Syria's last traditional boat-makers — in pictures

Artisans work on a Phoenician craft, the design of which dates back thousands of years

Khaled Bahlawan, 39, works on a vessel at his boatyard on Syria's Mediterranean island of Arwad. All photos by AFP

The Bahlawans are the only manufacturers of traditional wooden boats on the Syrian coast, a Phoenician craft dating back thousands of years.

Syrian craftsman Khaled Bahlawan builds a wooden boat at his boatyard in Syria's Mediterranean Island of Arwad on July 24, 2022. - The Bahlawans are the only manufacturers of traditional wooden boats on the Syrian coast, a Phoenician craft dating back thousands of years, now threatened by low demand in the age of technology. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

Demand for boat-making services has dropped to all but a trickle in recent years.

The eight members of the Bahlawan family now share the work, making boats for fishermen, resorts and passenger transport operators.

Traditional boat-making could disappear altogether as young people emigrate or search for easier, more profitable work.

Long power cuts due to years of conflict mean that Khaled Bahlawan cannot use his electrical equipment.

A worker paints a vessel at the family's boatyard.

Khaled works with his grandfather's manual tools, smoothing the wood by hand rather than with an electric plane.

Farouk Bahlawan, Khaled's uncle, said his family had preserved the original shape and structure of ancient Phoenician boats, with a few modifications.

Khaled says 'we are the last family that makes wooden ships and boats in Syria'.

The tradition of building and repairing wooden boats has been in the Bahlawan family for hundreds of years.

Farouk Bahlawan says the family used to make four big ships and several boats every year, which would be exported to Cyprus, Turkey and Lebanon.

This year, the family has worked on only one ship.

Hundreds of workers, residents and visitors commute to and from Arwad island every day in wooden boats, mostly built by the Bahlawan family.

More from The National

The Milky Way rises over the fifth-century basilica in Syria – in pictures

Egyptologists unearth remains of ancient sun temple believed to have been lost

Meet the Palestinian family whose home is surrounded by Israeli settlements

France is one of the UAE's most important friends