page_title: Kuphar
section_title: Modern use
hierarchical_section_title: Kuphar / Modern use
caption_attribution_description: العربية: .القفة، زورق عراقية صغيرة وبسيطة، على نهر الفرات في العراق English: A qufa, a small Iraqi boat, on the Euphrates in Iraq
context_page_description: A kuphar is a type of coracle or round boat traditionally used on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in ancient and modern Mesopotamia. Its circular shape means that it does not sail well against the current, as it tends to spin, but makes it safe, sturdy and easy to construct. A kuphar is propelled by rowing or poling.
context_section_description: Kuphars remained in widespread use as water taxis, lighters, fishing boats, and ferries in early 20th century Iraq, especially around Baghdad. These vessels are typically 4.5–10 feet (1.4–3 meters) wide at the opening and have drafts of 2.5–4 feet (0.8–1.2 meters) and freeboards of 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) fully loaded. They typically transport four to five people although they can carry up to 20. Larger kuphars can transport four to five tons, equivalent to three horses, several people, and other assorted cargo. The largest one measured in the 20th century had an opening 16.4 feet (5.0 m) in diameter, although due to the tumblehome nature of the kuphar's hull, its diameter overall was 18 feet (5.5 m).
  Kuphar use declined following the development of the automobile and the widespread construction of roads and bridges across modern Iraq. However, they could still be seen around Iraq until the 1970s.
  Modern kuphars are made of woven bundles of reeds waterproofed with bitumen, as in ancient times. James Hornell described them thus:
  ...the craft likened in form to the Tibetan food-bowl—perfectly circular in plan, nearly flat bottomed, and with convexly curved sides that tumble-home to join the stout cylindrical gunwale bounding the mouth, which is several inches less in diameter than the width at mid height. In construction a quffa is just a huge lidless basket, strengthened within by innumerable ribs radiating from around the centre of the floor. The type of basketry employed is of that widely distributed kind termed coiled basketry.
  — James Hornell
  Tennyson referenced the boats in his 1827 poem Persia,
  On fair Diarbeck's land of spice,
  Adiabene's plains of rice,
  Where down th' Euphrates, swift and strong,
  The shield-like kuphars bound along;
  — Alfred, Lord Tennyson
caption: A small kuphar on the Euphrates in Iraq
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