In 1977, Thor Heyerdahl built a reed boat, the Tigris (the name for the Tiger in Latin), whose task was to demonstrate that trade and migration contacts could exist between Mesopotamia and Indian civilization as represented by modern Pakistan. The Tigris was built in Iraq and set sail with an international crew of 11 on board across the Persian Gulf to Pakistan, and from there to the Red Sea. After about five months of sailing, the Tigris, which retained its seaworthiness, was burned in Djibouti on April 3, 1978 in protest against the wars that erupted in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.
Ra [also known as The Ra Expeditions] is a 1972 documentary film directed by Lennart Ehrenborg and Thor Heyerdahl about the expeditions organised by Thor Heyerdahl in 1969 and 1970 in attempt to cross the Atlantic on papyrus boats. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
