More tales from the Empty Quarter

The people of the Arabian peninsula know it as ‘The Empty Quarter’. The Bedouin know it, more simply, as ‘The Sands’. Whatever name you give it, its unforgiving vastness comprises 650,000sq km of sand – the largest sand desert on the planet. At the height of summer, temperatures have been known to edge towards 55˚C, but as we enter the winter months, the late afternoons are cool and the evenings cold – ideal weather to hit the Al Hama’im Road and head towards the Saudi border.

On this page you’ll find your complete guide to exploring Abu Dhabi’s own portion of this great wilderness, including the hows, the wheres, the whos and, above all, the whys…

Into the Empty Quarter

Good old Wilfred Thesiger. The explorer’s five years in the heat of the UAE desert have inspired countless expats to dip their toes in the shallows of the Rub’ Al Khali, and his books and artefacts have become a small tourist industry in their own right. You can head out to the museum in Al Ain to gaze upon the man’s engraved rifle, or you can flit down to Liwa and have a go at desert camping, trying to imagine what it was like to be the UAE’s first expat explorer. You’re never going to get close, of course.