#LOST CITY OF UBAR OMAN SERIES#

Khalid Al-Ramadan found himself wanting to visit again. These initial trips established his fascination with the Rub Al Khali. The results have not yet been finalized – the project is ongoing.” We wanted to age-date a 150-meter-high dune located along the newly built road connecting Saudi with Oman using Optically Stimulated Luminescence testing. We went to Shaybah to sample one of the dunes close by. “The second trip was funded by a research team from Desert Research Institute in Nevada, USA, in 2016. It was adventurous to some extent, but it did not require us to stay in tents!” This was like a five-star trip after a 10-hour drive, accommodations in Shaybah, then to a controlled location next to the skid road.

This was published in Journal of Sedimentary Research, and we concluded that some of the sand was coming from the Hadramaut Arch and Oman mountains, while some was coming from the Arabian Gulf, the Anatolia Plateau, and the Zagros Mountains. We completed this – to understand the origin of the sand dunes in the Empty Quarter. “Once, in 2013, with a Belgian-Italian team to study the sand’s origin, the provenance. Khalid had conducted research in the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) twice. Quriyan told me, ‘Whenever you need any help, just let me know.’” From there I met Quriyan, and he offered his services. One of my students who was the president of the chapter, knew about Quriyan’s farm in Junayah, outside of Abqaiq, and suggested we visit. We were assigned to organize a social gathering. “I was the Faculty Advisor for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), student chapter. Khalid first met Quriyan, the legendary Bedouin, in 2016. Since 2006, I have been teaching as an instructor, as well as leading many scientific researches, at KFUPM’s College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences.” “I did my PhD at Uppsala University in Sweden, and, compared to others in my field, they always did their PhD in the U.S. I was not that familiar with the desert until I became a geologist.” We were born in the interface between the sea and the farm. “We, in Saihat, are not like the Bedouins like Quriyan Abu Mohammed, who was born in the desert. He was born in Saihat, a coastal city along the Arabian Gulf in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Khalid Al-Ramadan wasn’t drawn to the desert at first.

#LOST CITY OF UBAR OMAN SERIES#

In a series of video call interviews, Professor Khalid Al-Ramadan shared his experiences with Mark Lowey. This is the story of his travels to the site – in Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter – with the aid of Bedouin desert specialist, and Aramco retiree, Quriyan Mohammed Al-Hajri. Atlantis of the Sands? A lost city? A meteorite impact site? For years, the mystery of Wabar fascinated a young associate professor of geology at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran.

Lost city of ubar oman