Captain William Shakespear An Arabian Legend
And so, the unique Saudi Arabia experience gathers pace as the first foreign tourists in recent times arrive in the conservative muslim country. For all, other than seasoned expat residents it is a chance to visit a country and experience a culture like no other. As the new arrivals marvel at the Nabatean structures of Mada'in Saleh (Saudi Petra), tread the desert sands, the modern streets of Riyadh or the Red Sea Corniche of Jeddah, it is important to appreciate the historic context of this incredible country. There are of course relatively unpublicized biblical locations ... the red sea crossing point, Moses landmarks etc. However, the period immediately before the founding of Saudi Arabia and the Al Saud unification of the tribes is particularly fascinating. The Ottoman Turk Empire took in great swathes of what is now Saudi Arabia prior to the First World War. The role of Britain is very interesting. Britain had territories like Bahrain and Qatar, the Royal Navy patrolled the Gulf trade routes and had interests on the Red Sea coast also. Oil fields existed only in Basrah in what is modern day Iraq. This was in the era at the outset of WW1 in 1914/15, twenty five years before Aramco discovered oil in the Arabian Peninsula. This is the setting in which Captain William Shakespear, a camel riding, uniformed British officer and explorer mapped and photographed many areas of the Arab Peninsula. He travelled vast distances by camel and encountered many native Bedouin peoples of the Arabian desert. Most impotantly, he crossed paths and became a friend and envoy of Abdulaziz Ibn Saud the founding King of Saudi Arabia. He laid the foundations for British support for Ibn Saud in their struggle to rid their lands of the Turks during the first World War prior to 1917 when T E Lawrence (of Arabia) arrived on the scene. It is significant to discover that Captain Shakespear is still well remembered by the Current King Salman (Ibn Saud's son) and the Saudi Royal household. I recommend reading Alan Dillon's book Captain Shakespear - Desert Exploration, Arabian Intrigue and the Rise of Ibn Sa'ud.
William, thanks for sharing! I look forward to connecting and engaging with your posts
Consultant in project management, urban planning, governance, sales/marketing for design professionals - working for a sustainable future worldwide
5 年Interesting example of how a great historical reputation can be enhanced by publicity and even self publicity. Lawrence of Arabia wrote well of his exploits and garnered further publicity from the slide shows of Lowell Thomas and later of course, from the movie. Thus he overshadows Capt Shakespeare although arguably of equal importance in early 20th century Arabian history.
I thought I had a reasonable knowledge of Saudi Arabia, but I guess not. Thanks for Sharing this.
Chief Architect at Omrania | views are my own
5 年Sounds really interesting Gregg!