Sir Wilfred Thesiger

Connected Sites: 26

Sir Wilfred Thesiger (1910-2003). British explorer and travel writer who "specialised" in Arabia/Iraq/Abyssinia/Sudan/East Africa/Morocco. Did most of his travelling between the 1930s to the 1950s including war service in "Special Operations" during which he was involved in the liberation of Ethiopia. Was friends with rulers such as Haile Selassie and Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi. Has been called "the last of the great Victorian travelers, born half a century after his time." and continued the British "Arabist" travelling tradition by bonding with the tribes whose lands he travelled through and adopting their values. His collection of photographs is held by the Pitt-Rivers museum and many are available for viewing on line. see http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/thesiger.html For more about his life also see http://www.bigbillkruse.com/thesiger.htm

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Connected Sites

Al Ain
Al Ain
United Arab Emirates
Inscribed: 2011
2.55
140
8
"Thesiger's Travels Frequently Took Him Through The Emirate, Through The Southern Oasis Of Liwa, Through The Capital City, And To Al Ain Itself, Where He Formed An Enduring Friendship With Sheikh Zayed, The Future Ruler Of Abu Dhabi And The 'Father' And First President Of The United Arab Emirates." See:
See Www.Newstatesman.Com
Shibam
Shibam
Yemen
Inscribed: 1982
3.95
25
2
His Travels There In The 1940s Are Described By Thesiger In "Arabian Sands" . "Whenever I Was In The Silent Alleyways Under The Sheer Walls Of These Houses I Felt As If I Were At The Bottom Of A Well"
Konso
Konso
Ethiopia
Inscribed: 2011
2.90
42
3
Thesiger Suggested The Tribe For An Anthropological Phd Thesis "While Enquiring About The Possibilities Of Fieldwork In Ethiopia, Wilfred Thesiger Drew His Attention To The Konso, Among Whom Hallpike Lived From 1965-67. His Doctoral Research Was Published In 1972 As The Konso Of Ethiopia. A Study Of The Values Of A Cushitic People." From His Photo Collection:
See Www.Prmprints.Com
Lakes of Ounianga
Inscribed: 2012
3.61
8
2
Describes His Visit In "A Camel Journey To Tibesti" (1939)
See Reseau-Tchad.Org
Ennedi Massif
Inscribed: 2016
4.06
8
2
Describes His Visit In "A Camel Journey To Tibesti" (1939): "Basking On The Edge Of These Pools I Saw Six Small Crocodiles, The Largest 5 Feet In Length."
See Reseau-Tchad.Org
Ahwar of Southern Iraq
Inscribed: 2016
2.98
28
4
Wrote The Marsh Arabs (1964), On His Time Living With The Marsh Arabs Of Iraq.
Harar Jugol
Harar Jugol
Ethiopia
Inscribed: 2006
2.77
50
2
Visited In Dec 1930 During His Visit To Haile Selassie's Coronation (There By Personal Invitation). Wrote In Danakil Diary That "Except For A Few Corrugated Iron Roofs, It Still Looked The Same As When [Burton] Had Been There"
Kilimanjaro National Park
Inscribed: 1987
3.92
103
7
Climbed It In Feb 1962 (Aged 51). Described Here
See Www.Sundaytimes.Lk
Ngorongoro
Ngorongoro
Tanzania
Inscribed: 1979
4.35
160
4
"In April 1961 Thesiger Travelled In Tanganyika (Now Tanzania) With Another Friend, John Newbould, The Pair Walking For A Month Around Ngorongoro Crater With Donkeys Hired From Local Maasai. For Thesiger, The Maasai Embodied Traditional Africa, Yet He Feared For Their Future: 'They Have Scorned Everything Which The West Has Offered Them, And How Right They Are. The Tragedy Is That Others Who Have Not... Are Bound To Win In The Modern World, Though They Lose Their Souls In The Process.' See
See Www.Prm.Ox.Ac.Uk
Land of Frankincense
Inscribed: 2000
2.81
78
10
Visited Shisr In 1946 During One Of (4 In All Between 1945 And 1950) His "Crossings" Of The Empty Quarter Which Started In (And Returned To) Salalah. ("The Archaeological Site Of Shisr, Which Some Believe To Be The Legendary Lost City Of Ubar, Was Formally Identified And Recognized In The Early 1990s By Sir Ranulph Fiennes And A Team Of Archaeologists. This Identification Gained International Attention, Although Debate Continues Regarding Whether Shisr Is Indeed Ubar. While The Site Was Explored By Bertram Thomas In The 1930s And Thesiger In The 1940s, Its Official Identification As A Potential Lost City Came Later"). See
See Web.Prm.Ox.Ac.Uk
Lalibela
Lalibela
Ethiopia
Inscribed: 1978
4.12
92
6
"Following His Celebrated Travels In Arabia And Iraq During The Late 1940s And 1950s, Thesiger Returned To Ethiopia In 1959, Visiting The Remarkable Rock-Hewn Churches Of Lalibela, Now A Unesco World Heritage Site, And Thereafter He Based Himself For Much Of Each Year In East Africa."
See Philipgrover.Blogspot.Com
'Uruq Bani Ma'arid
Inscribed: 2023
2.59
11
1
Travelling The Empty Quarter (Rub' Al Khali)
See Prmprints.Com
Medina of Fez
Inscribed: 1981
3.71
336
9
Circa 1930s
See Prmprints.Com
Meknes
Meknes
Morocco
Inscribed: 1996
2.97
274
6
1961
See Prmprints.Com
Fasil Ghebbi
Inscribed: 1979
3.08
68
3
1960
See Prmprints.Com
Mount Kenya
Inscribed: 1997
2.86
48
2
1970
See Prmprints.Com
Medina of Marrakesh
Inscribed: 1985
3.75
449
11
1965
See Prmprints.Com
Jaipur City, Rajasthan
Inscribed: 2019
3.40
274
3
September - October 1983
See Prmprints.Com
Taj Mahal
Inscribed: 1983
4.24
351
7
1978
See Prmprints.Com
Meidan Emam, Esfahan
Inscribed: 1979
3.80
130
2
1949
See Prmprints.Com
Yazd
Yazd
Iran
Inscribed: 2017
3.59
112
3
1964
See Prmprints.Com
Lut Desert
Inscribed: 2016
3.40
33
3
1964
See Prmprints.Com
Gonbad-e Qâbus
Inscribed: 2012
2.72
16
3
June - August 1964
See Prmprints.Com
Petra
Petra
Jordan
Inscribed: 1985
4.61
386
21
1941
See Prmprints.Com
Damascus
Inscribed: 1979
3.87
104
5
1942 - 1943
See Prmprints.Com
Lamu Old Town
Inscribed: 2001
3.03
39
5
1961
See Prmprints.Com