The Rub’ Al-Khali, whose name literally means “Empty Quarter,” was coined by the Swiss geographer Burckhardt in his 1829 book “Travels in Arabia.” It was later used by the English traveler Charles Doughty, who quoted this explanation from Arabs stating that “Two quarters divided God and the children of Adam, the third he gave to Ajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog), the fourth part of the world is called the Rub’ Al-Khali.” Today, this name has become the official one of this legendary desert, even among Arabs.
Some parts of this mythical desert spread into the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen, but most of its vast extent is in Saudi Arabia, mainly in the Eastern Province, but also in Najran and Riyadh Provinces.
The Rub’ Al-Khali accumulates superlatives. It is the largest contiguous sand desert in the world; it contains some of the highest dunes, with some reaching 250 meters. Its hyper-arid climate is among the harshest in the world, with typical annual rainfall of less than 3 centimeters. Its temperatures reach above 50°C in summer, whereas sub-zero temperatures are frequent during winter nights!
Another dangerous feature of the Rub’ Al-Khali is the sabkhas. Feared by locals, sabkhas are plains in between massive dunes that can be easy to cross in most cases, but in some parts, the ground is so soft that vehicles would get badly stuck.
The tough conditions the Rub’ Al-Khali imposes on any presence of life made it one of the last places on earth not explored until the beginning of the 20th century. The world had to wait for the expeditions of Bertram Thomas in 1930 and Harry Saint-John Philby in 1932 to have the first descriptions of this mythical place.
But animal life hasn’t waited that long to populate this desert. Snakes, scorpions, spiders, and more “friendly” inhabitants, such as birds, have succeeded in adapting to the toughness of the climate.
Moreover, this place has not always been that hostile to life. It is believed to have hosted lakes for extended periods of time, thanks to monsoon rains pouring into the Arabian Peninsula further north for thousands of years.
As surprising as it sounds, the Rub’ Al-Khali was once populated with hippopotamuses, water buffalos, and long-horned cattle. Today, shells can still be found on the desperately dry ground of its vast plains.
Nowadays, some drillings in the Rub’ Al-Khali that brought underground water to the surface give an idea of how it could have looked during more humid periods.
It is really tempting to face the dangers of the Rub’ Al-Khali in order to admire its grandiose landscapes and live the true experience of the desert. However, given the extreme conditions of the Rub’ Al-Khali, it is strongly recommended to go there only with accredited tours. Clearly, it is just madness to explore it alone or with one car only, even if fully equipped. Unfortunately, deadly accidents still happen, and in recent years, people have gotten stuck in the vast expanse of sand far away from any phone coverage and human presence.
On the 10th of December 2015, after years of preparation, Mark Evans’s project to recreate the trip made by Bertram Thomas 85 years earlier finally took place. That day, the “Crossing the Empty Quarter” team left from Salalah in Oman, went through the Rub’ Al-Khali from south to north, and after 49 days and 1,300 km on foot and by camel, Omani explorers Mohammed Al-Zadjali and Amur Al-Wahaibi, with Brit Mark Evans, successfully reached Al Rayan Fort in Doha, completing the first crossing of the Empty Quarter in 85 years.
