The Tigris Expedition is truly a voyage into antiquity. For five months, famed researcher, sailor, and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl and a multinational crew that included among others—a Russian, an American, a Japanese, and an Iraqui traced the trade routes of civilizations that flourished a thousand years before the birth of Christ, aboard a reed ship built after a pattern that was more than three millennia old.
The Tigris was built on the very spot where, according to Arab tradition, the Garden of Eden once stood, and it started down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers toward the legendary Land of Noah. From there, the sturdy sixty-foot vessel sailed down the Persian Gulf to Bahrain and Oman, where ancient quarries and the remains of Sumerian-style ziggurats tell a tale of merchants, mariners, and copper miners in long-lost Makan. Crossing the Arabian Sea to Pakistan, the Tigris then visited what may have been the site of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and set off across the Indian Ocean for the African coast, where the epic voyage ended, barred by modern conflicts from the Land of Punt, now Somaliland, and the Red Sea, ancient Egypt's maritime road to the gold and treasures of Africa.
More than just a scholarly mile- stone that linked three cultures previously believed independent and isolated, The Tigris Expedition was an adventure that included raging storms, pirates, near-collision with supertankers that dwarfed the little vessel, and much more. Sharks, whales, flying fish, and sea turtles were among the Tigris's fellow travelers as she and her crew demonstrated how the seeds of culture and civilization spread across the globe, carried by sailors who navigated their tough reed boats with a knowledge and accuracy that experts had hitherto believed impossible. Nearly 100 splen- did color photographs accompany Heyerdahl's fascinating text, the log of a 4,200-mile journey to the dawn of civilization. Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian, first attracted the world's attention when he organized and led the celebrated Kon-Tiki expedition. His account of this adventure became a best-seller in 64 languages. Since then, more voyages, recounted in Aku-Aku, Fatu-Hiva, and The Ra Expeditions, and his scholarly efforts, which include Early Man and the Ocean and The Art of Easter Island, have assured his reputation as a distinguished internationalist. Dr. Heyerdahl lives in Laigueglia, Italy.
—from the dust jacket
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