Dhow

A dhow in the Indian Ocean, near the islands of Zanzibar on the Swahili coast
Fishermen's dhows moored at Dubai in 2014

Dhow (/d/; Arabic: داو, romanizeddāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region.[1][2] Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels primarily used to carry heavy items, such as fruit, fresh water, or other heavy merchandise, along the coasts of Eastern Arabia,[3] Iran, East Africa, Yemen and coastal South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh). Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty and smaller ones typically around twelve.

  1. ^ Briggs, Philip. "Dhows of the Swahili coast". Zanzibar Travel Guide. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  2. ^ "The History & construction of the dhow". Nabataea. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
  3. ^ Bowen, Richard Lebaron (1949). "Arab Dhows of Eastern Arabia".