Loose_Grip/Pete's photos with the keyword: desert

On holiday in Jordan we drove out of Aqaba to Wadi Rum about 60km to the east towards the Saudi Arabian border. This is effectively the gateway to the Arabian desert and a wadi made famous by Lawrence of Arabia who passed this way several times during the Arab Revolt of 1917-18. It also featured in the 1960s film.

Another shot of Shibam, the Manhattan of the Desert. Shibam is a magical place from the air or on the ground. It must have been a breathtaking vision of civilisation for any desert traveller crossing the Empty Quarter to look over the high cliffs of Wadi Hadramaut and see this beautiful city rising from the wadi floor.

We lived in Yemen 1992-94. The office was in Sana'a in the mountains but the field area was a 3 hour flight to the east in the Hadramaut. Taken from the company de Havilland Twin Otter Wadi Hadramaut is seen in the distance running roughly east-west into which this north-south subsidiary connects.

The Manhattan of the desert. Shibam in eastern Yemen.

Airborne over Wadi Hadramaut in eastern Yemen. Because of the dramatic relief (up to 300m) between wadi & jebel we used helicopters on the seismic acquisition crew and all equipment was flown out to the line. This is the view as the aircraft tops the jebel. We had one ex-Vietnam vet pilot who used to delight in giving visiting newcomers a gentle take off from the jebel, fly slowly across the edge of the cliff & then immediately drop vertically down 500ft into the wadi. An exhilarating experience to say the least. Unfortunately he was later in an accident when the engines cut-out at about 100ft when he was long-lining & the helicopter fell to the ground. Amazingly he kept the aircraft upright & survived with minor cuts & bruises but shortly after he decided enough was enough & took retirement.

Fighting against the fierce gradient and the curvature JS 2-8-2 8167 pulls its load of side-tippler coal trucks out of the deep open cast pit at Sandaoling.

We took an early morning Pilatus flight from Hassi Massouad to the Lasmo-operated El Ouar drilling permit, in south-central Algeria, 200km southeast of Hassi Massouad & approx. 800 km southeast of Algiers. Lots of sand dunes in the Sahara! I love the sharp line contrast between brightness and darkness at this time of day. A freeze frame from my video.

Another full trainload of coal heads out of the open cast pit behind JS 2-8-2 8167.

JS 2-8-2 8053 heads away to Nanzhan yard with a trainload of coal from the Shibanzi deep mine west of Sandaoling.

It's the pre-dawn shift change at Dongbolizhan and 2 JS 2-8-2s simmer in the semi-darkness.

Waiting to board a Pilatus in the Sahara desert south of Hassi Massouad. We were en route to a seismic crew shooting a survey in the Lasmo-operated El Ouar drilling permit, Algeria. It was pretty cramped for the first stage of the journey from Hassi with a full complement of passengers in the small aircraft but after dropping off most of them at this wellsite the two of us flying on to El Ouar could spread out. It was said that El Ouar meant "the worst" in Arabic referring to the the sand dunes being the most impassable. They had a relief of up to 1000ft and were so dense that it was impossible to drive/walk around them. This meant some serious climbing was needed to progress through the area. While the dunes gradually increase in size & density from the north to the south the dune belt stops very abruptly along a southwest-northeast line. I have flown over the area since on the way to West Africa & from 30,000ft this change from sand to rocky desert is very clear & hence it is easy to locate yourself.