The Road to Ubar

by Nicholas Clapp

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  Acknowledgments

  Along with the individuals mentioned in the text, a legion of friends made the Ubar adventure possible.

  For inspiring an early interest in archaeology, I'm grateful to archaeologist and family friend Watson Smith. He took the time to tell me, a little kid, what he had discovered in the lands of the Zuni and Hopi and how he hauled a piano to his site of Awatovi so his diggers could dance in the desert moonlight.

  For forever tripping over maps and books spread out on the living room floor, I offer heartfelt thanks to my wife and expedition manager, Kay, and my daughters, Cristina and Jennifer. They and my mother, Helen Clapp, were unwavering in their encouragement.

  In the project's research phase, I benefited from the advice of UCLA archaeologists Giorgio and Marilyn Buccelati, and Dunning Wilson of the University Research Library. I was welcomed at the Huntington Library by the curator of rare books, Alan Jutzi, and the director, Bill Moffit. And I'm grateful to the good people at the Oriental Collection of the New York Public Library, the British Library, the University of Edinburgh Library, and Cambridge University's Institute of Oriental Studies.

  When it came to translating arcane texts, Bill Moritz and Klaus and Gabi Brill guided me through the swamps of nineteenth-century academic German; Paul Boorstin resurrected his college French; Nasser al-Taee helped me with modern Arabic; and UCLA's Mohammed Shikrila and Caltech's Anthony Aebi translated medieval Arabic.

  When it looked as though an expedition might actually be possible, Judy Miller was enormously helpful, as were Len Berlin and Bill and Beth Overstreet, U.S. Geological Survey veterans of Arabia. A speci
al thanks is due Gordon and Merilyn Hodgeson of the American Foundation for the Study of Man. And gold stars for moral support go to Harold and Judy Hayes and John and Louise Brinsley.

  In the Sultanate of Oman, our initial sponsors were the Oman International Bank, presided over by H.E. Dr. Omar Zawawi and John Wright; the al-Bustan Palace Hotel, managed by Chris Cowdray; Gulf Air; and Occidental Petroleum, whose Gene Grogan, Derek Hart, and Dr. Armand Hammer all took great personal interest in the project.

  Additional expedition sponsors were Airwork, Limited (and John Fulford); American Airlines; Avis Car Rental; British Petroleum Oman; Desert Line / Sheikh Ahmed Farid; DHL Oman; Oman's General Telecom Organization; Genetco; IBM / Gulf Business Machines; Land Rover / Mohsid Haider Darwish; Matrah Cold Stores; Oman's Ministry of Information and Ministry of National Heritage and Culture; Nortech; Oman Aviation Services; Oman National Insurance; Oman United Agencies; Petroleum Development Oman; Rowntree Mackintosh; Royal Insurance of Oman; Royal Oman Police; Salalah Holiday Inn; Smith Kline Beecham; Suhail and Saud Bahwan; Thomson CSF; United Media Services; and W. J. Towell (and Kamal Sultan).

  After the expedition, filmmaking colleagues Rob Bogdanoff, Jennifer Dolce, Harrison Engle, Irwin Rosten, David Saxon, Terry Sanders, and Mel Stuart gave of their time and valued advice. Further archaeological guidance was provided by Artemis and Martha Joukowsky, of the American Center of Oriental Research and Brown University's Center for Old World Art and Archaeology, respectively. And friends Ed and Cynthia Lasker became so intrigued by Ubar that they traveled to Oman to see the once-wicked city for themselves.

  Years ago, good friends Bob Ivey and Jill Bowman were the first to suggest that if anything ever came of the Ubar project, I should write a book. A lawyer, Bob acted as my agent and recommended the book to Houghton Mifflin's Harry Foster, who, working with Peg Anderson, edited this manuscript and saw it through to publication. I thank them for their great care and deft touch. And I thank Kristen Mellen and Anne Chalmers for their admirable realization of the book's graphics.

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  Index

  NOTE: page numbers in italics refer to illustrations.