About the history of seafaring in Iran

The history of seafaring in Iran and using handmade ships for seafaring in the Persian Gulf goes back to several thousand years ago. Since the time Iranians started living by the sea, they found attraction towards it. Soon, they started building various vessels, and traveled in the sea. Shortly after, they found many ways for sea voyages! During these voyages, many trade routes were established between the ports of the Persian Gulf in the north and south, the Indian subcontinent, and numerous ports in the African continent. During centuries of seafaring, Iranians used wooden ships in the old ports of the Persian Gulf, especially for sea trading in different routes.

In these routes, there have been various types of sailing ships that today we call them "Lenj boats". Experts and historians have estimated the different types of Lenj boats used in the past to be more than 20 types. However, passing through the Persian Gulf to the Indian subcontinent or Africa, due to the passage of the ocean, required special Lenj boat for the sailors to safely travel this long and difficult route. Iranian sailors used a device called "Boom" for this purpose. The invention of Boom cannot be attributed to Iranians; but it's use has been widespread in the ports of Iran and Kuwait since the past.

The most well-known place for building a Boom is the "Malabar" region in the southwest of the Indian subcontinent. The Boom made in this area has been in great demand among Iranian and Kuwaiti sailors since a long time ago. This characteristic of Indian Booms has continued to this day, and Indian Booms are still well-known and popular among the experienced sailors of the southern ports of Iran.

About "Gap" voyage

The journey that Iranian sailors took from Iran to India and Africa with a Boom Lenj boat is called "Gap" because of it's long and far distance. As far as research shows, the residents of Kong port were the most skilled and well-known Iranian sailors in this journey in the past few centuries.

Iranian sailors carried products such as Iranian carpets, pistachios, dried fruits and dates from Basra and Abadan with theirselves and went to India from the northern edge of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of ​​Oman; or if their destination was East Africa, they first went to Oman and Yemen and then to Africa. The sailors who went to India loaded products such as teak wood, Indian spices and textiles in the ports of the subcontinent, and those who went to Africa brought products such as Sandal wood with them. Gap voyage has been a well-known sea route for the residents of southern Iran; and experienced sailors and old traders always used to commute on this route. A route that is several thousand years old and connects Iran and the Middle East to the coasts of India and Africa by sea; and of course, the continuation of this connection and passing through the ocean waves was only possible by Boom.