Boat building

Dhows were the primary means of communication between the coastal communities spread across the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean as they helped to further openness between cultures and interaction between civilizations. Known to people of the Arabian Gulf as mahml, from the Arabic root hamal meaning ‘bearer’, the foreign word dhow now commonly refers to the wooden sailing ship powered by quadrilateral settee and triangular lateen sails that was the product of the wider Indian Ocean environment, culture and economy. The Gulf dhows have been used throughout history until the mid-20^th century. As recorded in Arabic illuminated manuscripts of the 13^th century or in writings of Arab travelers such as Ibn Battuta and Bin Majid in the 14^th and 15^th centuries, dhows evolved as seagoing shops over time. Dubai builders constructed their vessels from planks, in various sizes and shapes depending on the purpose of use. Some were used for fishing, others for pearling, especially in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, and some were used in maritime trade.