From the edge of the Rub’ al Khali Mark tells the story of the ancient lost city of Ubar, the legendary lost city in the largest sand desert on earth. In his previous expedition, The Heart of Arabia, Mark retraced Philby’s effort to find Ubar, which ultimately failed, but considering the significance of the place, the Jewel of Arabia team wanted to visit some of the possible locations.

Possible locations, because Philby wasn’t the only British explorer to have searched for Ubar, T. E Lawrence, Thomas, Thesinger and Ranulph Fiennes have all made efforts to find the Atlantis of the Sands.

It was during Fiennes search that artefacts were discovered, and excavations began. Mark and the team were given a guided tour of the site as it is today from some local guides.

Ubar was significant because it was the last guaranteed watering hole for camels on the trade routes before heading into the Rub al Kahli. But, climate change and human extraction mean that today the well is dry.

The icing on today’s cake though was to meet an old Bedouin friend who had a photograph of himself travelling with Wilfred Thesinger along the same route.

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The Jewel of Arabia Expedition podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio