Seafaring in the Arabian Gulf and Oman : the people of the Dhow [Book Review]

Abstract

This book is the second from a trilogy of works by Agius on the maritime world of the Arabian Gulf. These three books: In the Wake of the Dhow (2002), reviewed in IJNA 34.1, 158–9; the volume under review; and a third which will focus on the maritime history of the region, are the fruit of ten years of research by the author (between 1990 and 2000) as part of the ‘Seafaring in the Arabian Gulf and Oman’ (SFAGO) project. Although originally a linguist and historian of the Arabic language, Agius has, in the context of SFAGO, employed his exceptional skill in Arabic to record and document the oral history of the maritime

people in the Arabian Gulf. This volume is a well- balanced fusion of literary sources, oral testimony

and published volumes with the latter listed in a comprehensive bibliography (pp.241–62) which provides the reader with avenues for further reading in subjects that may have been touched upon by Agius.