Ahwal Al-Marifa - Editorial

For forty days and nights during the winter of 1999, three Canadians—Bruce Kirkby, Jamie Clark, and Leigh Clark—traveled with three Omani Bedouins on camelback across the southern desert of the Arabian Peninsula—the legendary Empty Quarter. They set off from Salalah in Oman and headed north and east for 1,200 kilometers through a remote desert wilderness, where dunes reach over three hundred meters. When they arrived in Abu Dhabi, they were received as heroes. This was the first crossing of the Empty Quarter in over fifty years. The expedition had historical roots, seeking to restore the original 1947 route of Wilfred Thesiger. In the years since, the team t a rare glimpse of how oil discovery changed the Bedouin society. They lived authentically, using Arabic names, traditional clothing, drinking from atskins, and eating unleavened bread and dried camel meat. The journey was full of adventures, including descending a narrow well infested with snakes, a three-day sandstorm, and a scorpion sting. The trip received massive media coverage with 4.8 million website visitors. Bruce Kirkby wrote the book "Sand Dance" documenting this expedition with 24 pages of stunning color photographs. Kirkby is a renowned adventurer, photographer, and author of bestsellers like "The Dolphin's Tooth" and "Kingdom of the Blue Sky." His achievements include crossing the Blue Nile rge and climbing Mount Everest. He has traveled to over 80 countries, including trips through the Caucasus, Monlia, and Borneo.