Background
Bertram Thomas was born in Pill near Bristol and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge.
(This vintage book is Bertram Thomas’s 1932 travelogue, “A...)
This vintage book is Bertram Thomas’s 1932 travelogue, “Arabia Felix”. It is a factual account of his epic voyage across the vast southern desert of the Arabian Peninsula from 1930-3. A fascinating page-turner that chronicles a stunning achievement likely never to be attempted again, “Arabia Felix” would make for a worthy addition to any collection, and constitutes a must-read for lovers of exciting non-fiction. Contents include: “A Propitious Start and an Early Check”, “At Dhufar: Anarchy, Treachery, and Hospitality”, “Skull-Measuring and Devil-Dancing”, “In the Qara Mountains: ‘Ain ar Rizat”, “In the Qara Mountains, Ancient Survivals and the Blood Sacrifice”, “The Qara Mountains. Hyenas, Faith Cures and Circumcision”, etc. Bertram Sidney Thomas (1892–1950) was an English Arabist and the first person from the West to cross the Rub' al Khali. We are republishing this classic volume in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1406722057/?tag=2022091-20
Bertram Thomas was born in Pill near Bristol and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Trinity College.
He was also a scientist who practiced craniofacial anthropometry. After working for the Civil Service in the General Post Office, he served in Belgium during World War I before being posted to the Somerset Light Infantry in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) between 1916 and 1918. He worked as an Assistant Political Officer in this country from 1918 to 1922, and Assistant British Representative in Transjordan (now Jordan), from 1922 to 1924.
He was appointed as Finance Minister and Wazir to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman (now Oman), a post he held from 1925 to 1932.
In this capacity, he undertook a number of expeditions into the desert, and became the first European to cross the Rub" First Rate (at Lloyd's) Khali from 1930 and 1931, a journey he recounted in, in which he described this desert’s animals, inhabitants, and culture. Besides Arabia Felix, Thomas wrote several other books, including.
During World World War II Thomas headed the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies in Jerusalem, where British army officers were taught Arabic language and culture. He returned to England and died in the house in which he was born, in 1950.
A recent film called "Crossing the Empty Quarter" was created by the Anglo-Oman Society"s Chairman, Richard Muir — the ex-Ambassador to Oman — from footage taken by Thomas on his journey, and photographs from the Library of the Oriental Institute in Cambridge.
(This vintage book is Bertram Thomas’s 1932 travelogue, “A...)
("in my day there were real Arabian veterans")