In the final days and nights of the Heart of Arabia Expedition the team, and Philby, faced some of the hardest terrain of both their expeditions. Vast open expanses of desert dunes followed by the ancient volcanic fields of harat.

As Mark, Reem, Ana-Maria and Alan get closer to their goal of Jeddah, their minds are drawn to the Red sea coast, but it also gives them time to reflect on the connection they have felt to nature and to Philby during their time crossing Saudi Arabia.

But, as Mark knows only too well from previous expeditions, they must keep their focus on the day to day because just like Philby before them, illness and fatigue strikes the team again.

After spending Christmas in Taif and skirting Mecca, Mark fulfils one of the main expedition ambitions, to journey with purpose, when he visits the Jeddah Prep and Grammar School to hear how the pupils there have been following the expedition and enriching their lessons across the curriculum.

Having arrived in Jeddah and dipped their toes into the sea, there is a reception from the British Consulate with a congratulatory note from the expedition patron, HRH The Princess Royal. 

After all the celebration is done, each member of the Heart of Arabia Expedition team sit down and reflect on what it has meant to them to follow in the footsteps of the greatest of Arabian explorers.

Philby left a remarkable legacy. The legacy of The Heart of Arabia Expedition is only just beginning. Follow the social links below and keep an eye on the website for news about forthcoming lectures, exhibitions and conferences in the UK, Saudi Arabia and the USA in the coming months.

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Re-join Mark and The Heart of Arabia Expedition Team at the ancient site of Old Diriyah, the birthplace of the first Saudi state, historical crossroads of pilgrims and traders. It is also where Philby left Riyadh behind and followed the Pilgram Road west to Jeddah.

The terrain, climate and geology of the second leg of the expedition are very different to the first leg in the eastern deserts and Empty Quarter and this brings with it different challenges for the team. But their connection to Philby continues to grow and Mark immerses himself in Philby’s writing as they travel.

For his original Heart of Arabia Expedition Philby was awarded the Royal Geographical Society’s Founders Medal in recognition of the field data he returned to London. Today’s RGS President, Nigel Clifford explains how significant a contribution to our understanding of Arabia’s geography Philby made.

And finally Mark explains why the whole team - Reem, Ana, Alan and himself - spent several hours walking in circles looking like policemen!

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Just like Philby, the Heart of Arabia Expedition used camels for some of their journey. In the eastern deserts of Saudi Arabia, Mark introduces us to their camels and explores the role the camel has played in Arab history and culture with their guide from the Camel Club of Saudi Arabia.

As the expedition moves west towards their goal of Riyadh in the camel pad prints of Philby’s caravan, Mark considers his life as an explorer and what drives him to be constantly curious about our world, it’s people and cultures. Drawing on his own resilience and comparing himself to other great leaders he questions what makes us resilient. To answer this, leadership expert Jo Owen provides us with insight into how resilience has evolved with time and is a reflection of our society today.

Philby was aiming for Riyadh. His ambition was to meet Ibn Saud and convince him he had the authority and power to bring the various warring tribes together under him and form a new nation. As Mark and the team arrive at the ancient city walls of the Masmak Palace, Philby’s grandson, Mike Engelbach and the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the UK HRH Prince Khalid Bin Bandar explain how the meeting between these two great men developed.

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After some time to reflect on the Heart of Arabia Expedition Mark looks back over some of the key moments of the early parts of leg one of the expedition, a place Philby described as being the threshold of Arabia.

Following the celebration of the expedition’s launch, Mark, Reem, Ana-Maria and Alan are leaving Al Uqayr to start retracing Philby’s route across Arabia; they visit the desert oases of Al Ahsa and Al Hofuf, venture into The Empty Quarter and consider their new nomadic life in the desert.

Taking a slight detour from the desert, Mark introduces us to Mike Robinson of The Royal Scottish Geographical Society to explain how the Heart of Arabia Expedition is supporting their Young Generation Fund, designed to give more young Scottish people life opportunities in Geography and exploration, and increase their awareness and knowledge of the world around us.

This quest for knowledge that the expedition is supporting was just as vital to Philby as it is to today’s expedition team members.

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Journey with Purpose. That is expedition leader, Mark Evans’ great ambition for the Heart of Arabia expedition. To inspire others to travel with a reason, to learn, to understand, to appreciate. It’s an attitude that mirrors what Harry. St. John (Abdullah) Philby did when he set off on his own expedition across Arabia.

In this first podcast we’ll meet the expedition team and discover more about Philby from his family. 

The team is small, dynamic and fast moving but all experts in their field. They’re led by Oman based, British explorer Mark Evans, MBE.

Mark is a lifelong explorer and geographer, as much at home on ice as he is in the desert.  Ana-Maria Pavalache is the expedition photographer who will capture the sights of the desert and the stories of the people they meet. Riyadh based Alan Morrissey is leading on logistics and a study into ancient lithic artefacts. The final team member is Reem Philby, Philby’s granddaughter. Reem is a natural explorer and looking forward to introducing the team, and us through these podcasts, to her homeland.

In front of the Expedition Patron HRH The Princes Royal, with support from Ambassadors from the UK and Saudi Arabia, Diplomats, fellow explorers and geographers, the Heart of Arabia Expedition was launched in London at The Royal Geographical Society. The very place that Philby returned to to tell the world of his own expedition, so that is where we pick up the story of the Heart of Arabia in our podcast.

The Heart of Arabia expedition started on 15th November 2022 when Mark and his team travalled the same route as Philby did exactly 105 years earlier. Over the next few weeks, join us as we take a deep dive into the Heart of Arabia. Subscribe now to join us on every footstep of the way in the Heart of Arabia Expedition podcast.

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In our last update for the time being, Heart of Arabia Expedition leader, Mark Evans looks ahead to how the story of the expedition will now be told around the world. Encouraging us all to Journey with Purpose.

Subscribe and follow to the podcast in your app so you don’t miss future, in depth podcasts exploring the Heart of Arabia, learning more about the expedition and Philby.

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Reem Philby, granddaughter of whose footsteps the expedition has been following in, reflections on what the two expedition legs has meant to her and the Philby family.

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Photographer Ana-Maria Pavalache reflects on capturing the expedition through the lens of her camera

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Expedition logistics lead and route planner, Alan Morrissey reflects on the Heart of Arabia Expedition just before the team reach Jeddah

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48 whirlwind hours after their arrival in Jeddah Mark brings us up to date with the team’s reception on the Red Sea coast. He describes a cultural melting pot of people, sights, sounds and smells that are very different to what the team have been used to and left behind in Al Uqayr on the Arabian Gulf coast.

The expedition team were officially welcomed by dignitaries then later entertained by the British Consul General in Jeddah, who we hear from.

Mark ends by looking at happened to Philby in life after his trans Arabian expedition.

Expedition website: The Heart of Arabia Expedition

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The Heart of Arabia Expedition podcast is produced by Adventurous Audio