On The Water Again

On The Water Again

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Memories of the Tigris Flotilla expedition in its 10th anniversary year

Memories of the Tigris Flotilla expedition in its 10th anniversary year

Stage 1: 15 km from Hasankeyf and then from Feyshkhabour on the Syrian-Iraqi border to the Mosul reservoir lake, September 13-25, 2013. The Tigris Flotilla gathered in the ancient town of Hasankeyf, known as a trade hub between east, west, south and north since ancient times, now flooded by the

The Jendoul: toward the creation of an iconic Islamic Gondola

The Jendoul: toward the creation of an iconic Islamic Gondola

Our explorations of Iraq’s watercraft heritage began with the rural and the most ancient types of boats: those which could conceivably have formed part of a Mesopotamian Ark, such as the Guffa coracle, the Shasha reed bundle boat, and the Isbiya or Kaiya, a frame-built barge made from sticks

From Recording to Revitalising

From Recording to Revitalising

In 2020-21, the aims of our work began to shift. Until then, the main goal had been to discover what remained of Iraq’s inland boatbuilding and related craft heritage, and to record it (through photography, video, oral histories, and technical drawing among other methods), documenting the disappearing knowledge held

Ark-Raising: the art of pulling together

Ark-Raising: the art of pulling together

In 2017-18, after the founding of Safina Projects CIC, the Ark Re-imagined project grew in scope and became ‘An Ark for Iraq’. No longer just a one-man expedition, but a collaborative art and heritage project involving whole communities. Energised by his experience of restoring the disappearing craft of Guffa coracle-making

Expeditionary art and the search for home

Expeditionary art and the search for home

“Home was the centre of the world because it was the place where a vertical line crossed with a horizontal one. The vertical line was a path leading upwards to the sky and downwards to the underworld. The horizontal line represented the traffic of the world, all the possible roads

“Connecting is essentially what boats do”

“Connecting is essentially what boats do”

Our work grew from Rashad Salim’s art project, the Ark Re-imagined, and its core question: “What would the Ark of the Flood look like if it was based on Mesopotamian cultural heritage?” Rashad returned to Iraq in 2013 on a boat expedition down the Tigris from Turkey to Iraq’

An expedition into the past – to prepare for the future

An expedition into the past – to prepare for the future

It’s been 5 years since we founded Safina Projects and got started on the journey of building an Ark for Iraq. In the next 5 posts, we’ll look back at the stages of that journey – and invite you to join us for the next phase. We’re proud