Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is Anything to do with boats. All the photos in this photo essay are from my travels near and far.

26th Century BCE – 1st century BCE: Ancient Egypt

This relief at the Temple of Horus (built 237 BCE-57 BCE) in Edfu shows two boats, depicting the pharaoh’s journey to the afterlife. In the middle of the photo, at the center of the boat is the sarcophagus of the pharaoh. You can also see oarsmen in both boats. These likely bear some resemblance to the royal boats powered by oarsmen used during the ancient Egyptian times.

In Giza, alongside the famous pyramids and Sphinx, is the Solar Barque Museum, which contains a replica of a ship buried next to the tomb of King Khufu (whose tomb was in the largest of the pyramids). King Khufu was the 2nd ruler of the 4th Dynasty, 26th century BCE.

Modern Egypt: Today the Nile teems with cruise ships alongside fellucas (open air sailing boats with no cabins), fishing vessels and freighters.

A dahabeya (2-sail vessel, usually containing cabins), a fishing boat and a cruise ship on the Nile near Edfu.

1st Century CE: Palestine/Israel

Many of the ancient Hebrews, who settled along the Jordan River and the banks of the Sea of Galilee in what is modern day Israel and Palestine, were fishermen, including some of Jesus’ disciples, mostly notably Peter. On the Sea of Galilee today, at the Yigal Allon Museum, a 1st century boat is on display, believed to be the same type of boat used by Jesus and his disciples. It was discovered in 1986 and is believed to be about 2,000 years old.  The chart shows the 12 types of wood that the boat was made of.

Modern Israel: This is one of the vessels used today to take pilgrims across the Sea of Galilee. We sang hymns, watched a demonstration of casting a fishing net, and watched the flocks of gulls who followed our boat.

Middle Ages: Norman Conquest, 1066 CE

The Norman Conquest of England began in 1066 when William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) invaded the Kingdom of England, which led to the Battle of Hastings and the Norman control of England. The entire story is told on an ancient tapestry, woven by 11th century weavers, and is now housed in Bayeux, Normandy France. This replica of a piece of the original tapestry (which we were not allowed to photograph) depict a stylized version of the boats used at that time.

17th-19th Centuries CE: A failed ship, flat boats, and art

In Stockholm, Sweden, 1628, a ship became famous because it sank, 23 minutes after its maiden voyage! The Vasa was not pulled out of the canal until the 1950s, when the technology to do this had been developed, then it was reconstructed and the museum housing it opened in the 1990s. Why? Because it was top heavy! The photos above were taken at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, where the actual boat is on display (photo far right). The other photos are decorative mastheads and other items on the outside of the ship.

Sailing ship models

19th Century Flatboats:

  • a typical flatboat (full-sized)
  • Typical emigrants’ flatboat, ca 1830
  • This keelboat was a somewhat more complex design.
In 1818, my great-great-great grandfather, his wife and their five children (and one on the way) emigrated from England to the U.S. The journey was long and occasionally difficult, but they persevered. In those days, it was common for people to build flatboats to sail down the Ohio River and others. When arriving at one’s destination, the boat would be dismantled and the wood repurposed. These images of flatboats, taken at the Cincinnati History Museum, may be similar to the one my ancestors used (in FEBRUARY!!)

1880s-Early 1900s: Impressionist Art

  • Claude Monet, “En norvegienne,” 1887, Musee d’Orsay
  • Camille Pissarro, “The Seine & the Louvre,” 1903, Musee d’Orsay, Paris

Native American Canoes: (L) in Maine (Oceanarium, Acadia); (R) in Alaska – this tribe still makes its canoes the traditional way.

  • They steamed the wood until it was malleable, then pulled the sides farther apart to insert the slats and making for a more comfortable ride.

1904-1914: The Panama Canal was completed in 1914, and received updates in the late 20th century to accommodate larger cruise ships and ocean freighters. These are some of the ships we saw passing through the canal.

  • A cruise ship and a freighter
  • A large freighter
  • Loading a container ship

20th Century: Steamships

  • This diagram shows all the rooms on the Titanic
Photos all taken at Halifax Maritime Museum

2019: Amsterdam, a City of Canals, Ships and Boats

  • Replica of old ship at Maritime Museum
  • Masthead of old ship
  • Figure head
  • “Botel” – hotel made from a boat
  • Holland America Cruise ship
  • Old houseboat
Click on images to see enlargements/complete photos.

2 thoughts on “CFFC: Boats Through the Ages”

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