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Click here to see all the pictures in the Ubar and Rub' al-Khali photo gallery.
We left Salalah for the Rub' al-Khali...the Empty Quarter...the largest contiguous "sand sea" on the planet. (From National Geographic "...it holds roughly half as much sand as the Sahara, which is 15 times the Empty Quarter's size, but composed mostly of graveled plains and rocky outcrops.") This was our first day in the Rub' al-Khali, a picture of which forms the background of this site. There is a point where there are hours and miles of absolutely nothing. According to Nicholas Clapp's book The Road to Ubar:
We left the warm, moist weather of Salalah early in the morning, traveled through the cool dampness of Jebel Qara (Qara Mountain, with Qara being an Arabic tribe name) and in a couple of hours we stopped at Thumrait on the edge of the Rub' al-Khali, the last civilization of any kind before leaving paved road on the way to Ubar. Calling Thumrait civilization is a bit misleading. It was less than a town, someplace you stop on the way to get gas or something to drink, and use the rest rooms. It looked rough and weathered, and as soon as my short-sleeved, head uncovered wife stepped out of the SUV, all eyes were on her. My son was sent (not by me or my wife) to buy sodas, some sort of test of manhood. The alpha males in our group split at that point, one following my son from a discreet distance, and the other escorting my wife around back to the "ladies room," a wooden enclosure around an Asian toilet. This was her first experience with an Asian toilet, more accurately described as "a hole in the floor." As quickly as we could, we were back on the road, relieved with a full tank of gas and fresh sodas, on our way to Ubar. The two hour drive from Thumrait to Ubar was filled with very little. The "road" was packed sand and gravel, and in places hard to define as a road. 55 gallon drums dotted the side of the road. Even the Bedouin vehicle of choice seems to be the Toyota Land Cruiser, and the drums are remnants of their long distance travels.
Finally, we arrived in Ubar, in the village known today as Shisr. This is the somewhat cheesy first glimpse of Ubar, a gate with "Welcome to Ubar" painted on the wall in both English and Arabic. We saw few buildings and little evidence that anyone was actually there, but we were able to walk through the gate and see the archaeological results to date. Getting out of the air conditioned SUV and spending time walking around was interesting. July in the Rub' al-Khali...at first it is not uncomfortable, 120°, but little humidity and a breeze. But after half an hour of walking in the sun, you realize "Wow, it is really hot out here!" Before we arrived in Oman, I had finished the book The Road to Ubar and found the story fascinating...the lost city of Ubar..."The Atlantis of the Sands" to quote T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Objectively, what we found was probably less than I expected. I know that the rest of the group was ready to leave in about half an hour or so. But I kept thinking about the stories I had read...the legend of Ubar as the dazzling center of the frankincense trade in the ancient world...the people of Ubar becoming wealthy, arrogant, and, sinful...and as result, Allah destroying Ubar. Separating truth from legend is difficult. But both the Ubar of legend and the ruins being excavated at Shisr were destroyed by a disaster of some magnitude. Again from The Road to Ubar (Iram is believed to be another name for Ubar and is mentioned in the Koran, the Arabian Nights, and elsewhere):
As we walked around the site, we saw the outlines, fragments, and restoration of a village, maybe even a large village, but not the city of legend as I had visualized it. We also saw a massive sinkhole with remnants of that village at the bottom of it. I don't know whether the evidence is conclusive or not. But at least for a little while, we were in the Rub' al-Khali, at the legendary city of Ubar, and that was just awesome! And then, with a long drive ahead of us, it was back to Salalah. Click here to see all the pictures in the Ubar and Rub' al-Khali photo gallery. |
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