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Desert, Marsh and Mountain: The World of a Nomad
This is a collection of Wilfred Thesiger's greatest journeys - in the Empty Quarter of Arabia, the marshes of Iraq, the mountains of the Hindu Kush and Kurdistan, and the Yemen - illustrated with Thesiger's own photographs.
201 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 1979
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About the author
Wilfred Thesiger
37 books200 followersSir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger, KBE, DSO, MA, DLitt, FRAS, FRSL, FRGS, FBA, was a British explorer and travel writer born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
Thesiger was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford University where he took a third in history. Between 1930 and 1933, Thesiger represented Oxford at boxing and later (1933) became captain of the Oxford boxing team.
In 1930, Thesiger returned to Africa, having received a personal invitation by Emperor Haile Selassie to attend his coronation. He returned again in 1933 in an expedition, funded in part by the Royal Geographical Society, to explore the course of the Awash River. During this expedition, he became the first European to enter the Aussa Sultanate and visit Lake Abbe.
Afterwards, in 1935, Thesiger joined the Sudan Political Service stationed in Darfur and the Upper Nile. He served in several desert campaigns with the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) and the Special Air Service (SAS) with the rank of major.
In World War II, Thesiger fought with Gideon Force in Ethiopia during the East African Campaign. He was awarded the DSO for capturing Agibar and its garrison of 2500 Italian troops. Afterwards, Thesiger served in the Long Range Desert Group during the North African Campaign.
There is a rare wartime photograph of Thesiger in this period. He appears in a well-known photograph usually used to illustrate the badge of the Greek Sacred Squadron. It is usually captioned 'a Greek officer of the Sacred Band briefing British troops'. The officer is recognisably the famous Tsigantes and one of the crowd is recognisably Thesiger. Thesiger is the tall figure with the distinct nasal profile. Characteristically, he is in Arab headdress. Thesiger was the liaison officer to the Greek Squadron.
In 1945, Thesiger worked in Arabia with the Desert Locusts Research Organisation. Meanwhile, from 1945 to 1949, he explored the southern regions of the Arabian peninsula and twice crossed the Empty Quarter. His travels also took him to Iraq, Persia (now Iran), Kurdistan, French West Africa, Pakistan, and Kenya. He returned to England in the 1990s and was knighted in 1995.
Thesiger is best known for two travel books. Arabian Sands (1959) recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950 and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins. The Marsh Arabs (1964) is an account of the Madan, the indigenous people of the marshlands of southern Iraq. The latter journey is also covered by his travelling companion, Gavin Maxwell, in A Reed Shaken By The Wind — a Journey Through the Unexplored Marshlands of Iraq (Longman, 1959).
Thesiger took many photographs during his travels and donated his vast collection of 25,000 negatives to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
Thesiger was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford University where he took a third in history. Between 1930 and 1933, Thesiger represented Oxford at boxing and later (1933) became captain of the Oxford boxing team.
In 1930, Thesiger returned to Africa, having received a personal invitation by Emperor Haile Selassie to attend his coronation. He returned again in 1933 in an expedition, funded in part by the Royal Geographical Society, to explore the course of the Awash River. During this expedition, he became the first European to enter the Aussa Sultanate and visit Lake Abbe.
Afterwards, in 1935, Thesiger joined the Sudan Political Service stationed in Darfur and the Upper Nile. He served in several desert campaigns with the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) and the Special Air Service (SAS) with the rank of major.
In World War II, Thesiger fought with Gideon Force in Ethiopia during the East African Campaign. He was awarded the DSO for capturing Agibar and its garrison of 2500 Italian troops. Afterwards, Thesiger served in the Long Range Desert Group during the North African Campaign.
There is a rare wartime photograph of Thesiger in this period. He appears in a well-known photograph usually used to illustrate the badge of the Greek Sacred Squadron. It is usually captioned 'a Greek officer of the Sacred Band briefing British troops'. The officer is recognisably the famous Tsigantes and one of the crowd is recognisably Thesiger. Thesiger is the tall figure with the distinct nasal profile. Characteristically, he is in Arab headdress. Thesiger was the liaison officer to the Greek Squadron.
In 1945, Thesiger worked in Arabia with the Desert Locusts Research Organisation. Meanwhile, from 1945 to 1949, he explored the southern regions of the Arabian peninsula and twice crossed the Empty Quarter. His travels also took him to Iraq, Persia (now Iran), Kurdistan, French West Africa, Pakistan, and Kenya. He returned to England in the 1990s and was knighted in 1995.
Thesiger is best known for two travel books. Arabian Sands (1959) recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950 and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins. The Marsh Arabs (1964) is an account of the Madan, the indigenous people of the marshlands of southern Iraq. The latter journey is also covered by his travelling companion, Gavin Maxwell, in A Reed Shaken By The Wind — a Journey Through the Unexplored Marshlands of Iraq (Longman, 1959).
Thesiger took many photographs during his travels and donated his vast collection of 25,000 negatives to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 18, 2018
This is another fantastic collection of black and white photographs from Thesiger (he only took b&W photographs) selected from his travels in Africa, Arabia and Asia.
For each photo there is a description, and a reference back to the body of text where he expands on the explanation. I don't claim to have read it from cover to cover, but for me the photography is the star of this book. As good as the landscape photography is, it is Thesiger portrait photography which brings the book to life.
I was lucky enough to pick up a very tidy copy of this book through Abebooks, and was even more pleased to find it has been autographed by the author. It carries no authentication, of course, but it has been signed on the title page, under the authors printed name, and dated March 26, 1980 less than a year after publication, so no real reason to doubt it is authentic.
For each photo there is a description, and a reference back to the body of text where he expands on the explanation. I don't claim to have read it from cover to cover, but for me the photography is the star of this book. As good as the landscape photography is, it is Thesiger portrait photography which brings the book to life.
I was lucky enough to pick up a very tidy copy of this book through Abebooks, and was even more pleased to find it has been autographed by the author. It carries no authentication, of course, but it has been signed on the title page, under the authors printed name, and dated March 26, 1980 less than a year after publication, so no real reason to doubt it is authentic.
October 26, 2008
Classic pictures and writing that comes from just two generations ago.With modern transport and globalisation it could have come from a thousand years ago.
May 28, 2019
An often fascinating glimpse into what can now be considered to be largely lost worlds. Thesiger recounts his often punishing journeys through the Arabian deserts, Persia, the marshes of Iraq, mountains of Pakistan, Yemen etc between roughly 1945 and 1965. The book contains many stunning black and white photographs of the landscape and the people with references to the relevant text (and vice versa).
None of the rest of the content gets close to the intensity of his travels through the desolate Empty Quarter in the Arabian desert (aided by Bedouin and camels) that start the book off, but all are revealing glimpses into cultures and ways of life that are alien to most westerners and now, in modern times, regrettably, probably to much of the inhabitants of those areas as well.
None of the rest of the content gets close to the intensity of his travels through the desolate Empty Quarter in the Arabian desert (aided by Bedouin and camels) that start the book off, but all are revealing glimpses into cultures and ways of life that are alien to most westerners and now, in modern times, regrettably, probably to much of the inhabitants of those areas as well.
January 3, 2019
Fascinating read set in various countries, in areas where few if any men, apart from the indigenous people who lived there, had ever been. Memoir of a man with a truly adventurous spirit. Well written.
May 9, 2009
Not as unified a narrative as Desert Sands or Marsh Arabs, but just as observant, and psychologically revealing.
May 12, 2022
It's a classic isn't it? A gloriously evocative account of a lost world
July 11, 2016
WIlfred Thesiger is possibly one of the greatest travel writers ever. If you're travelling to the middle-east at all, he is a must read (albeit travels in a different time, it is an amazing insight into the cultures there). And what a man; intelligent, brave and inspiring. The book itself is a nice book if you don't want to read all his works (although I recommend them highly). Give this a go first and then go from there.
April 23, 2017
Amazing! Phenomenal, exquisite writing, humility and perspective throughout. Incredible observations, descriptions and insight.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews