Group portrait of Wilfred Thesiger ... Thesiger Collection

Group portrait of Wilfred Thesiger ... Thesiger CollectionGroup portrait of Wilfred Thesiger with the four members of his travelling party who accompanied him on his first crossing of the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter). Mabkhaut bin Arbain, a tribesman of the Bayt Gidad lineage of Bayt Kathir Bedouin, sits on the far left. Musallim bin Tafl, also of the Bayt Kathir Bedouin, sits second from the left. Wilfred Thesiger sits at the centre. Muhammad al Auf, a tribesman of the Bayt Mbarik lineage of Rashid

Further beyond more booms and dhows sail along the horizon

In the foreground an oarsman rows a covered abra filled with passengers

View of a valley near An Namas

The man on the far right wears a waistcoat over his thobe (ankle-length shirt) under his a ceremonial bisht (robe)

Portrait of a man from the Rijal al Ma tribal group near the city of Abha

Water fills the foreground

with tall buildings at either side

View of houses at Waigal

At the centre a man in a light coloured thobe (long shirt) pulls on the head rope of a saddled camel

Two young boys sit together in front of the group at the left

In the far right background a second camel lies couched in the sand

In the central distance a square stone watchtower