Park, Mungo ref1
Pass of Assekrem ref1
Patagonian Desert ref1
Pechkoff, Major Zinovi ref1
People’s Front for the Occupation of the Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16, ref17, ref18, ref19, ref20, ref21, ref22, ref23, ref24, ref25, ref26, ref27, ref28, ref29, ref30, ref31, ref32, ref33, ref34, ref35, ref36, ref37, ref38, ref39, ref40, ref41, ref42, ref43, ref44, ref45, ref46, ref47, ref48
Persia, Shah of ref1, ref2, ref3
Persian Gulf ref1, ref2
Petroleum Development Oman ref1, ref2
Philby, Harry St John ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Philby, Kim ref1
Phillips, Wendell ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
Piper Alpha ref1
piracy ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
piranha ref1
Piscinas ref1
Pliny ref1
poisoned arrows ref1
polar bears ref1
Polar Medal ref1
Polo, Marco ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
polygamy ref1, ref2
Pools of Ayun ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Port Elizabeth ref1
Portsmouth Hovercraft Museum ref1
Portuguese colonialism ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
Powell, Spike ref1, ref2
Poxon, Wally ref1
Prince, Bill ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Ptolemy ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
puff adders ref1
Putin, Vladimir ref1
Pyramids ref1
Qaboos bin Said, Sultan ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14
al-Qaeda ref1
Qafa ref1
Qait Bay ref1
Qara Mountains ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
Qara tribe ref1
Qatan tribe ref1
Qatar ref1
Qattara Depression ref1
Al-Qazwini ref1
Qena ref1, ref2
Qismeem Pass ref1
Qum ref1, ref2, ref3
Quran (Koran) ref1, ref2, ref3
Ra sun god ref1
Racal ref1
rainmakers ref1
Rakhyut ref1
Ramadan ref1, ref2, ref3
Ras al Khaimah ref1, ref2
Rashid, Mohammed (Mohammed of the Beard) Beard ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12
Rashid, Sheikh ref1
Rashidi tribe ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Rebman, Johann ref1
Rhodes, Cecil ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Rhodesia ref1
Ridley, Nicholas ref1
Ripon Falls ref1, ref2, ref3
Robat ref1
Rohlfs, Friedrich ref1
Rondon, Candido Mariano da Silva ref1
Roose, Richard ref1
Roosevelt, Theodore ref1
Rorke’s Drift ref1
Rostaq ref1, ref2, ref3
Royal Geographical Society ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
Royal Scots Greys ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Rubh al Khali (Empty Quarter) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12
Rumanika, King ref1
Rwanda ref1
Rwandan genocide ref1
sabkha crust ref1, ref2
Sadat, Anwar ref1
Sadlier, Captain George Forster ref1
Sahara Desert ref1
Sahayl (Mahra tribesman) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Sahel ref1
Sahilnawt Valley ref1
Said bin Taimur, Sultan ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
deposition ref1
plot to oust ref1, ref2, ref3
social policies, conservative ref1, ref2, ref3
sakiyeh ref1
Salalah ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16
Salim, Said ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16
Salisbury, Lord ref1
Samail Gap ref1
Samhud ref1
San people (Bushmen) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
sand devils ref1
sand dunes, formation of ref1
sand vipers ref1
Sandhurst ref1
Sands of Khanem ref1
sandstorms ref1, ref2
Sardinia ref1
Saudi Arabia ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
Save the Children ref1
Sawbridge, Captain ref1
sawfish ref1
schistosomiasis ref1
Schnitzer, Eduard ref1
Schultz, George ref1
Schuster, Professor Stephen ref1
Schweinfurth, Georg ref1
scorpions ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Scottish National Trust ref1
scurvy ref1
Second Cataract ref1
Selous, Frederick ref1
Seramad ref1, ref2
Shaadid ref1
al-Shabaab ref1
shaduf ref1
Shahra ref1, ref2
Shahra tribe ref1
Shakhbut, Sheikh ref1
Sharia Law ref1
Sharjah ref1
sharks ref1
Sharqiyah ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Shaw, Tarry ref1
Sheba, Queen of ref1
Sheen, Len ref1
Sheetah ref1
Sheldon, Mary ref1
Shell ref1
Shepard, Ollie ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Shia ref1
Shihu tribe ref1
Shilluk tribe ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Shiraija ref1
shirka ref1
Shisr ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
Sierra Leone ref1
Sikushaba, Victor ref1
Silet ref1
Simpson, John ref1
Simpson Desert ref1, ref2
Sinbad the Sailor ref1
Singapore ref1, ref2, ref3
Sirius (Dog Star) ref1
Sitali, Isaac ref1
Skeleton Coast ref1, ref2
skin pigmentation ref1
skinks ref1
slave trade ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15
sleeping sickness ref1
smallpox ref1
Smith, Sydney ref1
Smithsonian Institute ref1
snakes ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Snow, Peter ref1
Sodom apples ref1
Sohar ref1, ref2
solar power ref1, ref2
Solomon, King ref1
Somaliland ref1
Sonoran Desert ref1
South Africa ref1, ref2
South Sudan ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Southward-Heyton, Peter ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
Soviet Union
and Afghanistan ref1
and the Dhofar Rebellion ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Spanish Inquisition ref1, ref2
Special Air Service (SAS) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13
Buraimi Oasis oil dispute ref1
Dhofar Rebellion ref1
Speke, John Hanning ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
spiders ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
spotted rock snakes ref1
Stanley, Henry Morton ref1, ref2, ref3
Stark, Freya ref1, ref2
Sterling, David ref1
Straits of Hormuz ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
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roud, Mike ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Stuart, John McDougall ref1, ref2, ref3
Sturt, Charles ref1, ref2, ref3
Sturt Stony Desert ref1, ref2
Sudan ref1, ref2, ref3
Sudan People’s Liberation Army ref1
Sudan Rail ref1
Sudanese civil war ref1
Sudd ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Suez Canal ref1, ref2
Suez Crisis (1956) ref1, ref2, ref3
Sultan, Hamed ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13
Sumna ref1
Sunni ref1
Sur ref1
Survival International ref1
Swaziland ref1
sweating ref1
Sykes, Paul ref1, ref2
Sykes-Picot Agreement ref1
Syria ref1
Syrian Desert ref1
Tabora ref1
Taliban ref1
tamarisk ref1
Tambora, Mount ref1
tapeworms ref1
Taqah ref1
‘Taweel’ (Royal Marine officer) ref1, ref2, ref3
Tawi Ateer ref1
Teixeira, Pedro de ref1
termites ref1
terraces, cultivated ref1
Territorial Royal Signals ref1
Than tribe ref1
Thar Desert ref1
Thesiger, Wilfred ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12
Thomas, Bertram ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Thomson, Joseph ref1
threadsnakes ref1
Thumrait ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
Thwaites, Colonel Peter ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14
ticks ref1, ref2
Tim-Missao ref1
Timbuktu ref1, ref2
Tindall, Geordie ref1
Tinne, Alexine ref1
Tippo Tib ref1
Tissisat Falls ref1
Tora Bora caves ref1
Touareg ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
trachoma ref1
Transglobe Expedition ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Transjordan ref1
Transvaal ref1
Trucial Oman Levies (TOL) ref1
Trucial Oman Scouts ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Trucial States ref1, ref2, ref3
trypanosomiasis ref1
tsamma melon ref1
tsetse flies ref1
Tsitsikama Forest ref1
tuberculosis ref1
Tuti Island ref1, ref2
Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Audrey (RF’s mother) ref1, ref2, ref3
Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Eustace (RF’s grandfather) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Florrie (RF’s grandmother) ref1
Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Geoffrey (RF’s great uncle) ref1
Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Lt. Col. Sir Ranulph, 2nd Baronet (RF’s father) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Sir Ranulph, 3rd Baronet see Fiennes, Ranulph
Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Lady Virginia see Fiennes, Virginia
Ubar ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13
Ubariti ref1
Uganda ref1, ref2
Ujiji ref1, ref2
Ulyah ref1
Umm al Ghawarif ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Umm al-Hayat ref1, ref2, ref3
Umm al Qawayn ref1
Umm al-Shaadid ref1
Umm as Samim ref1
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ref1
Urdu ref1, ref2
‘Utcha’, Aunt ref1
van der Post, Laurens ref1
Varthema, Ludovico di ref1
Victoria Falls ref1, ref2, ref3
Villane, Sibusisu ref1
Vischer, Hans ref1
Viturakis, Eddie ref1
Voice of Cairo ref1
vultures ref1
Wabar ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
see also Ubar
Wadi Atinah ref1, ref2
Wadi Aydam ref1
Wadi Dawkah ref1
Wadi Ghadun ref1
Wadi Habarut ref1
Wadi Halfa ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Wadi Harazon ref1
Wadi Hayla ref1
Wadi Jadileh ref1
Wadi Jazal ref1
Wadi Jizzi ref1
Wadi Maydan (Miyadin) ref1, ref2
Wadi Mitan ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Wadi Nahiz ref1
Wadi Sahilnawt ref1
Wadi Shiswaws ref1
Wadi Tayyin ref1
Wadi Thawbah ref1
Wadi Waghala ref1
Wadi Yistah ref1, ref2
wadi-camping ref1
Wahab, Mohammed ref1
Wahabism ref1
Wahiba Sands ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Wallace, Alfred Russel ref1, ref2
water bags ref1
water hyacinth ref1
water snails ref1
water, sources of ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
water wheels ref1, ref2
Well of Tahadat ref1
Wellington, Duke of ref1
Welwitschia ref1
Wentworth, William ref1
whales ref1
white-rumped blackchat ref1
whydah cuckoo ref1
Wilberforce, William ref1, ref2
wild cats ref1
Wilde, Simon ref1
wildfires ref1
Wilford, John Noble ref1
Williamson, Andrew ref1
Wills, William ref1
Wilson, Harold ref1
wolf spiders ref1
wolves ref1, ref2, ref3
Wood, Levison ref1
Woodman, Alan ref1
Wren, Percival Christopher ref1, ref2
wussum iron ref1
Xhosa tribes ref1, ref2
Al-Ya’qubi ref1
Yazidi faith ref1, ref2
Yemen ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11
Yukon River ref1
Zambezi River ref1, ref2, ref3
Zanzibar ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Zarins, Juris ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
Zarins, Kay ref1
al Zawawi, Dr Omar ref1
Zayani tribe ref1, ref2, ref3
Zayed, Sheikh ref1, ref2, ref3
Ziki ref1
Zimbabwe ref1, ref2
Zululand ref1
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Brought up in South Africa, I roamed the Tokai woods with the local gang. In the season of the berg-winds, I watched the fires at night on the flanks of nearby Table Mountain.
2. My grandfather, Eustace Fiennes, with his friend and neighbour, Winston Churchill, in the local Territorial Regiment. Grandad, like Winston, fought in the Sudan and in South Africa.
3. Grandad (1864–1943), at left, front row, in the British South Africa Company’s Police (1890–2), when he acted against the Portuguese on the Mozambique border.
4. John Hanning Speke (1827–1864). Colleague and later rival Nile explorer to Richard Burton, Speke discovered Lake Victoria Nyanza.
5. Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890). Burton was an acclaimed explorer, traveller and writer.
6. James Augustus Grant (1827–1892). Like Speke, Captain Grant was an Indian Army Officer and tiger hunter. He was an integral part of the great Source of the Nile controversy of that time.
7. Sir Samuel White Baker (1821–1893) and his ex-slave wife, Lady Florence ‘Flooey’ Baker (1841–1916). Baker was a multifaceted Victorian hero, as was his wife, who accomp
anied him on his expeditions.
8. Doctor David Livingstone (1813–1873). Livingstone started his working life on a cotton mill, then trained as a missionary doctor. His dream was to travel throughout Africa to spread Christianity and to fight slavery.
9. Henry Morton Stanley (1841–1904). As a journalist, he was sent to Africa to find the then ‘missing’ Livingstone. Stanley made his name reporting on Livingstone and thereafter made epic journeys of his own.
10. Charles Gordon (1833–1885). Gordon had a distinguished military career, after which he was made Governor of Equatoria in the Sudan where he mapped the Upper Nile and fought slavery.
11. Horatio Herbert Kitchener (1850–1916). After military service in Palestine and Cyprus, he became Governor of Sudan.
12. Tippo Tib (1837–1905). Real name Hamad bin Muhammad al-Murghabi, his mother was an Omani with royal family connections and his father was a coastal Swahili with slaving traditions. He built his own trading empire based on ivory, slaves and political cunning. He claimed the Eastern Congo for the Sultan of Zanzibar and, with associations with the likes of Stanley and the King of Belgium, became involved in the Congo–Arab War. He died of malaria in Zanzibar.
13. Most adult slaves of both sexes were roped together in gangs and often with six-foot-long individual heavy beams of wood pinned around their necks, to prevent escape as they journeyed along well-used routes from their location of capture to the coast.
14. An awkward moment unloading one of our hovercraft from a Wadi Halfa cattle barge on the Nile.
15. The two hovercraft, Baker and Burton, on the banks of the Nile with the author and Charles Westmoreland.
16. The Atlantis of the Nubian Desert. The Commissioner of Wadi Halfa shows the author his murals, which depict the town and oasis as it was before being totally submerged as a result of the construction of the Aswan Dam.
17. A breakdown in the Nubian Desert – Peter Loyd at the right.
18. The hovercraft doing well en route to Akasha.
19. Bilharzia is an ever-present menace in the shallows by the banks. Peter Loyd servicing one of Baker’s drive motors. Nick Holder contracted bilharzia at about this time.
20. Baker, after the collapse of a bridge in the warzone of the Bor Forest, subsequently the scene of many massacres.
21. We came across an apparently endless file of black ants, some half an inch long. They packed a shocking bite, as Ollie discovered when a couple became lodged between his shirt tail and pants.
22. The townsfolk of Malakal watch the arrival of their first visit by a hovercraft.
23. Ginny masterminded the Transglobe Expedition between 1972 and its completion in 1982.
24. Father Charles Eugène de Foucauld (1858–1916). De Foucauld served in the French Army in North Africa, before becoming a dedicated Trappist monk and settling in the Sahara, living among the Tuaregs of the Hoggar mountain region. He was murdered in 1916 and beatified by the Pope in 2005.
25. Ollie (foreground) and Simon in the Sahara.
26. For 50 miles we drove along rocky tracks into the canyons of the Hoggar and, at 8000 feet, came to the pass of Assekrem.