Who Discovered America Before Columbus?
By: Baher Shaarawy On July 12, 1970, a ship called RA II made of papyrus reeds landed at Bridgetown, Barbados, after sailing for 57 days from North Africa across the Atlantic. The ship was led by the famous Swedish scientist, Dr. Thor Heyerdahl. The only objective behind his voyage to the Americas was to prove his theory and strong belief that the civilization of the Americas might have been established through the transfer of ancient cultures by vessels sailing across North Africa through the Atlantic. It is interesting to recall that the timing of the voyage of RA II coincided with the first wave of Egyptian immigrants to the United States. My family and I were among those immigrants. As we learned about the successful crossing of the papyrus boat, it was quite surprising news to us. Are we following in the footsteps of our forefathers? I asked my friends who gave me no answer. We smiled as we watched the evening TV news… Heyerdahl is leaving his papyrus ship very exhausted along w
