Description
Black Tents of Arabia 1947
Carl Raswan
“Black Tents of Arabia” (1947) is a classic ethnographic travel narrative by British explorer William Thesiger, documenting his journeys with the Bedouin across the Empty Quarter (Rubʿ al‑Khali) in the 1940s. It is one of the most important works ever written about Bedouin culture, desert life, and pre‑oil Arabia.
Core content
Bedouin life — hospitality, honor codes, tribal politics, poetry, and daily routines
Crossing the Empty Quarter — Thesiger’s two major expeditions (1945–1947)
Encounters with tribes — Rashid, Awamir, Manasir, Bani Yas, and others
Pre‑oil Arabia — a world on the edge of transformation
Photography — early images of the desert, caravans, and nomadic camps
Thesiger’s writing is valued because he lived as a guest of the Bedouin, not as a distant observer. His accounts are among the last detailed records of nomadic life before modernization.
1947 Hardcover, no jacket
