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Sand Dance: By Camel Across Arabia's Great Southern Desert
For forty days and forty nights during the winter of 1999, three Canadians, Bruce Kirkby, Jamie Clarke, and Leigh Clarke, along with three Omani Bedu, travelled by camel across Arabia’s great southern desert – the legendary Empty Quarter. Journeying from Salala in Oman on the Arabian Sea, they headed north and east for 1,200 kilometres across remote and largely unexplored desert wilderness, where ranges of sand dunes tower to over three hundred metres in height. When they finally reached Abu Dhabi on the Persian Gulf, they were received as heroes. Theirs was the first camel crossing of the Empty Quarter in over fifty years.
The expedition had historic roots, since the team sought to retrace for the first time the original 1947 crossing by world-famous explorer and adventurer Sir Wilfred Thesiger. In the years since Sir Wilfred’s journey, Arabia and the Bedu have faced enormous upheaval. The discovery of oil precipitated rapid and irreversible changes to a nomadic society that had existed in relative isolation since the time of Mohammed. Travelling with their three Bedu companions, the team was afforded a rare glimpse of how these changes have affected the last of the Arabian nomads.
During the desert crossing the team was determined to travel and live as authentically as possible, on camels, taking Arabic names and wearing traditional clothing, drinking their water from rank goatskins and eating mainly unleavened bread and dried camel meat. The cultural insights they were afforded are constantly fascinating – but so are the cultural clashes, since the party was often followed by Land Cruisers full of well-meaning supporters who threatened to destroy the spirit of the journey.
The expedition was also full of adventure and incident – such as a hundred-foot descent down a narrow, snake-infested well, a three-day sandstorm, the sting of a desert scorpion, and the challenge of living with inescapable heat and nagging dehydration.
The Empty Quarter Traverse received considerable media coverage, both nationally and internationally. In nineteen countries around the world, 22,000 school children enrolled in the team’s Internet education program, and 4.8 million people visited the expedition Web site. The trek was reported widely and was the subject of a feature story on the CBC National and a front-page colour photo story in the National Post.
Now Bruce Kirkby has written a thoughtful and deeply felt account of this challenging expedition – and has illustrated it with twenty-four pages of his stunning colour photographs. Anyone interested in remote areas of the world or stirred by the romance of old-fashioned adventure and daring will find Sand Dance constantly engaging.
The expedition had historic roots, since the team sought to retrace for the first time the original 1947 crossing by world-famous explorer and adventurer Sir Wilfred Thesiger. In the years since Sir Wilfred’s journey, Arabia and the Bedu have faced enormous upheaval. The discovery of oil precipitated rapid and irreversible changes to a nomadic society that had existed in relative isolation since the time of Mohammed. Travelling with their three Bedu companions, the team was afforded a rare glimpse of how these changes have affected the last of the Arabian nomads.
During the desert crossing the team was determined to travel and live as authentically as possible, on camels, taking Arabic names and wearing traditional clothing, drinking their water from rank goatskins and eating mainly unleavened bread and dried camel meat. The cultural insights they were afforded are constantly fascinating – but so are the cultural clashes, since the party was often followed by Land Cruisers full of well-meaning supporters who threatened to destroy the spirit of the journey.
The expedition was also full of adventure and incident – such as a hundred-foot descent down a narrow, snake-infested well, a three-day sandstorm, the sting of a desert scorpion, and the challenge of living with inescapable heat and nagging dehydration.
The Empty Quarter Traverse received considerable media coverage, both nationally and internationally. In nineteen countries around the world, 22,000 school children enrolled in the team’s Internet education program, and 4.8 million people visited the expedition Web site. The trek was reported widely and was the subject of a feature story on the CBC National and a front-page colour photo story in the National Post.
Now Bruce Kirkby has written a thoughtful and deeply felt account of this challenging expedition – and has illustrated it with twenty-four pages of his stunning colour photographs. Anyone interested in remote areas of the world or stirred by the romance of old-fashioned adventure and daring will find Sand Dance constantly engaging.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Bruce Kirkby
4 books36 followersBruce Kirkby is a writer, photographer and adventurer whose journeys span 80 countries, and include crossing Arabia by camel, Mongolia by horse, and Iceland on foot. He’s been shot at in Borneo, taken hostage in Ethiopia, and captured by Myanmar’s army while on assignment. A travel columnist for the Globe & Mail, and former contributing editor for Explore Magazine, Bruce’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Outside.EnRoute and Canadian Geographic. The host of CBC's No Opportunity Wasted, and producer of Travel Channel’s Big Crazy Family Adventure, Bruce and his young family recently traveled overland from Canada to the Himalaya, where they lived in a remote Buddhist monastery, a journey detailed in an upcoming book, Kingdom of the Sky (2020).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 4, 2023
Sir Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed the desert twice in the late 1940s without the modern backup available to these Canadians, who replicated the trip, gave a tepid introduction to the book. The author details the hassle and inconvenience of arranging the trip that makes the actual journey seem the lesser undertaking. I would have liked to have read more about the travel through the desert as the author provided a sense of being there experiencing the thirst, sandstorm, learning not to throw date pits into fire and even how to pee, sprinkled with bits of useful Arabic. I never felt it was a trip I would have wanted to make, even when i had wanted to experience the desert at one time (and did live in the Kallahari for three years) and kept asking why they wanted to go through all the challenges > I suppose it provided a sense of accomplishment. The colour photos were excellent and I appreciated the multi-layered narrative of providing background, history, relationships, progress and updating students back home. I'll follow up on Sir Wilfred's "Arabian Sands."
January 17, 2017
In 1947, Sir Wilfred Thesiger journeyed by camel across The Empty Quarter, the world’s most remote desert wilderness. Nobody did it again for 50 years… until 3 Canadians decided to recreate Thesiger’s expedition in 1999.
That’s 1200 kms of blistering desert, over 40 days, by camel and foot only. This is that story.
While the Empty Quarter is skirted often by jeep and truck now, crossing it in the traditional method of riding camels meant almost stepping back in time. This proved extremely hard on Kirby, Clarke and Clarke to convince others was important, let along actually DO, and the book discussed this often. Though informative, I felt a little impatient for the story to unfold initially as the author explains in detail the journey’s inception, purpose, and the logistics involved with planning it; I wanted the adventure part of the adventure to begin! (As I type that now however, I’ll bet that’s nothing compared to how Kirby felt.)
Once underway, Sand Dance tells of the good, bad, frustrating and rewarding challenges that faced them every day: language barriers, culture differences and even clashes, testy camels and riding pains, sandstorms, team disagreements, and of course, keeping hydrated in the stunning-but-brutal landscape. I liked learning through Kirby’s eyes the ways of the local Bedu people, and how deep his thirst for an authentic traveling experience goes – they drank out of rank goat skins, wore no Western clothes, and slept under the stars. The second half moved almost too quickly, and I dreaded the end of the journey and their return to reality (not to mention bidding farewell to the camels!) I’ll never traverse a desert, but I may revisit Kirby’s tale of doing so. 4 stars.
That’s 1200 kms of blistering desert, over 40 days, by camel and foot only. This is that story.
While the Empty Quarter is skirted often by jeep and truck now, crossing it in the traditional method of riding camels meant almost stepping back in time. This proved extremely hard on Kirby, Clarke and Clarke to convince others was important, let along actually DO, and the book discussed this often. Though informative, I felt a little impatient for the story to unfold initially as the author explains in detail the journey’s inception, purpose, and the logistics involved with planning it; I wanted the adventure part of the adventure to begin! (As I type that now however, I’ll bet that’s nothing compared to how Kirby felt.)
Once underway, Sand Dance tells of the good, bad, frustrating and rewarding challenges that faced them every day: language barriers, culture differences and even clashes, testy camels and riding pains, sandstorms, team disagreements, and of course, keeping hydrated in the stunning-but-brutal landscape. I liked learning through Kirby’s eyes the ways of the local Bedu people, and how deep his thirst for an authentic traveling experience goes – they drank out of rank goat skins, wore no Western clothes, and slept under the stars. The second half moved almost too quickly, and I dreaded the end of the journey and their return to reality (not to mention bidding farewell to the camels!) I’ll never traverse a desert, but I may revisit Kirby’s tale of doing so. 4 stars.
March 25, 2020
I feared I’d be disappointed by this book, knowing how improbable it would be for three upstart Canadians to reproduce what Wilfred Thesiger achieved in his heroic crossings of Arabia’s Empty Quarter in the 1940s before the oil industry changed the region forever. I feared the regular visits of Land Rovers and the apparent reluctance of the Bedu guides in this 1990s adventure would spoil the story, making it all seem farcical. I was wrong. I loved this book. I was mesmerized by the descriptive passages, and drawn into the tensions with the Bedu guides (which thankfully resolved), and identified so much with the pathos of the journey’s end that I cried as Kirby concluded. Perhaps it’s because it was so obvious from the start that no one could reproduce what Thesiger did 70 years ago, but more likely because it reminded me of my own good-byes after living in the desert of northern Sudan for a year of my life in 1987. Living in a desert has a way of making a permanent impression on a person. I’m grateful Kirby and his friends made this journey, and so glad he wrote this extraordinary account.
April 28, 2013
Kirkby is an adventurer who, with his 2 Canadian friends, decides to retrace Sir Wilfred Thesiger's journey by camel across The Empty Quarter. Kirby and his crew are determined to recreate the original trek, despite more than 50 years of change. I haven't read Thesiger's Arabian Sands (his version of the desert crossing) but I know he was the real deal (hard core, if you will). Although Kirkby denied himself assistance and shortcuts that the local Bedu recommended and offered, he took advantage of modern luxuries and conveniences such as satellite phones, video, and ibuprofen. One of the most touching parts of the story is how attached to his camel Kirkby became and their parting at the end of the book made me a little sad. I'd recommend this to anyone who's ever lived in the UAE. Probably 2.5 stars.
March 6, 2018
Truly, this book is 4.5 stars.
I felt a sense of awe...I felt adventure stir within me. I felt the sand coating everything, the sun baking my skin, the rolling gait of massive camels.
I also felt loss - for they (Bruce, Jamie, and Leigh) could not 100% succeed in their goal.
At every turn they had outside help. The people had grown indifferent to the desert around them. They fought the westerners at every turn. The camels had grown soft - they were too used to constant water and lush vegetation. They couldn’t last more then 4 days without water.
Did they travel across the Arabian desert? Yes. Did they travel as they so wished? No.
The modern age has taken away the power of the desert. And...for a place so wild, untamable and pure...it’s just devastating.
I felt a sense of awe...I felt adventure stir within me. I felt the sand coating everything, the sun baking my skin, the rolling gait of massive camels.
I also felt loss - for they (Bruce, Jamie, and Leigh) could not 100% succeed in their goal.
At every turn they had outside help. The people had grown indifferent to the desert around them. They fought the westerners at every turn. The camels had grown soft - they were too used to constant water and lush vegetation. They couldn’t last more then 4 days without water.
Did they travel across the Arabian desert? Yes. Did they travel as they so wished? No.
The modern age has taken away the power of the desert. And...for a place so wild, untamable and pure...it’s just devastating.
July 28, 2014
I love reading about different cultures,especially of the experiences of someone new to a different culture as is the case when these three Canadian men decide to retrace an historic route across the Arabian desert as it was done 50 years earlier by an adventurer with camels,instead of the now used 4-wheel drive vehicles.
I have also always been curious about camels,their temperament and what it would be like to work with them,and this book has much information about the six camels used and camels in general.
The vivid descriptions really put me in the scene,and I enjoyed the humor,as well.
Highly recommended for those who would enjoy a 'nonfiction' Indiana Jones type story.
I have also always been curious about camels,their temperament and what it would be like to work with them,and this book has much information about the six camels used and camels in general.
The vivid descriptions really put me in the scene,and I enjoyed the humor,as well.
Highly recommended for those who would enjoy a 'nonfiction' Indiana Jones type story.
July 11, 2012
Very good read. Read it a while a go, but enjoyed it emensly! For a canak to leave his secure 9-5 cushy job and spend months in the desert, where he has 0 knowledge of the language, culture, climate and so on is amazing. It makes you feel pack up and head for wherever it is that you've been mulling to travel. His personal journey was also (including the learning curve), and the out come of the journy or rather the purpose, absorbing and appreciation for our similarities and differences as people was very smart. I had great time reading it.
September 14, 2011
This book is a wonderful read.I felt a little impatient for the story to unfold initially as the author went through his reasoning for doing the journey and the logistics involved with planning a trek thru the Empty Quarter.When he finally got to the point where he arrived in Oman and met the members of the Bedouin guides that would accompany this Canadian team of three across Saudi Arabia's inhospitible desert to the shores of Abu Dhabi.It was a funny and vividly descriptive journey.
May 26, 2023
Interesting to hear how the Canadians planned their trip and the challenges they faced. Some parts were difficult for me to be engaged. Love the actual photos & that it is a true story.
June 15, 2010
Canadian adventure traveler Bruce Kirkby, known for his thrilling escapades that include Alaskan mountaineering, Himalayan treks in Tibet, White Water Kayaking, Bungee jumping, hikes through Pakistan, the Rockies and the Bavarian Alps, hitches up his wilderness gear and takes a complete turnaround into a different perilous direction, the desert.
Together with two other Canadian buddies, they plot a course through the treacherous Empty Quarter of South Arabia. Known as the Ocean of Sands, The Empty Quarter of South Arabia is the world's largest sand desert. It is a parched wasteland, and unforgiving and foreboding stretch of shifting sands that encompass over 386,000 miles of desert. This desert holds more sand than any other place on this planet. It is a vast empty world of death, known to the ancients Arabic people as Al Khali.
Kirkby's vision was to follow the route of early British explorer Wilfred Thesiger who was one of the first pioneers to successfully cross the Empty Quarter by camel, accompanied by men of the proud nomadic native Bedu Tribe.
After a year of planning and working out the difficult logistics of the trip, the three men finally set out for the adventure of their lives. This fantastic journey will take them into a magical yet death defying land, and over towering mountains of sand that have been "sculpted by ancient winds, and lie in snake-like chains that run from horizon to horizon without end". They will endure roasting temperatures that can vary from 120 to 170 degrees, and can scorch anything alive in mere seconds. They will push their unruly camels along a route of hard rock and desolation where no vegetation or water hole can be found. Prior to their embarking, they had insisted that they travel unaided by modern conveniences or conveyances, and wished to be spirited through the desert by the stars and thrill of exploration alone while rocking atop ornery camels that do nothing but spit and kick. Locals pleaded with them to have Land Rovers follow behind them for safety and for backup supplies, yet these three Canadians refused. They were warned of the threat of death due to thirst, acres of non visible quicksand that could drag them down to world of Djinns, they screamed in frustration that it was insanity to follow this quest. Bruce and his friends wanted nothing but to embrace the land, bond with the people and culture of Arabia, to marvel at the waves of dunes, and to sleep by campfire staring up at the stars.
Bruce's narrative of this harrowing yet often hilarious expedition into the unknown, was well written and accompanied by wonderful color photos giving the reader an up front and personal view of nomadic desert life. He compassionately unfolds the future of the Arabian people as they leave their heritage and old ways behind to keep up with the modern technology and the demands of current society. Today the people of South Arabia travel not by camel, but by jeeps and trucks, they carry barrels of water, use GPS to navigate the sands, and bring cases of Fanta Soda Pop to quench their thirst. Sand Dance is a memoir of Bruce's adventure back in time, fulfilling his dream to re-enact the traveling life of the ancients or Victorian explorers whose methods of trail blazing did not include cell phones, satellite communication, astronaut dehydrated food packs, or Land Rovers babysitting behind.
This was a fun and insightful book in which I learned a lot about the desert world of South Arabia, it's Bedu people, and of both the wonders and hazards a trip like this can ensue. Lovers of adventure travel memoirs will highly enjoy this book and I give it two thumbs up.
Together with two other Canadian buddies, they plot a course through the treacherous Empty Quarter of South Arabia. Known as the Ocean of Sands, The Empty Quarter of South Arabia is the world's largest sand desert. It is a parched wasteland, and unforgiving and foreboding stretch of shifting sands that encompass over 386,000 miles of desert. This desert holds more sand than any other place on this planet. It is a vast empty world of death, known to the ancients Arabic people as Al Khali.
Kirkby's vision was to follow the route of early British explorer Wilfred Thesiger who was one of the first pioneers to successfully cross the Empty Quarter by camel, accompanied by men of the proud nomadic native Bedu Tribe.
After a year of planning and working out the difficult logistics of the trip, the three men finally set out for the adventure of their lives. This fantastic journey will take them into a magical yet death defying land, and over towering mountains of sand that have been "sculpted by ancient winds, and lie in snake-like chains that run from horizon to horizon without end". They will endure roasting temperatures that can vary from 120 to 170 degrees, and can scorch anything alive in mere seconds. They will push their unruly camels along a route of hard rock and desolation where no vegetation or water hole can be found. Prior to their embarking, they had insisted that they travel unaided by modern conveniences or conveyances, and wished to be spirited through the desert by the stars and thrill of exploration alone while rocking atop ornery camels that do nothing but spit and kick. Locals pleaded with them to have Land Rovers follow behind them for safety and for backup supplies, yet these three Canadians refused. They were warned of the threat of death due to thirst, acres of non visible quicksand that could drag them down to world of Djinns, they screamed in frustration that it was insanity to follow this quest. Bruce and his friends wanted nothing but to embrace the land, bond with the people and culture of Arabia, to marvel at the waves of dunes, and to sleep by campfire staring up at the stars.
Bruce's narrative of this harrowing yet often hilarious expedition into the unknown, was well written and accompanied by wonderful color photos giving the reader an up front and personal view of nomadic desert life. He compassionately unfolds the future of the Arabian people as they leave their heritage and old ways behind to keep up with the modern technology and the demands of current society. Today the people of South Arabia travel not by camel, but by jeeps and trucks, they carry barrels of water, use GPS to navigate the sands, and bring cases of Fanta Soda Pop to quench their thirst. Sand Dance is a memoir of Bruce's adventure back in time, fulfilling his dream to re-enact the traveling life of the ancients or Victorian explorers whose methods of trail blazing did not include cell phones, satellite communication, astronaut dehydrated food packs, or Land Rovers babysitting behind.
This was a fun and insightful book in which I learned a lot about the desert world of South Arabia, it's Bedu people, and of both the wonders and hazards a trip like this can ensue. Lovers of adventure travel memoirs will highly enjoy this book and I give it two thumbs up.
December 26, 2012
Based on a true story ..
If you want to get lost in the Arabian Desert, this book is for you..
If you want to get lost in the Arabian Desert, this book is for you..
April 19, 2009
As an adventurer myself, I loved this book. A true adventure story of a lifetime.....
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews