William 

Thesiger's Journey 

Yana Walia
Location

• Thesiger crossed the infamous Empty

Quarter twice, once in 1946 and
another in December 1947. 'the
Empty Quarter is famous for being a
large stretch of sand that is daunting
and inhospitable. Thesiger's first
crossing began in October 1946 when
he left Salalah, a city in Oman, and
travelled to the Mughsin Oasis. He
reached the Liwa Oasis in Abu
Dhabi around mid-December and
crossed into Oman. He headed
towards Salalah and successfully
ended his journey on the 23rd of
February 1947.
 • Thesiger travelled with the Rashid and Bayt Kathir Bedouin Tribes. However
just as the party reached Mughshin Oasis, a member of the Rashid Bedouin
clan, broke his leg as he fell off a camel. Due to this, a smaller group had to
Companions  stay behind while the party carried on.
• Thesiger had reached the Ghanim Sands when there was conflict within the
group between Thesiger and Sultan bin Ahmad, the leader of the Bayt
Kathir Bedouin Tribe. Sultan didn’t want to travel anymore and wanted the
group to turn back. However, four members remained with Thesiger and
together, they continued without the rest of the group.
Discoveries and
Experiences 
• The aim of the journey was to find
the breeding grounds within the
Empty Quarter. It was to confirm if
these grounds caused the locust
outbreaks in the Middle East and
East Africa. However, while Thesiger
did not find what caused the
outbreak, he did uncover a deep
friendship with his Bedouin partners
and a love for desert travel. He also
managed to experience how people
reside in the desert and what their
life is like. 
Comparison Between the
UAE Thesiger Experienced
to the UAE Today
• During Thesiger's time, there were no
skyscrapers or luxury cars. Oil had not yet
been discovered so the UAE was still
considered to be a poor country.
There weren't any large cities as there are
now. Back then, there were only small
villages spotted across the desert and near
the coastal areas. As well as this, the
economy was still largely dependent on
pearl diving and fishing.