Wilfred Thesiger in Arabia launched in Abu Dhabi

Eighty years after his first crossing of the Empty Quarter, a new book revisits Wilfred Thesiger’s journeys through Arabia in photographs, stories and personal accounts

Long before the skylines and cities we know today, Wilfred Thesiger was crossing some of Arabia’s most remote landscapes with a camera in hand. His photographs captured desert life, Bedouin communities and a region changing before his eyes. Eighty years after his first crossing of the Empty Quarter, a new book brings that extraordinary archive together – and it has just been launched in Abu Dhabi.

A landmark launch in Abu Dhabi

His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, officially launched Wilfred Thesiger in Arabia at the Motivate Media Group stand at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair on Thursday, September 17. The new volume marks 80 years since Thesiger’s first crossing of the Empty Quarter and brings together his photography with essays exploring his travels across Arabia, his time with Bedouin communities and the transformation taking place across the region during his lifetime. His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan also wrote the book’s Foreword and described the publication as an important addition to literature documenting the region’s history, culture and human heritage.

Inside the book

Edited by Ian Fairservice and Alexander Maitland, the book pairs Thesiger’s photographs with writing from an impressive line-up of explorers, scholars and public figures. Contributors include Sir David Attenborough, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, BBC correspondent Frank Gardner, Benedict Allen, Elizabeth Edwards and Dr Peter Clark. Together, their essays explore Thesiger’s legacy and the importance of his photographic archive as a record of Arabia during a period of major social, economic and urban change.

Where to find it

Want to take a closer look? Wilfred Thesiger in Arabia is available to buy at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which wraps up today, September 18. And if you don’t make it down today, you can still pick up a copy at leading bookstores across the region or online at BooksArabia.com.

Cost: Dhs160

Where to buy: BooksArabia.com

Images: Provided

> Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in