place where the coconut trees grow in abundance. First, they cut down the tree and leave it to dry. When it is dry, they cut it into planks. They weave ropes of coir. With this, they tie the planks together and make of them a vessel. They make its mast from the same wood. The sails are made of fiber. When the boat is ready, they take a cargo of coconuts and sails for Oman. They make huge profits in this trade19. A prominent commentator on Indian culture was Abu Rayhan al Biruni who travelled extensively across the country and left behind eighty chapters containing his observations on Indian religious, cultural and social life. Probably the most famous among all famous Arab travelers, Ibn Battuta started his extensive travels with the purpose of performing pilgrimage at the city of Mecca in 1325 before he was 22 years old. He traveled the world and came back to die in his home around 1368-69. Battuta is said to have crossed the Indus River on September 2, 1333 CE and made his way to Delhi. Ibn Battuta, who also visited several parts of South India, had also chronicled in detail his travels to Malabar. His landmark book Rihla is an engaging account of the various ports he had visited and its inhabitants. In his travelogue, Ibn Battuta explains about the trade in Malabar through the ports of Calicut and Quilon, where ships from Persia came to trade in spices. He is said to have visited the port of Sur in 1329 and perhaps Muscat in 1330, writing about the ship’s route from Muscat to Quilon20. Omani traders in the Indian Ocean Since the time Omanis started navigation activities and reached Indian seaports, there has been a protracted history of interactions between the two countries, which have contributed to lasting imprint on both cultures. Thanks to its strategic location in the Arabian Peninsula, Oman was a trading and commercial hub even before the first century CE, and it is this history as a citadel of trade, especially by sea, which has shaped the culture of this country. India, being close in geographical proximity, was even more heavily involved in maritime trade along its western coast. Indeed, the products of the Indian subcontinent have been essential for trade and commerce in Oman, especially for wood for shipbuilding. According to the great 10th century Arab traveller Abu Al Masudi, Omani sailors’ knowledge of the sea and their expertise in path finding through 19 As cited in J.W. Mc Crindle, The Commerce and Navigation of the Erythrean Sea, p. 37. 20
Agius, D. A. (2002). Ships and the Development of Maritime Technology on the Indian Ocean, p.174. 40
