The late, great British explorer and author Sir Wilfred Thesiger's life story is inextricably linked with the history of the UAE.
He's known, among many other accomplishments, for his 1959 literary masterpiece Arabian Sands, which documented his gruelling crossing and recrossing of the Empty Quarter, taking in today's UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman.
But also well known was his close friendship with UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whom he met on many occasions, the first time in 1947.
On February 20, 2000, three years before Thesiger's death, Sheikh Zayed honoured him with the Order of Independence, one of the UAE's highest awards. Then 89, Thesiger was decorated with the sash by Sheikh Zayed's son, Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was then the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, at a special ceremony in Bateen Palace.
“The decoration, presented on the instructions of President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was awarded to Thesiger in recognition of his long friendship for the people of the Emirates and his service to the country,” Sheikh Hamdan said, as was reported then by state news agency Wam.
Thesiger said he accepted the decoration with “feelings of great honour and pleasure.”
“The journeys across the Empty Quarter for which it was awarded have always been the most important journeys that I have made,” he added. “These journeys over 50 years ago were made possible for me by the assistance and encouragement which I received from Sheikh Zayed.”
Writing in The National in 2019, the late author and cultural historian Peter Hellyer, who also met Thesiger on many of his visits to the UAE, recalled the occasion with great pride.
“A few years before his death, I attended the ceremony in which he was given a medal awarded to him by Sheikh Zayed. One of Sheikh Zayed’s sons presented it to him and I recall, with amusement, a conversation about Sheikh Zayed’s age,” Hellyer writes. “Thesiger said: 'I am now nearly 90. Looking back to when we first met in 1947, he must have been around 30. So now he must be over 80.'
“Sheikh Zayed’s son laughed, saying: 'None of us would dare to tell him he was that old!'”
One of the last great European explorers, Thesiger first visited the UAE in 1946 during an epic journey across the Empty Quarter with several Bedu companions. He made further journeys in the area between 1947 and 1950, including a second crossing of the Empty Quarter. His journeys became the basis of Arabian Sands, which provides a unique record of life in the deserts of south-eastern Arabia before the discovery of oil.
Thesiger was also an expert photographer, his pictures capturing the people and scenery of Arabia before modernisation. He photographed an incredible 35,000 images of Abu Dhabi and the surrounding areas, including those of Sheikh Zayed. A companion coffee table book to Arabian Sands, called Crossing Sands, was also released later, which Thesiger dedicated to Sheikh Zayed.
Thesiger wrote many other books, including The Marsh Arabs, The Last Nomad, The Life of My Choice and Visions of a Nomad.
In Arabian Sands, he described Abu Dhabi as a “small dilapidated town which stretched along the shore”. He also wrote about how he and his companions sat outside the walls of the imposing Qasr Al Hosn fort near some small cannons that were half-buried in sand, as they waited to be admitted. Eventually they were ushered in to meet Sheikh Shakhbut, the then Ruler of Abu Dhabi, who lived there.
The group remained in Abu Dhabi for 20 days, staying in a dilapidated house near the market. The town then had 2,000 inhabitants.
“Each morning the sheikhs visited us, walking slowly across from the castle,” he wrote. “We talked for an hour or more, drinking coffee and eating sweets, and, after they had left us, we visited the market, where we sat cross-legged in the small shops, gossiping and drinking more coffee.”
Of Sheikh Zayed, Thesiger wrote: “He had a great reputation among the Bedu. They liked him for his easy, informal ways and his friendliness, and they respected his force of character, his shrewdness and his physical strength.
“They said admiringly ‘Zayed is a Bedu. He knows about camels, can ride like one of us, can shoot, and knows how to fight’.”
Thesiger died in London on August 24, 2003, at the age of 93. Sheikh Zayed passed away a year later, on November 2, 2004, during Ramadan. He was 84.
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Blue%20Beetle
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Angel%20Manuel%20Soto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EXolo%20Mariduena%2C%20Adriana%20Barraza%2C%20Damian%20Alcazar%2C%20Raoul%20Max%20Trujillo%2C%20Susan%20Sarandon%2C%20George%20Lopez%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
