“Experiences were by Philby’s standards seldom great unless they could be counted as of the ‘first-ever’ quality.” This is how Elizabeth Monroe described Harry Philby in her book Philby of Arabia. Harry St. John Bridger Philby (1885–1960),
The British explorer, adviser, writer, and Arabist, is well known for being the first European to cross the Rub’ Al-Khali (Empty Quarter) Desert, traveling from east to west, starting from Al-Uqair all the way to Jeddah. This spectacular journey, one of the most remarkable of its time, was documented with great precision.
My dear grandfather, Harry Philby, later known as Sheikh Abdullah Philby following his conversion to Islam in 1930, was born in Badula, Ceylon, on April 3, 1885. He received his education at Westminster School and Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. A young man of curiosity, he was passionate about learning multiple languages and became fluent in several tongues, thanks to his exceptional linguistic skills and dedication. He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1907 and arrived on the Arabian Peninsula in 1917, first setting foot in Basra, Iraq.
A life-changing chapter unfolded thereafter, including his unparalleled expedition across the magnificent Rub’ Al-Khali Desert and the time he spent exploring, working, and documenting his experiences in the Arabian region.
On a personal level, Harry Philby went through two marriages: first with Dora Johnston, and then with Rozy Al-Abdul Aziz, my beloved grandmother. Abdullah Philby was the father of Kim, Diana, Helena, Patricia, Fahad, Sultan, Khaled, and Faris, all of whom would forever hold him dear in their hearts and minds. He will also always be remembered as a grandfather and great-grandfather to many of us who look forward to reuniting with him in a better place.
The story of Abdullah Philby serves as a rich source of knowledge and moral values, with his brilliant books standing as clear evidence of the unique fate he encountered and the charismatic personality he possessed. My beloved grandfather Abdullah Philby passed away peacefully in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on September 30, 1960, leaving behind a precious heritage and a loving family.
Harry Philby and the Rub’ Al-Khali Desert
Harry Philby’s spectacular 1932 crossing of the Rub’ Al-Khali is an adventure he documented with meticulous detail — a trait for which he was well known and which he astonishingly passed down to me. Summarizing the details of his exploration is a daunting task, but here is a glimpse. Philby’s determination to cross the Rub’ Al-Khali can be encapsulated in his own words: “I am going now, and you will not see me for a year, perhaps two years, or you will never see me again. If I come back, I shall have explored the Empty Quarter.” His excitement and eager anticipation grew as he found himself in the middle of nowhere, disconnected from the rest of the world — a reality his companions did not fully embrace.
Equipped with a mix of foot travel, camels, and a 4x4 vehicle, Philby was prepared for the sand and dunes. Throughout his expedition, he collected numerous specimens of fossils and insects, meticulously documenting their attributes in an effort to preserve their characteristics. One of his key objectives was to find Ubar, the city described in the Holy Qur'an as having been destroyed for defying Prophet Hud (peace be upon him). Philby transliterated the name as Wabar, leading him to discover the Wabar Craters, the site of a rare cosmic event.
“I looked down not upon the ruins of an ancient city but into the mouth of a volcano, whose twin craters, half filled with drifted sand, lay side by side surrounded by slag and lava outpoured from the bowels of the earth,” Philby recounted.
Subsequent examinations of the fragments collected from the site confirmed that they were a result of meteoric iron. A large fragment of the Wabar meteorite is displayed in the lobby of the Saudi National Museum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Philby also encountered another natural phenomenon in the Empty Quarter: the singing sands, which he described as a curious yet unmistakable sensation of pulsing and throbbing below the surface, reminiscent of a mild earthquake.
Despite the harsh conditions in the Rub’ Al-Khali, Philby persevered through hunger and thirst to accomplish his mission. His notebooks, preserved at the Royal Geographical Society in London, contain detailed records of every plant and animal he encountered in the desert. A statement released following his death noted, “When St John Philby died suddenly at the age of 75 in Beirut on September 30, 1960, on his way back to Arabia from London, the Royal Geographical Society lost one of its most distinguished explorers and a man of remarkable character.”
Laurence Kirwan, the RGS secretary in 1960, remarked, “During these long and often solitary desert journeys, Philby was able to free himself from the political and moral controversies into which he so hotly plunged in more civilized surroundings. All attention was concentrated, without thought of personal comfort or advantage, on the scrupulously careful collection of scientific observations of all kinds. These formed the foundations of our knowledge of Arabia.”
Abdullah Philby had been presented with The Royal Geographical Society’s Founders Medal, the highest award the society could bestow, which required personal approval from King George. This medal was awarded to Philby as a result of his 1917 journey across Arabia, from east coast to west, an expedition that helped shape a nation, led to the biggest oil deal in the history of the planet, and added exceptional detail and understanding to existing knowledge of Arabia.
Toward the end of his incredible journey through the Empty Quarter, Philby remarked, “The skin on my hands is burnt through to the quick" Did Abdullah Philby accomplish a successful first-ever quality journey through this vast desert region of the southern Arabian Peninsula? He absolutely did!
Abdullah Philby was buried in Al-Bashoura Cemetery in Beirut, with my uncle Kim Philby’s inscription on his grave: “The Greatest of Arabian Explorers.”
