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Tigris ekspedīcija
Ievērojamais norvēģu ceļotājs un zinātnieks Tūrs Heijerdāls latviešu lasītājam pazīstams pēc vivņa grāmatām "Paradīzi meklējot", "Aku-Aku", "Ceļojums ar "Kon-Tiki"" un "Ra". 1977.-1978. gadā viņš kopā ar internacionālu apkalpi izdarīja jaunu zinātnisku eksperimentu, kuram sekoja visa pasaule, - meldru kuģī "Tigris" veic braucienu Kurna (Irākā) - Indas grīva - Džibuti, lai, starp citu, pierādītu, ka pa šiem maršrutiem varēja kuģot šumeri. Savā jaunajā grāmatā viņš stāsta par šī dramatiskā ceļojuma norisi.
367 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
15 people are currently reading
408 people want to read
About the author
Thor Heyerdahl
66 books314 followersThor Heyerdahl (October 6, 1914, Larvik, Norway – April 18, 2002, Colla Micheri, Italy) was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a scientific background in zoology and geography. Heyerdahl became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed 4,300 miles (8,000 km) by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands. All his legendary expeditions are shown in the Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo.
Thor Heyerdahl was born in Larvik, the son of master brewer Thor Heyerdahl and his wife Alison Lyng. As a young child, Thor Heyerdahl showed a strong interest in zoology. He created a small museum in his childhood home, with a Vipera berus as the main attraction. He studied Zoology and Geography at University of Oslo. At the same time, he privately studied Polynesian culture and history, consulting what was then the world's largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia, owned by Bjarne Kropelien, a wealthy wine merchant in Oslo. This collection was later purchased by the University of Oslo Library from Kropelien's heirs and was attached to the Kon-Tiki Museum research department. After seven terms and consultations with experts in Berlin, a project was developed and sponsored by his zoology professors, Kristine Bonnevie and Hjalmar Broch. He was to visit some isolated Pacific island groups and study how the local animals had found their way there. Just before sailing together to the Marquesas Islands in 1936, he married his first wife, Liv Coucheron-Torp (b. 1916), whom he had met shortly before enrolling at the University, and who had studied economics there. Though she is conspicuously absent from many of his papers and talks, Liv participated in nearly all of Thor's journeys, with the exception of the Kon-Tiki Expedition. The couple had two sons; Thor Jr and Bjørn. The marriage ended in divorce and in 1949 Thor Heyerdahl married Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen. They in turn had three daughters; Annette, Marian and Helene Elisabeth. This marriage also ended in divorce, in 1969. In 1991 Thor Heyerdahl married for the third time, to Jacqueline Beer (b. 1932).
Thor Heyerdahl's grandson, Olav Heyerdahl, retraced his grandfather's Kon-Tiki voyage in 2006, as part of a six-member crew. The voyage, called the Tangaroa Expedition, was intended as a tribute to Thor Heyerdahl, as well as a means to monitor the Pacific Ocean's environment. A film about the voyage is in preparation.
--from Wikipedia
Thor Heyerdahl was born in Larvik, the son of master brewer Thor Heyerdahl and his wife Alison Lyng. As a young child, Thor Heyerdahl showed a strong interest in zoology. He created a small museum in his childhood home, with a Vipera berus as the main attraction. He studied Zoology and Geography at University of Oslo. At the same time, he privately studied Polynesian culture and history, consulting what was then the world's largest private collection of books and papers on Polynesia, owned by Bjarne Kropelien, a wealthy wine merchant in Oslo. This collection was later purchased by the University of Oslo Library from Kropelien's heirs and was attached to the Kon-Tiki Museum research department. After seven terms and consultations with experts in Berlin, a project was developed and sponsored by his zoology professors, Kristine Bonnevie and Hjalmar Broch. He was to visit some isolated Pacific island groups and study how the local animals had found their way there. Just before sailing together to the Marquesas Islands in 1936, he married his first wife, Liv Coucheron-Torp (b. 1916), whom he had met shortly before enrolling at the University, and who had studied economics there. Though she is conspicuously absent from many of his papers and talks, Liv participated in nearly all of Thor's journeys, with the exception of the Kon-Tiki Expedition. The couple had two sons; Thor Jr and Bjørn. The marriage ended in divorce and in 1949 Thor Heyerdahl married Yvonne Dedekam-Simonsen. They in turn had three daughters; Annette, Marian and Helene Elisabeth. This marriage also ended in divorce, in 1969. In 1991 Thor Heyerdahl married for the third time, to Jacqueline Beer (b. 1932).
Thor Heyerdahl's grandson, Olav Heyerdahl, retraced his grandfather's Kon-Tiki voyage in 2006, as part of a six-member crew. The voyage, called the Tangaroa Expedition, was intended as a tribute to Thor Heyerdahl, as well as a means to monitor the Pacific Ocean's environment. A film about the voyage is in preparation.
--from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 11, 2015
If you like the Old Testament, you will like this book, but if you liked "Paddle to the Amazon, you will love "Kon Tiki.: I gave the latter two five stars, and the first two 2 stars.
I expected annother adventure like Kon Tiki instead he talked alot about history and some culture, and this goes on for most of the book. I did enjoy reading about his making the reed boat, but after they set sail I lost much interest and only read it in hopes that I would soon be reading another sea adventure. And some things were; most wasn't for me. The book spend a lot of time trying to get from the area of the Tigris River to the open seas of the Mediterranean I thought that I would never finish the book. It was in the next to the last chapter when they were finally in open waters that their sea adventure had begun, at least to me because wten they were having close encounters with sharks, saw whale and dolpins, and their night view qas discribed beautifuly. I wanted to be there to see this, just as I would love to see the Northern Lighs:
"At night the sea was phosphorescent with microscopic organisms that gave a faint glow to anything touching them, fish or reeds, which some less numerous, bigger plankton twinkled as vidual sparks. Sea and sky could sometimes be confused."
I expected annother adventure like Kon Tiki instead he talked alot about history and some culture, and this goes on for most of the book. I did enjoy reading about his making the reed boat, but after they set sail I lost much interest and only read it in hopes that I would soon be reading another sea adventure. And some things were; most wasn't for me. The book spend a lot of time trying to get from the area of the Tigris River to the open seas of the Mediterranean I thought that I would never finish the book. It was in the next to the last chapter when they were finally in open waters that their sea adventure had begun, at least to me because wten they were having close encounters with sharks, saw whale and dolpins, and their night view qas discribed beautifuly. I wanted to be there to see this, just as I would love to see the Northern Lighs:
"At night the sea was phosphorescent with microscopic organisms that gave a faint glow to anything touching them, fish or reeds, which some less numerous, bigger plankton twinkled as vidual sparks. Sea and sky could sometimes be confused."
June 20, 2011
We tend to forget that ancient civilizations flourished, had some amazing technological prowess and traveled and traded widely. Heyerdahl's Tigris Expedition not only shows that it was possible but takes the reader to some of the key sites of international trade thousands of years ago. Reed vessels were a common form of ocean travel (see Isaiah 18:1,2 - "Ah, land of whirring wings that is beyond the rivers of Cush, which sends ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of papyrus on the waters!"). Full of remarkable facts and some fascinating photos - such as a copper mine in Bahrain where an entire mountain was removed. How did the Indus Valley and Mesopotamian civilizations suddenly flourish? What were their origins? Are there connections between the Mesopotamians and the Olmecs of South America? The questions are tantalizing but the answers are elusive. In the end there is only speculation - but it is very thought-provoking nonetheless.
March 30, 2012
3.5 stars:
Like The Kon-Tiki, this book has Heyerdahl seeking to prove his theory correct by gathering a team to build a ship and do it themselves. In the case of Kon-Tiki, they attempted to sail from Peru to Fiji on a balsa wood raft. For Tigris, his team built a ship of reeds and tried sailing from the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers out to the Indian Ocean, heading west to Ethiopia. I won't spoil the book by telling you whether or not they succeeded, but I will say that this had more adventure than Kon-Tiki, with a similar abundance of interesting sea life.
Heyerdahl's theories are "officially" outdated, yet the proof provided isn't conclusive in my mind. Even if you don't buy his theories, these are good books that made me think. Tigris in particular really made me aware of a civilization I'd only vaguely heard of, and peaked my interest for more.
Like The Kon-Tiki, this book has Heyerdahl seeking to prove his theory correct by gathering a team to build a ship and do it themselves. In the case of Kon-Tiki, they attempted to sail from Peru to Fiji on a balsa wood raft. For Tigris, his team built a ship of reeds and tried sailing from the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers out to the Indian Ocean, heading west to Ethiopia. I won't spoil the book by telling you whether or not they succeeded, but I will say that this had more adventure than Kon-Tiki, with a similar abundance of interesting sea life.
Heyerdahl's theories are "officially" outdated, yet the proof provided isn't conclusive in my mind. Even if you don't buy his theories, these are good books that made me think. Tigris in particular really made me aware of a civilization I'd only vaguely heard of, and peaked my interest for more.
January 22, 2014
Recommend to all who are interested in ancient civilizations (sumerian, ind valley, egyptian) and traveling.
October 15, 2009
Heyerdahl is ambitious, I'll grant him that. His naivete can be refreshing, but more often it's frustrating. He expects cultures to remain essentially stagnant, and he is surprised that motorized boats have displaced reed sailboats. Oh the horror! He even seems somewhat shocked that the people he encounters have so willingly given up the "traditional" way of life in favor of modernity and progress.
He's somewhat paternalistic in how he views non-European cultures, and takes for granted that, obviously, everybody he meets would do whatever they could to assist the eccentric European. He even adopts this attitude toward one of his crew members. He is fascinated by the history of early civilizations and has developed some interesting - if misguided - theories. The Tigris Expedition, like Kon-Tiki, is his attempt to prove his theories about the movements of ancient peoples by boat. His logic, however, is off. His methodology is: 1. Ancient people used watercraft to sail about a given body of water. 2. Science and history have cast doubt on their abilities to do this, but have not provided overwhelming evidence either way. 3. He builds a boat. 4. He sails said boat, proving it can go from Point A to Point B withouth being destroyed. (Any assistance received along the way from modern watercraft is incidental and ultimately irrelevant.) 5. Because he succeeded in his goal, obviously that means his theory about the movements of people is correct. Because he was able to do it, they did it, too. No corrborating evidence needed.
All that being said, I enjoyed reading the book. He doesn't try to hide anything and he takes great joy in being an adventurer. He also has a lame sense of humor, but that's okay.
He's somewhat paternalistic in how he views non-European cultures, and takes for granted that, obviously, everybody he meets would do whatever they could to assist the eccentric European. He even adopts this attitude toward one of his crew members. He is fascinated by the history of early civilizations and has developed some interesting - if misguided - theories. The Tigris Expedition, like Kon-Tiki, is his attempt to prove his theories about the movements of ancient peoples by boat. His logic, however, is off. His methodology is: 1. Ancient people used watercraft to sail about a given body of water. 2. Science and history have cast doubt on their abilities to do this, but have not provided overwhelming evidence either way. 3. He builds a boat. 4. He sails said boat, proving it can go from Point A to Point B withouth being destroyed. (Any assistance received along the way from modern watercraft is incidental and ultimately irrelevant.) 5. Because he succeeded in his goal, obviously that means his theory about the movements of people is correct. Because he was able to do it, they did it, too. No corrborating evidence needed.
All that being said, I enjoyed reading the book. He doesn't try to hide anything and he takes great joy in being an adventurer. He also has a lame sense of humor, but that's okay.
February 2, 2009
If you liked Kon Tiki, you will like this. If you didn't like Kon Tiki, you didn't read it. This is a great hrdcover version with lots of great color pictures. Thjor Heyerdahl comes through as a bit of a 70's pc Euroweiner though.
April 12, 2011
Great adventure about the sea travel with a boat made of reed... One of the great stories of Thor Heyerdahl! Let the wonderful noise of the sea always sounds in his ears! (a greeting of my water dragons' hunters).
November 20, 2013
Very Epic.
October 30, 2017
True to form, this mad group set out to do something truly silly and prove the brilliance of early man. The book blends history and adventure well and is worth a read.
October 11, 2023
All of the things I said about The Ra Expeditions also apply here. Although this is happening in the late 1970s, so the racism is both a bit less, but also even less comfortable, if that's possible.
Interestingly, I didn't find this as historically problematic as Kon-Tiki or Ra. I think that's mostly because he's only sailing around places where there is actual archaeological evidence for contact - Mesopotamian stuff found in the Indus Valley, and vice versa - so there clearly was contact, although at how many degrees of separation is unclear from just those remnants. Although I did have to stop and laugh when Heyerdahl earnestly suggests that just because there's a similarity between how a place name is said today, and how we think a word was said in a language nobody now speaks - well, that's evidence that they might be the same place!
For real.
ANYWAY. I don't need quite such an expurgated version of this book as with the other two, because the ideas and the language aren't quite as offensive. And as with the other two, this is genuinely a fascinating adventure story. Getting the built made - of reeds, in Iraq - is another amazing story of ingenuity and the problems of materials etc in an area that really didn't have 'modern' resources at the time. Was importing South American boatbuilders the most authentic way of doing it? Probably not. Anyway, then you've got eleven men on this little boat navigating the Arabian Gulf Persian Gulf Sumerian Gulf (there's a whole thing about which name is appropriate), which is filled with enormous boats and isn't all that easily navigable... and they go to Oman, and Bahrain, and Pakistan, and then back west - honestly it's an amazing journey, with a lot of quite serious problems that they do manage to overcome. Heyerdahl is open about some of the friction experienced between the men - he has to be, given there's someone with a camera filming them for much of the voyage - as well as their frustrations about what's going on on land.
Would I recommend this wholeheartedly? No. Would I recommend it with reservations? Sure. Only to an historically literate reader, who's in a place to deal with fairly stereotypical 1970s attitudes. It's probably the best of the three in terms of not being problematic.
Interestingly, I didn't find this as historically problematic as Kon-Tiki or Ra. I think that's mostly because he's only sailing around places where there is actual archaeological evidence for contact - Mesopotamian stuff found in the Indus Valley, and vice versa - so there clearly was contact, although at how many degrees of separation is unclear from just those remnants. Although I did have to stop and laugh when Heyerdahl earnestly suggests that just because there's a similarity between how a place name is said today, and how we think a word was said in a language nobody now speaks - well, that's evidence that they might be the same place!
For real.
ANYWAY. I don't need quite such an expurgated version of this book as with the other two, because the ideas and the language aren't quite as offensive. And as with the other two, this is genuinely a fascinating adventure story. Getting the built made - of reeds, in Iraq - is another amazing story of ingenuity and the problems of materials etc in an area that really didn't have 'modern' resources at the time. Was importing South American boatbuilders the most authentic way of doing it? Probably not. Anyway, then you've got eleven men on this little boat navigating the Arabian Gulf Persian Gulf Sumerian Gulf (there's a whole thing about which name is appropriate), which is filled with enormous boats and isn't all that easily navigable... and they go to Oman, and Bahrain, and Pakistan, and then back west - honestly it's an amazing journey, with a lot of quite serious problems that they do manage to overcome. Heyerdahl is open about some of the friction experienced between the men - he has to be, given there's someone with a camera filming them for much of the voyage - as well as their frustrations about what's going on on land.
Would I recommend this wholeheartedly? No. Would I recommend it with reservations? Sure. Only to an historically literate reader, who's in a place to deal with fairly stereotypical 1970s attitudes. It's probably the best of the three in terms of not being problematic.
April 25, 2020
De nuevo Thor Heyerdahl consigue patrocinio para probar la resistencia de la embarcación de juncos en forma de media luna, en la conjunción de los ríos mesopotámicos Éufrates y Tigris. Este fue el punto de salida para llegar a antiguas ciudades como Dilmun (Bahrein), Harappa y Mohenjo Daro en el Valle del Indo, solo por mencionar algunas. Este viaje fue hecho con poca planeación y poco conocimiento del atraso de Iraq. Tampoco tenían idea de que los viajes en el río dependen de la marea, y mucho menos del gran movimiento marítimo y portuario por causa del petróleo. Entre pérdidas de anclas y posibles encallamientos, Thor va contando la historia de Sumer.
September 8, 2024
... Aabrahamist algab nii muhameedlaste kui ka heebrealaste ajalugu.
Teadlaste arvates oli Aabraham ajalooline isik, kes elas Mesopotaamias umbes 800 aastat enne Kristust.
Vana Testamendi järgi sündis Aabraham Ur’i linnas ning lahkus sealt, et koos isa hõimudega põhja poole rännata.
... Tänu Eufratile sai Ur’ist sajanditeks Mesopotaamia kõige tähtsam sadamalinn.
Aabraham kohtas seal kaugetelt maadelt saabunud võõrapäraseid kaupmehi ja imetles nende laevu.
Võimsa templi varjus istusid vanad kirjatargad, kes jagasid uutele põlvkondadele nii teadmisi minevikust kui soovitusi tuleviku jaoks.
Suust suhu edasi liikudes jõudsid iidesed pärimused Vana Testamendi kaante vahele. ...
Teadlaste arvates oli Aabraham ajalooline isik, kes elas Mesopotaamias umbes 800 aastat enne Kristust.
Vana Testamendi järgi sündis Aabraham Ur’i linnas ning lahkus sealt, et koos isa hõimudega põhja poole rännata.
... Tänu Eufratile sai Ur’ist sajanditeks Mesopotaamia kõige tähtsam sadamalinn.
Aabraham kohtas seal kaugetelt maadelt saabunud võõrapäraseid kaupmehi ja imetles nende laevu.
Võimsa templi varjus istusid vanad kirjatargad, kes jagasid uutele põlvkondadele nii teadmisi minevikust kui soovitusi tuleviku jaoks.
Suust suhu edasi liikudes jõudsid iidesed pärimused Vana Testamendi kaante vahele. ...
August 18, 2020
What an adventure! The energy and bravery of this expedition!
I thought it was fantastic to try to reenact the ancient trade routes, and I think Heyerdahl makes us think about the ancient empires, just 5000 years ago. People so alike us, and with some things still used after thousands of years.
And how long the reed ship lasted. That was a surprise and very interesting.
I thought it was fantastic to try to reenact the ancient trade routes, and I think Heyerdahl makes us think about the ancient empires, just 5000 years ago. People so alike us, and with some things still used after thousands of years.
And how long the reed ship lasted. That was a surprise and very interesting.
May 3, 2024
Heyerdahl was a great adventurer. His many books describe his travels in an exciting and riveting style. He lived a life of adventure and discovery and I love the way he wrote about what he did. The Tigris Expedition is one of his best. Books like this made me want to follow in Thor’s footsteps.
May 15, 2019
By the Kon-Tiki guy.
November 7, 2019
Немного нудноватое и не такое "дикое" путешествие чем Ра и КонТики.
Увы закончившееся на негативной ноте
Увы закончившееся на негативной ноте
December 26, 2019
Üks suurepärasemaid reisirasmatuid.
July 19, 2020
A very interesting read, history, adventure and different cultures. Thor’s writing is very engaging. His research into the many aspects of early cultures is fascinating.
June 22, 2021
Lots more politics and anthropology and lots less adventure times on a boat than the other two -- but it's still a fascinating and real follow up to Kon-Tiki and Ra.
September 4, 2022
Another fantastic Thor Heyerdahl book, combining adventure, ancient history and current(well, 1978) geopolitics. A fascinating insight not just into Indus Valley, Sumerians and Mesopotamia but Iraq, Bahrain, Djibouti, Pakistan in the 70s
September 6, 2012
I really enjoy Heyerdahl. I always learn so much, and his writing really makes me think.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews