Explorer Mikael Strandberg

Kyle Anthony Foster and me at a kat chew in Sanaa, Yemen. He is one of the biggest personalities I have met. And very knowledgeable of yemen. He speaks fluent Arabic, is married to a Yemeni from Mukalla and has at least one child.

Guest writer number 5 is Kyle Anthony Foster from Nebraska, who is currently living in Yemen, and have been doing so for the last ten years or more. He is one of the biggest personalities and characters I have come across, a true story teller, survivor, human being and adventurer of the old sorts. Everything happens to this guy! Not one boring second with him. He is married to a nice Yemeni from Mukalla and they have a lovely daughter together. He knows the ins and outs of Yemen. An important voice to listen to, these days of painting Yemen as one of the most dangerous countries in the world!

I am writing to you from a long, white sands beach under swaying palm
trees on the south coast of Arabia, in Yemen. The sun is setting over the Arabian Sea in a blaze of orange and gold.  These days my sun also rises in Yemen.  In fact, Yemen has been the place I call home for
most of the last ten years.  I met Mikael here last year and we became
immediate friends; sharing a love of adventure and expanding our
horizons through travel.  It might surprise you to think of some of the world’s most pristine and beautiful beaches in Yemen.  It might also surprise you to know that the country is not a giant sand pit but a mountainous country, incredibly green in the rainy season, with incredible gorges and vistas throughout. So, when Mikael asked if I might write something about Yemen I grabbed paper and pen and headed straight for the beach.  It is here, where the blue waters of the Arabian Sea meet the white beaches and rocky headlands of Arabia that the story of Yemen and its people begin.

Rub Al-Khali - the biggest sand dune desert in the world....

Yemen has often been described by scholars as an ‘island’ surrounded by the Arabian /Indian Ocean to the south, the Red Sea to the west and the vast sands of the Rub al-Khali – the Great Arabian Desert – to the north.  This geographical isolation has kept Yemen apart and misunderstood by the rest of the world since ancient times.  And it has also spurred the people of Yemen to look across seas and sands in search of trade and resources.  The ancient Greeks called this place, ‘Arabia Felix,’ in the mistaken belief that Yemen, and not India and the far east, was the source of spices.  In fact, Yemen was the center of the spice route from the far east and its geographical position allowed for the Kingdom of Saba (reported home of the Queen of Sheba) to benefit from the spice trade through taxes collected on the spice caravans travelling through her land.  Yemen was relatively little known to the outside world until the 1960s, when the secretive and feudal ‘Imam’ or king was overthrown for a republican government.

Yemen has remained little known and misunderstood since the revolution. The recent barrage of international media attention Yemen has received is testament to the world’s lack of understanding regarding this country.  The international media is currently in the habit of calling Yemen a ‘hotbed of terrorism,’ ’the ancestral homeland of Osama Bin Laden,’  (So what???  He wasn’t born here and did not grow up here.) and a place of ‘widespread anti-American sentiment.’  Regarding the Bin Laden issue I pose this to readers.  I am a citizen of the United States and I was born there. Ireland is my ancestral homeland.  If I committed crimes against humanity would the media report anything other than that I was a citizen of the United States?

Yemenis, some of the friendliest and most peaceful people on earth.

Yemen is, in fact, a place of moderate, tolerant Muslims, both Shia and Sunni, and a place where the great majority of the population strive for a better life for themselves and their families and a better future for Yemen.  Yes, there is a small (and I would call it very small) percentage of the population here for whom the words ‘anti-American,’ ‘extremist,’ or even ‘terrorist’ apply.  It would be naive to deny this.  However, I am sure that the world could use a dose of reality right now concerning the real situation of Yemen and her people.

Yemen is a developing nation with many problems, a government struggling to cope with meager and dwindling oil resources and a booming population (up to 3.5% by international estimates), a severe water crises for which there is no easy solution, a severe lack of food security causing 50% or more of the country’s children to suffer from malnutrition and stunted growth and a struggling economy which relys heavily on imported trade and not enough on domestic production.  The literacy rate in the country hovers around 60% for men and women.

Yemen’s isolation has, since ancient times, caused her people to look abroad in search for resources and  trade riches.  The arches over the windows and the doors of buildings in Mukella, the city behind me, bear the unmistakable stamp of the orient, brought back to Yemen by traders who ventured from India to Malaysia over the Indian Ocean.  The people of this country also bear the diverse characteristics of populations from the coast of East Africa, the interior of Arabia and all the way to the far east.  This diverse mix has made Yemen a place of a very unique and distinct culture.  And this diverse mix of people, culture and their history may also  help to explain why the majority of Yemenis are surprisingly tolerant with a love of music,  art and dance all their own as well as a tolerance for and interest in foreigners.

So what does Yemen need now?  The country is facing political instability with a rebellion stirring in the north and an independence movement awakening in the south.  Political support and a degree of military support are welcome and probably necessary at this time.  However, the real need Yemen is facing is in development support and aid to help the nation through this period of economic change and population growth.  What’s needed is real development aid funding government, international and local non-governmental development organizations focusing on education, food security and income generating projects and training - especially for rural areas where 70% of the population live.  A sincere effort at supporting development in this country is the only way we can hope to bring about the stability the nation needs through increased educational standards and outputs, increased access to health care, rising levels of nutritional intake and increased economic production leading to increased income levels for the poor and middle classes.  No amount of military assistance can bring about the development and change that the people of this nation seek and deserve.

Right now Yemen needs to be seen in the right light and needs the right assistance, according to the writer.

Kyle Foster’s Arabian Notes. Regular updates from one of America’s wildest. High Arabian adventure including a few excerpts from his book in progress. fosterarabiannotes.blogspot.com

The ex-pat camp in the Wahiba Sands. We went here with Mark Evans and his friends over the weekend, a lovely break from Muscat-life....

Pain!

Woke up early this morning after sleeping 10 hours. Exhausted after a visit to the Wahiba Sands, the great soothing desert, but no sleep at all. Tooth-ache. I am waiting to call the dentist when he opens at 9 a.m. Another of Talib´s contacts. Thank God I have been hit by this pain now, not on an expedition. It totally cripples you. The worst part of having a tooth-ache is that you can´t really communicate as you would like!

I have always been most content with life when I am dwelling into another culture. It is a learning experience, it is fascinating, never boring, you never know what to expect, it stimulates all your senses, makes you question everything you have learned from the day you left the Western crib, but most of all, you come across a lot of fantastic people. Meeting people is for me, the elixir of life! Therefore the main theme of the upcoming Expedition is connecting cultures, meeting people and building a bridge of understanding between the West and East. But, it is the most difficult project I have embarked upon, because it is a subject that involves people with the extremest of thoughts in both ends, which really touches the soul of human kind.  The best and the worst. It is a gigantic task and at times it just feels impossible! For this reason, I really admire people who have embarked upon a road to try to connect cultures and educate. And made a success out of it!

Mark together with one of his employees trying to figure out an interesting route for the Connecting Culture group....

One of them is Mark Evans, one of our best friends here in Muscat.  Having him here, makes such a difference for us.  He is an explorer himself , a Fellow of the Explorers Club and The Royal Geographical Society, which means we can discuss all aspects of everything which deals with Expeditions with him. Everything from planning, route assessment and sponsoring. Mark works full time today with Outward Bounds and after a life of teaching in places like Kenya and Saudi-Arabia and after spending a year on Svalbard, he has made Oman his home. What Mark doesn´t know abouth the Omani outback doesn´t exist. He has just released a book about his 28 days exploring the Rub Al-Khali. He is very modest and careful when it regards himself, but he is pretty much good at anything he puts his head into, but most of all, it is another great human being I have come across, and he has set up an organisation called Connecting Cultures. An initiative where he invites, supports and encourages young people from all over the world to meet in Oman, travel by camel and at the same time connect them culturally and enhance their understanding of each other. It is genuinely a great vision he has accomplished! A new Connecting Cultures Expedition for young people is coming up the 3-10th of December and I have been honored indeed to be able to supply Mark with a very positiveminded and excellent young lady from Sweden, Julia Samuelsson who will attend it.

Julia Samuelsson, the Swedish representative at the Connecting Culture event the 3-10th of December

Mark has of course met a lot of inspiring people in his 48 year old life. The most impressive one, who started his thoughts of a Connecting Culture theme, was a speech at Hyde Park in London by a South-African named Ian Player. Mark contacted this awesome personality and during the hardest times of getting his project on board, he was encouraged by Ian himself. A thoroughly inspiring person and after reading about him on Wikipedia I think I have a new favourite role model to strive for! The same inspirational help applies for Mark who is continuously motivating me not to give up this project, which at times seems impossible. I am beginning to understand why nobody ever has traveled by camel from Arabia’s easternmost tip till its westernmost point…..it wasn´t the physical limitations, it was the red tape…..still is!

Just back from the dentist. It will cost me 60 rial to sort out the mess I have created by not taking care off my gums and teeth….why does it all heap on to you, when not needed?

My friends at Explorers Web published this article today, sad, but true, but don´t judge to hard, people do mistakes, the need to gain some kind of success in life makes people do desperate things, we need to forgive and they will learn from their experience. Read this http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=18835

I receive a lot of emails right now about my photos from Yemen.

Justin wrote:

Marianne Ahrne wrote:

I had no idea that you were a world-class photographer as well. Your photos are world class and they really makes me wanna go to Yemen. How long are you staying for?

Lots of praise and, of course, that makes life easier. However, do see the Yemeni photos here!

And I get a fair amount of questions if I have any more slide shows from my travels to show. And I do…..but it was in Yemen were I finally got back to my old passionate photography, which have been on holiday for three years. However, why not have a look at these series of slide shows: (Have in mind though they´re quite crappy in comparison.)

• Oman
• The Galapagos Islands, Peru and Ecuador
• Patagonia
• Rub Al-Khali
• Papua New Guinea

And why not finish off with a little slide show from The Kolyma Expedition in Siberia?

Go here!

PS. Photo from the Maasai Expedition from the year 2000. the year I actually had hair. And a big stomach. DS

It just came as a matter of fact. The vision.

I almost love the research before an Expedition as much as the journey itself. And I know, it has to be thorough, professional and open-minded, because a lot of the success of any serious Expedition has to do with the amount of good research an explorer puts in. For me who love books, maps and since the Internet appeared as a research tool, unfortunately meaning the death of the libraries, this period is a big journey in itself. You almost have to become a scholar. Even though I will only remember a few percent of what I learn now and put into use on the expedition in itself, it will, still, most of it, be there in the back of my head, when the Expedition is over and it is time to do something with all the collected material. Like writing a book, doing a film or preparing for lectures. And it will put you in the right frame of mind already now, even though I am in reality holed up in a small, dusty little apartment in a dark and boring suburb to Stockholm. But already now, I will for example remember, knowledge gained from just the couple of days of research that I have done now, whilst doing research on Westerners Travelling in Rub Al-Khali or The Empty Quarter -well, the Bedu have travelled there for thousand of years of course, something the white West tends to forget, but they have no written material left behind, unfortunately- that one of the legends of the area is Bertram Thomas.

The Empty Quarter, or Rub Al-Khali, was often referred to in the first part of the 20th Century as one of the few remaining genuinely unexplored regions of the world, on the same scale as the South and North Pole. Therefore many explorers wanted to do the first crossing of this vast sandy desert, 650 000 square kilometres in size, like putting Belgium, Holland and France together, but first of all gold digging explorers to catch this price -forgetting the local Bedu who lived here- turned out to be a simple civil servant from Bristol in the UK, Bertram Thomas. He crossed the Empty Quarter together with local Bedu 1930-31 and wrote an excellent book called Arabia Fenix. Amazingly enough his book can be read on the Internet!

At this stage when I have decided on where to go, understanding the objective of the expedition, all effort has to be put into finding the right contacts and background material. Both tasks filled with joy. Communicating with experts on the area is half the fun. And so far almost everyone I have contacted have been very helpful, showing a camaraderie unknown between people in the same business as me here in grey Sweden. One of them is the Grand Old Dame of desert and Camel travel, Arita Baijeens. And as always, you come across people associated with other things and other dreams you have had. Today, by pure coincidence during my research, I came across an old acquaintance of mine, Dan Mazur, and remembered that I had told him a few years ago, that I of pure interest after reading Hillary´s account of his conquest of Everest, wanted to make an attempt on Hillary´s and Tenzing´s original route. Dan Mazur, like me using Facebook, so I contact him and said, I am still interested. He advised me to go for it, if prepared, april 2010. Why not then….life is short.

Second task is to put an enormous effort into getting a picture as big and broad as possible regarding the area. What I have to learn and try to understand in a very short time, 10 months or so, is a gigantic task. Even though I have already had quite a lot of insight into Islam, Arabs, the Middle East and desert travel from earlier travels, I know almost nothing about the Gulf, camels or, most important, their original inhabitants, the Bedu. And I need to learn Arabic, in shallah.

At the same time I have to try to support myself, find sponsors, set up the media kit, keep extremely fit, eat the right food, be relatively happy, have a social life, but still spend most of the time studying, no easy thing. Gee, there is some sacrifice indeed! It is at the same time, one of the best moments of an explorers life, but also the worst in some ways, because you love it more than other parts of your life. But it is the same thing before every Expedition. Most people who are close to you, genuinely fear and hate it! This is what a true explorer want to do more than anything else in life! travel, be it through books or in reality. I do look forward to this Expedition more than ever before!

It´s me and my very good friend and guide Kamil Al Raisi on the photo, standing in front of the tomb of Bibi Miriam. Both Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta stopped here on their travels. Very good company indeed. And that is what I will miss the most from my two weeks in Oman. The people. Like Kamil, Robby, Salim and the two Mussalems. I miss Oman more then most countries I have visited. Anyhow, here´s the link to my visit in Rub Al-Khali.

http://rubal-khali.blogspot.com/

On top of that, I have done two slideshows, one about Rub Al-Khali, the other about Oman. To see them, just click the links below.

Rub Al-Khali
Oman

”What is her name?” I asked Mussalam Bin Hassan and he forwarded the question immediately to his friend, Mussalam, who shook his head and said in Arabic: “The female camels are all named after their grandmother.”

“You can give her a name then”, Bin Hassan said in perfect English to me, but then changed his mind and said: “Let us call her Sahara! It means desert in Arabic.”

I then went up to Sahara, stroked her long neck and patted her cheeks at the same time she was hobbled by her front legs, lying on all four as a sphinx on the desert floor. The surroundings where spectacular, burning orange red sand dunes all around and total silence. Suddenly Sahara looked at me, gave out a loud gurgle and vomited a green foul smelling substance straight on my face. I realized that I would have preferred a better start to my visit in the southern most tip of the biggest sand desert in the world – Rub Al-Khali.

The major reason for my visit was to find out if I really had my heart into my next big project, Expedition Arabia by camel, maybe as much as 7000 km:s of desert travel with camel during at least 18 months. One of the last great Expeditions on earth. I have the last two years found myself in limbo, not enjoying life too much, not knowing what to do with life. Suddenly, I just realized, by pure coincidence, whilst visiting a lecture by an oil company and seeing the words Rub al-Khali written on a map, that is it! Arabia! That is my next Expedition! Well, anyway, whilst taking a look at a world map of Arabia I saw the full picture. And one of the major obstacles on such an Expedition would be a passing of this legendary desert, Rub Al-Khali, made famous by the legendary British explorer Wilfred Thesiger. Since then, well, as always, forgetting the local Bedu who live here, who crossed for necessity up until the early seventies when Oman was thrown in no time into the modern era, an unsupported passage has not been done by a westerner since 1949. So, I was in the Empty Quarter to try to find out if I still had what it takes to do a big Expedition. Meaning checking that I really had the heart into it had the right motivation and physical and mental stamina. And hopefully find one or two Arabs preferably of Bedouin origin to join me, because I want my project to be an Expedition where east and West travels together and build bridges between people and cultures. A project also to promote Arabia and Arabs. I have realized a long time ago that we in the west have a terrible picture of this part of the world and its people. And it is getting worse by the day. Something has to be done. I will do my best to balance it a bit. Because, after a few days with three great Bedu in a small tiny part of Rub Al Khali, I know that some of the best people on earth live here!

See the slideshow from my visit in Rub Al-Khali here

See the slideshow from Oman here

“I was born in cave”, Bin Hassan told me slowly and calmly when we took a 4 hour break in the middle of the first day, lying in the shade of one of the two four wheel drives that accompanied us, “and I didn’t wear any shoes until I went into the army. And now, today, I have been in Europe, I speak 5 languages, have all modern gadgets and have my own business. It feels like I have taken a gigantic step.”
Bin Hassan was dressed in his white dishdasha, a matching orange-brown turban and looked like a sultan in his grey beard. He was slightly heavy, since he wasn’t moving about by foot as he once did. Like all bedu boys he had to take and look after grazing camels, walking long distances to find something to eat. We were the same age. It made us even more comfortable with each other. Bin Hassan has experienced a lot in his life. He has seen and heard most things.
“The life of the Bedouin has changed a lot”, he said, he like all bedu (Bedu in local tongue) likes talking, it is still a favourite past time, “Today’s young kids are lazy. They don´t want to do anything. They’re spoilt. I would like to do something about that. I want to try to preserve some of the old Bedu culture. Maybe do a long trip by camel.”
“Maybe we should try to pass Rub Al-Khali together?” I said.
“Yes”, Bin Hassan answered thoughtfully, “That will be a very good idea. Let us do it in true bedu style. No shoes, bare feet, just have dried meat, dates, Arabic bread and coffee with us.”
“Unsupported, no cars, no back up” I said.
“Yes” , Bin Hassan said solicitously and told Mussalam in their local tongue, mehri, he who owned Sahara, the camel and he nodded, and Bin Hassan looked at me and said: “We need him to come with us, he knows everything about camels. He lives with them and loves them. We are strong you and me, but not like him. He is very strong.”
Mussalam smiled as always. He was in his mid-fifties, lean and strong. He smoked his pipe, talked about women and marriage and grinned. He was my image of a real bedu. And did he have to show his strength on this practise run?
Yes, because it turned out immediately I sat up on this peculiar animal, which in itself is dramatic, she groaned unhappily and then we sat out cruising through these dramatic sand dunes, me being transported like a child in a zoo, by somebody holding a rope, pulling the animal. It all went well until a group of English tourists turned up and made it all into a circus by trying t get two people on Sahara. A disaster and from that time she was almost impossible to ride for me. She groaned, vomited and looked like she could bite me all the time and even for Mussalam, sitting up on her was like a small rodeo every time. So I set out on foot.

See the slideshow from my visit in Rub Al-Khali here

See the slideshow from my visit to oman here

I basically walked for four days. A few hours. Half before the four hour lunch brake, and half after. Always through a dramatic desert scenery. I have been in a lot of deserts, like the biggest of them all, Sahara, but it cannot compare. Take the Sahara for example. The sand dunes there are higher and bigger, but they are covering just small areas of this vast desert. The rest is flat stone desert broken up by valleys. But Rub Al-Khali, if I am to believe Bin Hassan, is pretty much all sand dunes! And it is a big desert! Largest sand desert in the world and covers about 650,000 km², being about 1000 west to east in the north, from north to south about 800 in its western side and 300 km in its eastern side. It is the largest continuous sand area in the world. Rub al-Khali has no permanent settlements, and represents one of the most extreme areas in the world with summer temperatures shifting from below 0ºC at night to over 60ºC at noon. Dunes can reach heights of more than 300 metres. I climbed the biggest dune next to our night camp every evening, just to get a view over this vast desert. It is the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The shapes, the patterns and the size are just unbelievable, but the most penetrating feeling in Rub Al-Khali is the emotion of tranquillity and peace of mind. It took two evenings of sitting at the top of the highest dunes to get me to understand that my life for many years ahead, maybe the rest of my life, will be deserts. Somehow I felt like I had come home.

I was spoilt as any tourist on this trip. Bin Hassan did all the cooking and Mussalam and our third helper, Salim, from the same tribe as the other two, took care of everything else. Bin Hassan is used to tourists, running his own business to take all nationalities to experience the Empty Quarter. And one of the biggest joys of desert travel, is not like I am used to, travelling by yourself, it is the time you spend together around the campfire. It is a natural way to live. And as Wilfred Thesiger said:

“You never feel lonely amongst Arabs!”

There´s first of all in the desert, not only at night camp, almost dead silent, the surroundings, broken only by a stray bird, like ravens, otherwise it is so silent you can almost hear when you make an invisible line in front of you, by drawing your finger in front of you, from left to right. That silent. The food tastes great. The talk is joyful and full of inspiration. Suddenly darkness takes over and the sky suddenly explodes with stars, the Milky Way is so close. Strongest is the Northern Star, It was full moon during my visit. So after two hours of relative darkness, suddenly the moon towered on top of us and we could switch of the torches when going off to do the needs. One sleeps outside in the desert of course, especially during winter, since no scorpions or snakes look for a place to rest. It is part of feeling free. And after sleeping indoors for two years in row, which is a lot for me since I have slept over 2500 nights in my tent, I slept better than ever. Waking up a lot, having some very strong dreams, but still, even with a few hours sleep, one feels refreshed in the morning. And, the reason for waking up is that suddenly a small little breeze starts and touches your cheeks. When you open your eyes, the moon lightening up the spectacular surroundings and it feels like you are in the middle of a dream.

See the slideshow from Rub Al-Khali here

See the slideshow from my visit in Oman here

A feeling which changes quickly during midday, whilst walking and the strong sun is pounding your head. It is difficult to think during this time, otherwise deserts are great for contemplating life. And during this time it is hard to believe that anyone can survive, even less live in the desert, but the amazing thing is that you continuously see tracks after life. Most of all from small lizards, beetles and hares. But I also saw a fresh track after a fox. Repeatedly you pass some odd looking rock balls, which in fact are crystallized over thousands of years by the little dew that the desert receives. On and off you pass a resilient bush or even a patch of grass, loved by the camels. These animals which are so perfectly evolved to fit the desert. Mussalam, the camel owner, had major difficulties with Sahara for three days. She didn’t like the desert at all. Especially with a tourist on her bShe wasn’t used to travelling over dunes and was terrified every time it was going uphill or downhill. The forth day she allowed me to ride her again. And once up on the back of the camel, behind her hump, sitting on a relatively comfortable saddle, it is pure joy when at walking pace. It is much more comfortable than on a horse, but once, for some unknown reason, a faster trot or gallop starts it is very difficult to enjoy life. Since there´s no stirrups, and very little balance, you hold on to the saddle for your life! But, there´s no doubt, a desert should be travelled by camel. It is relatively slow, so you actually have time to study the surroundings carefully, but still it moves faster than walking. 5 km:s per hour and you loose very little energy and sweat by riding a camel and therefore, need less water. But, gee, do I need to train camel riding before setting off on the great Expedition of our time!

“I need the desert”, Bin Hassan told me almost every hour, “I feel very good every time I return here.”

I learnt a lot about the Bedu during these days. My respect for them is enormous. The power it takes just to survive in the desert is unbelievable as anybody can understand who has suffered thirst and hunger in the desert. (Which I didn’t this time, but I have spent a long time all together in other deserts around the world.) And they have lived here for thousands of years. They are the people of the desert. Three times a day I saw them turned in the direction of Mecca, praying to Allah. It just felt so natural out here in the desert and I can well understand why Islam was born in the desert not far from Rub Al-Khali. Every year some Bedu, those who cannot afford air or car travel, takes a three month camel journey to Mecca. Through the Empty Quarter. I also like that the Bedu are very sociable, talkative and very proud. They believe in themselves. They consider themselves the true Arabs. And they love women and camels, more than anything. These two subjects dominated the camp fire talks. Mussalam even started drawing women dressed in abeyya in the sand. That after only 4 days, gee, I wonder what kind of paintings it will be like after seven weeks in the desert!

So, conclusion, what did I learn for the big Expedition?

• I need to learn Arabic, there´s no doubt about it. More important than ever. I will not get anything serious done otherwise. I will not understand Arabia.
• Good, well-trained camels are dead important. They should be used to hard, undulating desert travel and like tourists…I will need at least three months of training before leaving and setting out on Expedition.
• Desert travel in winter is not bad at all. The heat is bearable. Nights are not to cold.
• Travelling the Bedu way will be much more difficult than traditional expedition travel. Less food and less energy…..
• Motivation is very high and I am definitely ready! It feels like big things are coming up!