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The Arabian Desert
The Arabian Desert occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula.
It is a vast desert wilderness stretching from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and
Oman to Jordan and Iraq. At its center is the Rub'al-Khali, one of the largest
continuous bodies of sand in the world. Gazelles, oryx, sand cats, and
spiny-tailed lizards are just some of the desert-adapted species survive in
this extreme environment, which features everything from red dunes to deadly
quicksand. The climate is extremely dry, and temperatures oscillate between
extreme heat and seasonal nighttime freezes.
Life
In The Desert
The
Desert is the traditional habitat of people throughout the Arabian Peninsula.
The Bedouin, who were the earliest inhabitants of the
region, once lived in strong tribal communities and roamed the blazing sands
with their camels, in search of food, grazing and trade. Sheep and goad
herders scratched a living on the arid mountainsides.
Cultivators tended date palms wherever the merest trace of water could be
found. The camel, the ship of the desert, was then
the primary mode of transportation and the Bedouin's main source of milk, meat
and wool. For accommodation, these proud nomadic people erected tents made
chiefly of wool and animal hide.
Clothing was simple and utilitarian, consisting of a flowing garment and a
headscarf that offered protection against harsh desert sun and fine grains of
blowing sand. Jewellery, consisting mostly of bead necklaces and silver
ornaments, was favoured by the Bedouin woman, while the male costume was used
both as a weapon and a traditional fashion accessory.
The Empty Quarter (Arabic: Rub' al Khali الربع الخالي), is
one of the largest sand deserts in the world, encompassing the southern third
of the Arabian Peninsula, including southern Saudi Arabia, and areas of Oman,
the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The desert covers some 650,000 square
kilometers (250,000 square miles) (the area between long. 44°30'-56°30'E., and
lat. 16'30'-23°00'N), more than the combined land areas of the Netherlands,
Belgium and France.
Largely unexplored (until recently, see below), and
virtually uninhabited, the desert is one thousand kilometers (600 miles) long,
and 500 km (300 mi) wide. Even the Bedouins only skirt the edges of the
desert. Nonetheless, tour companies do exist that offer GPS-equipped
excursions into the desert. The first documented journeys made by Westerners
to the Empty Quarter were those made by Bertram Thomas in 1931 and St. John
Philby in 1932. Between 1946 and 1950 Wilfred Thesiger crossed the area
several times and mapped large parts of the Empty Quarter and the mountains of
Oman.
With summer temperatures up to nearly 55 degrees Celsius (131 F) at noon, and
dunes taller than the Eiffel Tower - over 330 meters (1000 ft) - the desert
may be the most forbidding environment on Earth. However, as nearly everywhere
else, life flourishes. Arachnids, rodents and plant life can all be found
throughout the Empty Quarter.
Lakes of the Rub' al-Khali
The lakes of the
Rub' al-Khali may be nature's ultimate mirage. That they once slaked the
thirst of man and beast - including hippopotamus, water buffalo and
long-horned cattle - seems certain. The long-ago presence of hippos is
attested by finds of their fossilized teeth, so pristine they might have been
lost just yesterday........more
Scientific Expeditions
A scientific excursion
organized by the Saudi Geological Survey was lead by a team of 89
environmentalists, geologists, and scientists, from Saudi Arabia as well as
experts from abroad on February 25, 2006 to explore the Empty Quarter. Various
types of fossilized creatures as well as meteor rocks were discovered among
the parched desert dunes. The expedition also lead to the discovery of 31 new
plant species and plant varieties, as well as 24 species of birds that inhabit
the desert, which fascinated scientists as to how they have survived under the
harsh conditions of the Empty Quarter. These findings led the geologists to
nickname the area Rub' al-Ghali, or the Valuable Quarter......more
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