“As I listened I thought once again how precarious was the existence of the Bedu. Their way of life naturally made them fatalists; so much was beyond their control. It was impossible for them to provide for a morrow when everything depended on a chance fall of rain or when raiders, sickness, or any one of a hundred change happenings might at any time leave them destitute, or end their lives. They did what they could, and no people were more self-reliant, but if things went wrong they accepted their fate without bitterness, and with dignity as the will of God.” DesertNomadNomadicBedouinDesert SurvivalBedouin Life Author:Wilfred Thesiger
“As I listened I thought once again how precarious was the existence of the Bedu. Their way of life naturally made them fatalists; so much was beyond their control. It was impossible for them to provide for a morrow when everything depended on a chance fall of rain or when raiders, sickness, or any one of a hundred chance happenings might at any time leave them destitute, or end their lives. They did what they could, and no people were more self-reliant, but if things went wrong they accepted their fate without bitterness, and with dignity as the will of God.” DesertNomadNomadic LifeBedouinDesert SurvivalBedouin Life Author:Wilfred Thesiger
“For me, exploration was a personal venture. I did not go to the Arabian desert to collect plants nor to make a map; such things were incidental. At heart I knew that to write or even to talk of my travels was to tarnish the achievement. I went there to find peace in the hardship of desert travel and the company of desert peoples. I set myself a goal on these journeys, and, although the goal itself was unimportant, its attainment had to be worth every effort and sacrifice... No, it is not the goal but the way there that matters, and the harder the way the more worth while the journey.” WayWritingHeartMatterGoalEffortCompanySacrificeJourneyAchievementHarderPlantDesertMapsHardshipExplorationVentureAttainmentUnimportantFinding PeaceArabian Book:Arabian Sands Source: Arabian Sands
“In the desert I had found a freedom unattainable in civilization; a life unhampered by possessions, since everything that was not a necessity was an encumbrance. I had found too, a comradeship inherent in the circumstances, and the belief that tranquility was to be found there.” FoundBeliefCircumstancesCivilizationPossessionDesertInherentTranquilityUnattainableComradeship Book:Arabian Sands Source: Arabian Sands
“I knew instinctively that it was the very hardness of life in the desert which drew me back there - it was the same pull which takes men back to the polar ice, to high mountains, and to the sea.” MenSeaMountainIceDesertHardness Book:Arabian Sands Source: Arabian Sands