Doha // A team of intrepid walkers and their camels wearily arrived in the Qatari capital Doha last night, the last leg of a 49-day trek across the world’s largest sand desert.
The team successfully retraced the historic 1,300-kilometre route taken in 1930 by British civil servant and Arabist Bertram Thomas.
The three-man team walked from Salalah in Oman, through Saudi Arabia, to Doha, across the Empty Quarter – the vast stretch of uninhabited land that includes some of the UAE.
Their journey ended close to the Al Rayyan fort on the western fringes of Doha, last night.
Despite the threat of warring tribes and a constant struggle to find enough water, Thomas completed the journey in 57 days.
The modern-day trekkers led by Omani-based British explorer Mark Evans completed the journey in 49 days.
Evans, 54, said he was in awe of the achievement made by Thomas and his team 85 years ago.
“I would say how humble we are about what those people achieved,” he said, speaking on the penultimate day of the trek.
“They were completely on their own,” said Evans.
His team includes the great, great grandson of Sheikh Salih bin Kalut Al Rashidi Al Kathiri who completed the original journey with Thomas.
“Because it is my great, great grandfather, I wanted to recreate it,” said Sheikh Mubarak Saleh Muhammad Salah bin Kalut. “I am proud that he was part of the original team.”
Unlike Thomas, Evans and his fellow walkers have been able to use GPS and smartphones to communicate with the outside world, while two vehicles carrying water and provisions accompanied them during their journey.
But like Thomas, they have also endured walking across enormous sand dunes in Saudi Arabia, searing day temperatures and cold nights and sleeping without a tent under the stars each evening.
“We look like an Egyptian sarcophagus each morning when we wake up, covered in sand,” said Mr Evans, a fellow of the Explorers Club of New York, and The Royal Geographical Society in London.
As well as recreating the steps of explorers from the 1930, there was also a scientific element to the journey.
The team has found tools and discovered ancient Arabian script in Oman up to 3,000-years-old.
They have also completed a psychological questionnaire each evening for a study in “exercise environment psychology” being carried out at a British university, said Mr Evans.
The team received help from all three countries they have trekked across from assistance at border crossings, to camels being supplied by the Qatari royal family.
These have proved the hardiest as Mr Evans admits that modern-day camels, like humans, “have got a bit soft”.
*Agence France-Presse
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
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Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
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FIGHT CARD
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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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At a glance
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Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
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Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
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World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
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Currently: 88
Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
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2012 - 384
2011 - 883
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
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Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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The specs
Price, base: Dh228,000 / Dh232,000 (est)
Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 552Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.5L / 100km
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