Rub'Al Kahli, "the great emptiness"

"The great emptiness," which is brimming full of beauty!
At the time of writing this, we have been in the desert for 5 days driving along the Oman border, crossing huge ancient flat lakes that haven't seen water for thousands of years, and have passed through regions where huge dune landscapes have entered these regions and are slowly wandering through them, and we have seen desert tracks, 100's km long and very straight!
What amazed us most was that there are actually plants growing in the middle of nowhere where the ground couldn't have been more dry and more salty. These plants hardly have roots but have the amazing ability to absorb the dew that develops early in the mornings. And these plants were just flowering!
Solar radiation is incredibly strong, making it almost impossible to drive without sun glasses. Winter temperatures are at 32 degrees! (In contrast to summer temps of 54 degrees!)
The only time of day that is bearable is up to 2 hours after sunrise and before sunset. Most of the night is warm, and you sleep naked without a blanket until about 3am in the morning where temperatures drop to 10 degrees.

I just don't know how Nomads, soldiers, or oil workers are able to live in this extreme climate!!!

Today we saw our first real dune landscapes with dunes up to 200 meters, which we climbed to watch the beautiful sunset to then run down the steep slopes and enjoy dinner in front of our van while the most incredible star sky unfolded above.
WOW! What an experience, what a privilege, what a gift!Read more