Wilfred Thesiger was a British explorer, writer, and photographer who lived from 1910 to 2003. He is best known for his travels in the Middle East and Africa, and for his books about his experiences in those regions.
Thesiger was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to a British diplomat father and an Ethiopian mother. He was educated in England, attending Eton College and then Oxford University. After graduating, he joined the Sudan Political Service in 1933 and was posted to the Sudan-Ethiopia border. During his time in the Sudan, he developed a deep love for the desert and its people, and he began to explore the region on his own.
In 1945, Thesiger returned to England and joined the British Army. He served in the Middle East during World War II, and afterwards he returned to the Sudan. He then traveled to the Arabian Peninsula, where he spent two years exploring the Empty Quarter. During this time, he became the first European to cross the Empty Quarter on foot.
Thesiger wrote several books about his travels, including Arabian Sands (1959) and The Marsh Arabs (1964). These books were widely acclaimed and established Thesiger as one of the most important explorers of the 20th century.
In the 1950s, Thesiger returned to Africa and explored the region of the Danakil Desert in Ethiopia. He also traveled to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia, where he lived with the local tribes and documented their way of life. He wrote about his experiences in The Life of My Choice (1987).
Thesiger was also an accomplished photographer. He took thousands of photographs during his travels, which were later published in books such as Visions of a Nomad (1986) and The Danakil Diary (1993).
Thesiger was a passionate advocate for the preservation of traditional cultures and ways of life. He was a vocal critic of colonialism and the destruction of traditional cultures, and he was a strong supporter of conservation efforts.
Thesiger was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1959 and the Order of Merit in 1995. He died in 2003 at the age of 93.
Thesiger's legacy lives on in his books and photographs, which continue to inspire and inform people around the world. His life and work have been celebrated in numerous books, films, and exhibitions. He is remembered as one of the greatest explorers of the 20th century, and his legacy will continue to inspire future generations.