Sahail bin Tahi

Seated portrait of Sahail bin Tahi, a tribesman of the Mudairiba lineage of Rashid Bedouin and one of Wilfred Thesiger's guides, during the party's journey from Al Ain to Liwa oasis (likely in the region of Al Humrah sands).Sahail bin Tahi, a tribesman of the Mudairiba lineages of Rashid Bedouin, guided Wilfred Thesiger's 1948 journey through Al Ain, Liwa, Baynunah and Dhafra, and also accompanied Wilfred Thesiger on his 1949 and 1950 journeys through the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Known as a highly successful camel raider in his younger years, when Thesiger met Sahail bin Tahi he had recently 'settled down and become respectable' (1960: 264). Described as a good natured and good-humored person with "twinkling eyes" and a powerful build, Sahail bin Tahi's knowledge of the Empty Quarter was exceptional and Thesiger found him to be an excellent guide.

Reference

Wilfred Thesiger, 1960. Arabian Sands, Longmans, Green and Co Ltd: London.

Photographs of Sahail bin Tahi