Travellers in Arabia

Robin Bidwell tells the story of the great explorers of Arabia. The exploits of Niebuhr, who made the first intrepid exploration into the interior of southern Arabia in the 1760s, of Burton and Philby (the greatest of Arabian explorers), of Charles Montagu Doughty, Wilfred Thesiger, Freya Stark and many others are recounted -not only their adventures but also the contributions they made to Western knowledge and understanding of Arabia. This is a fascinating account by the late Robin Bidwell who spent many years in Arabia and was Secretary of the Middle East Centre in the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge.