the Rufiji River delta in Tanganyika. The return voyage took Villiers all the way along the coast of Oman, past the Trucial States and Bahrain, to Kuwait, home port of the captain and sailors. I don't know if any Arab sailing vessels still ply those waters, but I suspect the combination of motors and oil wealth in most of the region has put a stop to such ship voyages. So, SONS OF SINBAD is one of the few records we have from "inside".....a Westerner living on board an Arab ship in extremely difficult conditions, suffering the horrible climate and living conditions in a huge mangrove swamp, while not speaking very fluent Arabic. He liked everything and describes his experiences with genuine delight, while not making light of the hardships, the worst of which (on the voyage outbound) was the presence of a huge number of passengers who covered the deck. There are many interesting tales within the story. We realize that the Arab sailors of the 1930s, no longer had the skills and knowledge of the ancient mariners that crossed oceans. Villiers' companions always hugged the coast. Villiers also accompanied a pearl merchant as he sailed out to the pearl banks of the Persian Gulf to buy his merchandise directly from the captains of the boats. You may contrast the hard life of the indentured divers with the lives of their grandchildren who live in the oil-rich kingdoms of Kuwait, Bahrain, and the Emirates, not to mention Saudi Arabia.

Villers was nothing if not an experienced sailor. He seems to have written this fascinating adventure mainly for other sailors. Unless you have a good knowledge of nautical lingo such sentences as "Her few ancient blocks were battered deadeyes." may stymie you. You should be ready to understand pintles, quarter dants, in catspaws, spanker, the bole of the mizzenmast, unwieldy parrals, grapnel, and a host more words which, I admit, do not trip off my tongue so easily. That said, if you like true adventure tales, this is for you.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1939 Alan Villiers, an experience tall rig sea captain took sail on an Arab Dhow vessel. He sailed with them down and up the Arabian and African coast for several months. It was a once in a life time experience not to be forgotten. He tells what he saw and how it happened with honesty and as best as he could clarity. He came away very impressed with the captains and crews of these hand crafted vessels.
Not a book for everyone for sure but an eye opener without a doubt. I took the book in spatz (read and put down, read and put down) for the voyage is long and described in great detail. You are exposed to these sailors lives and experiences almost first hand. It is the kind of book that makes a storyteller want to tell his story. I loved it.

[Aarti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands down my favorite book of ALL TIME. I think what makes this book even more precious is the fact that it is one of the only books ever written on the subject of Arab maritime life. Alan Villiers arrives just in time to document deep water dhow sailing, right as it is on the verge of extinction. He had actually planned a longer trip, but it was cut short by World War II. After the war was over, the old ways had disappeared. I haven't read any of Alan Villier's other books (they are so hard to find!) but I mean to as soon as I can. He is not only an excellent observer of the technical aspects of ships and sailing, but a vivid descriptor of places and people. The men he sails with come alive in our imaginations and the food, dress, and custom of the places he visits are all painted in luscious detail. Best of all, unlike several Western authors of the time who wrote of foreign places, it is clear Villiers has the utmost respect and admiration for the people he writes about, he is down for anything they throw at him. This is my favorite book for lazy, sunny afternoons spent dreaming of the warm waters and blue skies of the Arabian sea.

[C Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahoy

another books as ships
taking you to another time and place

Villiers spend one season
living with the men who sailed and worked
some of last working sailing craft

it's not just a sailing book
its also a very good
window in to how some people lived
in the pre war middle east

in all ways shapes and forms
i very much loved this book

have read it three times in the last 30 years
and it still more than holds it own

helm down hard a lee

mac

[Gypsy Copeland]

One of my favorite books. I have read it 3 or 4 times. I have been checking it out from my Library stacks. They now can't find it. I am looking for a copy. The entire history of the Middle East trade routes are fascinating to me. Don't know why, I am a woman, American, and never sailed. Go figure.

[Abdullatif Alomar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book many times over both English and Arabic translation of it
I must say it was an enjoyable read and an interesting window of the life of sailors at the end of dhows era

[Robert Zoltan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. One of my favorite books of all time. An real life adventure you will wish never ended.

[Samar Al otaibi · Rating 5 out of 5]

الكتاب اكثر من رائع يجب ان يدرس بدل مناهجنا المكرره الفاشلة

[Mr Shahabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's basically about a snobby British dude bitching about the methods and way of life of old kuwait

At slot of times, it's funny. But it gets exhausting *the bitching that is*

[Faisal Jamal · Rating 3 out of 5]

عن رحلة مركب كويتي من شرق افريقيا وحتى وصوله الى الكويت، لا يخلو من نظرة استشراقية متوقعه من الكاتب

[Khaled Abdel dayem · Rating 5 out of 5]

روايه لابناء الخليج العربي ورحلاتهم في شواطي افريقيا

[Fahad M · Rating 4 out of 5]

الكتاب عبارة عن يوميات للبحار الأسترالي على متن سفينة شراعية كويتية انطلقة من الكويت الى أفريقيا مرورا بعمان و اليمن. الكتاب ممتع بشرحة

[Allan]

Exceptional. Great description of a vanished way , poetic and realistic too, with insights into the life of these sailors of 1938. You will feel like you have experienced 1938 Arabia/Africa and its peoples, for better and for worse. The beautiful and hard life of these people, pre-oil, is vividly illustrated.