Under the auspices of HE the Secretary General of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Crossing the Empty Quarter Expedition
officially launched
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This historic expedition comes as part of the Sultanate’s 45th National Day celebrations
and marks the 85th anniversary of the historic 1930 Empty-Quarter crossing.
The expedition aims to enhance the bonds of friendship between Oman, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and the UK
The expedition is under the patronage of HH Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said in Oman
and HRH The Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom and HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al
Thani in Qatar, and the patron in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is expected to be
announced soon.
Muscat, 1 November 2015:
As part of the Sultanate’s 45th National Day celebrations, with the blessing of His Majesty Sultan
Qaboos bin Said and under the patronage of HH Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said in Oman and HRH
Prince Charles - The Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom and HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Khalifa
in Qatar, the ‘Crossing the Empty Quarter’ expedition was unveiled to media at an official event held
at the Diplomatic Club in Muscat on Sunday. For only the second time in recorded history an attempt
is being made to cross the Rub al Khali, the biggest sand desert in the world. A team of Omani and
British explorers will leave from Salalah in Oman on 10th December and walk across the desert
through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Doha in Qatar.
The press conference, which unveiled details of the journey, was held under the auspices of His
Excellency Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
was attended by Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of
Qatar in addition to a number of government officials and representatives of the media. During the
proceedings, Mark Evans spoke of the details of the expedition, the targets of this noble journey and
the historic facts of the original journey that took place almost 85 years ago.
On this occasion HE Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
commented: “Oman history holds many important historic events that haven’t had light shed upon
them such as the first recorded crossing of the Empty Quarter took place in 1930. This expedition
comes as part of the 45th National Day, celebrating the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos
bin Said - the first patron of the youth and reflects his determination to equip and inspire Omani
youth to be prepared for future challenges. We are very proud of the many achievements of our
Omani young people, and their continuous efforts that raises’ the Omani flag on the world stage in a
whole variety of ways. This challenge is further evidence of the potential of Omanis to face the
various difficulties to achieve honorable goals, stemming from their noble characters. We wish the
participants all the best on this journey in their quest to build on the achievements of their
ancestors.”
The journey aims to inspire young Omanis to embody the fundamentals of responsibility and selfdependence and endurance in order to overcome challenges of the 21st century and achieve their
goals. They will depart on the 10th of December 20105 on a two month journey with the expedition
team that includes two Omanis; Mohammed Al Zadjali and Amour Al Wahaibi, and British explorer
Mark Evans. They will depart from Bait Mirbat Salalah with the aim to reach Doha at the end of
January 2016, a journey of 1,300 kilometers.
The 2015 expedition will trace the route taken by the first men credited with making the crossing in
1930. British explorer Bertram Thomas and Sheikh Saleh bin bin Kalut took sixty days to reach their
destination negotiating their way through warring tribes, sand storms and an unforgiving landscape,
combatting scorching heat, freezing nights, blinding sandstorms and surviving on a diet of brackish
water, dates, dried meat and packet soup. The 2015 expedition will again be conducted solely on
foot and by camel train.
Mark Evans, General Manager of Outward Bound Oman and head of the Crossing the Empty Quarter
expedition team said: “We are proud to be undertaking this historic and challenging expedition, and
look forward to starting the journey in a little over one months’ time. One of our key objectives is to
encourage and inspire young people, and instill the idea that success in life can only be achieved by
sustained hard work, willingness and team spirit.”
Another expedition team member, Mohammed Al Zadjali said: “I am excited to be taking part in this
challenge, which reminds us of the historical events in the Sultanate of which many people are not
aware. The original Empty-Quarter crossing by Bertram Thomas and Sheikh Saleh bin Kalut was
undertaken in 1930 and their achievement was met with global acclaim, however many people today
have forgotten this great accomplishment. I am honored to carry the Omani flag during this fantastic
expedition and spread this message to the Omani Youth, and express to them that ambition is the
key to achieving goals with hard work and planning.”
The Awareness Campaign
To capture footage of the expedition, a media team will accompany the expedition party on the first
leg of the journey from Salalah to the Saudi border.
The Crossing the Empty Quarter expedition is also accompanied by an intensive awareness in schools
and media campaign using traditional media, social media, commercial malls, cinema screens, and
Muscat and Salalah airports and Oman Air inflight screens.
Competition
Alongside the expedition there will be a ten week Instagram Competition for young Omanis.
They will be invited to be inspired, take on the challenges and take a picture inspired be different
themes and quotes.
Competition winners will receive one of 36 free places on a life changing Outward Bound Oman ‘Skills
for Life’ course aimed at giving youth the tools to achieve their future dreams and goals (14-17 years
category), or one of six places on the UNESCO Connecting Cultures Course held in Oman where
winners will represent Oman on the international stage (18-25 years category)
Expedition Partners
The Crossing the Empty Quarter expedition is grateful for the generous support provided by a number
of government and private companies in preparing for this event, including; Outward Bound Oman,
the Omani-Qatari telecommunication Company (Ooredoo), Muscat City Center, Oman Airport
Management Company, Oman Air, VOX cinema, Muscat Grand Mall, Al Futtaim Automotive
(FAMCO), Thuraya, City Cinema and Nomas, CfBT.
End
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For more information, please visit the expedition’s website at
crossingtheemptyquarter.com Further details:Facebook page at facebook.com/CrossingEQ,
Twitter at twitter.com/CrossingEQ
Instagram competition at instagram.com/CrossingEQ.
Downlaod the official mobile phone application ‘Tahaddi Arabia’ on Android and iOS devives
#CrossingEQ will be used by the official accounts to share details about this historic crossing.