Hundreds of workers, residents and visitors commute to and from Arwad island every day in wooden boats, mostly built by the Bahlawan family.
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.
Arwad island is about three kilometres off the coast, near the city of Tartus.
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.
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)
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.
Members of the Bahlawan family build boats at their 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)
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.
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.
Arwad island is about three kilometres off the coast, near the city of Tartus.
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.
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)
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.
Members of the Bahlawan family build boats at their 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)
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.
