Pre-Egytian reed boat ABORA 2 crosses the Mediterranean Sea - On footsteps of the famous navigator Thor Heyerdahl

Dominique Görlitz
Germany

Summary: 
The reed boat expedition Abora 2 is a mutual German-Norwegian experiment to sail a prehistoric reed boat on a voyage across the East Mediterranean Sea. The main aim of this project is to prove if prehistoric reed boats were able to sail across and even against the wind, to follow a fixed expedition route.

The expedition more than fulfilled the expectations and proved that the prehistoric Egyptians were fully capable of sailing to other parts of the ancient world to carry out trade and cultural exchange. The Abora 2 was totally stable and seaworthy, and clearly designed for ocean voyages because of its maritime architecture as preserved in the rock drawings found in Upper Egypt.

The crew of Abora 2 came mainly from Germany and Norway, although one crew member was from Bolivia and two others came from Egypt and Morroco to support it. They sailed together 1164 nautical miles across the Mediterranean just as the prehistoric civilizations had done.