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Sheikh Khaled, Sheikh Shakhbut, The Sultan Of Muscat, And Sheikh Zaid
The Golden Bubble
Arabian Gulf
Documentary
By:
RODERIC
OWEN
LONDON:
1957
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Publisher/ Year: LONDON, Collins, First Edition, 1957. Binding: Original Cloth Hardcover, with Dust Jacket, 22x15cm. Size/Pages: 255. Illustrations: 13 illustrations.
жжж Please see book CONDITION at end жжж
Fascinating True Life of Arabian Gulf States
and their Rulers more than 50 Years ago
Of
Kuwait,
Bahrain,
Qatar,
Abu
Dhabi,
Muscat,
Ras al
Khaima,
and
Sharjah
THE GOLDEN BUBBLE is an Arabian Nights adventure story about a year spent in the Arabian (or Persian) Gulf, where the fabulous oil boom has superimposed fantastic wealth on some of the oldest and most primitive communities of the world. Besides being an excellent and informative documentary, the book has a quality that is dreamlike in its strangeness, as the author introduces us to merchants owning fifty private Cadillacs, and sheikhs who turn down £30,000,000 bribes.
Roderic Owen's personal story is an extra-ordinary one. He was, for instance, the only European ever to have set up house in the exclusive non-European part of the old town of Muharraq; he was simultaneously friends with Sir Charles Belgrave, the British adviser to the Ruler of Bahrain, and with a leading Arabian political agitator; he was made official poet to a sheikh - ruler of the greater part of what used to be called the Pirate Coast - who may become a multi-millionaire at any moment.
Sheikh Shakhbut and Sheikh Zaid of Abu Dhabi ...
Whilst holding Sheikh Shakhbut's hand, and hearing him murmur the conventional greetings I had delighted by a twinkle in his eyes. Twinkles are always very pleasing, and varied (sometime professional, lustful, lunatic, but even so better than the same without twinkle). Sheikh Shakhbut was endearing and penetrating and more beside which I didn't know what to make of ; at the time I could only think of it as being highly individual. What I was excited to find was that it was not just friendly but unusually friendly. I felt that upsurge of joy which everyone who has ever taken to anyone at first sight knows well, a rare, a thrilling thing outside our control. ...
On hunting trip, Owen's wrote:
Later, we lay on the sand and shot at a target with a sten-gun. Sheikh Zaid scored the most hits. He was an exceptionally charming and manly man, well-liked by those Englishmen he had to deal with. They could understand him, or thought they could, whereas Sheikh Shakhbut was a mystery to many. Day after day, as the weeks went by, I saw the two brothers together on all occasions from the most formal, when Bedouin camped near whatever desert well we'd chosen for the night came in to visit, to the most informal when we would relax in the privacy of Sheikh Shakhbut's tent , late at night. Sheikh Zaid was always the model of a younger brother, never dependent or obsequious, but never without a certain deference in his bearing. This gave me a great respect for him and more appreciation of Sheikh Shakhbut's importance. Day and night I was fortunate enough to be seeing what no expert however old-established or knowledgeable had seen - the brothers together over a long period of time under a unique variety of circumstances.
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The Ruler Of Ras Al Khaima With The Author
Contents ...
Chapters
Why Go?
The Voyage Out
Kuwait — First Impressions
Bahrain — Looking Round
The Sahib of Muharraq
By Dhow To Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Back In Bahrain
Return To Kuwait
Bahraini Affairs
Qatar
Regent of Das
Along The Trucial Coast
Hunting With Sheikh Shakhbut: The Start
Buraimi Oasis
The Falcons
The Hunter’s Return
Bahrain—Trouble Brewing
Bahrain—Trouble
Endpiece
Appendix I
Short History of Buraimi Oasis and the Slave TradeAppendix II
Aftermath of Trouble in Bahrain
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On The Beach At Abu Dhabi
Illustrations ...
An Historic Meeting
The Qatar Petroleum Company’s Camp, Dukhan
A Kuwait Oil Company Gathering Centre
The Courtyard Of The Mosque At Muharraq
On The Beach At Abu Dhabi
The Ruler Of Ras Al Khaima With The Author
Das Island
Gulzaman Holding A Baby Camel
Sheikh Khaled, Sheikh Shakhbut, The Sultan Of Muscat, And Sheikh Zaid
One Of Sheikh Sbakhbut’s Favourite Falcons
A Kill Before Sunset
The Orator
Sir Charles Belgrave
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Das Island
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~ Click on Page to Read ~
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The Orator:
Adbul Aziz Shemlan addressing a crowd during the trouble in Bahrain
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~ Click on Page to Read ~
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Sir Charles Belgrave,
Adviser to the Ruler of Bahrain
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The Courtyard Of The Mosque At Muharraq
Condition ...
Owner's name on front end-paper, otherwise book in very good condition.
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