Portrait of Muhammad al Auf ... Frame:gold

Portrait of Muhammad al Auf ... Frame:goldPortrait of Muhammad al Auf, a tribesman of the Bayt Mbarik lineage of Rashid Bedouin and one of Wilfred Thesiger's travelling companions, at the encampment of Muhammad near Bir al Tawil in the Ramlat ar Rabbad sands. Muhammad al Auf sits with his hands crossed in his lap. Behind him is a pile of equipment, including blankets, a rifle and a cartridge belt. In the background a parched plant grows out of the sand. Muhammad, a sheikh of the Rashid

at which three camels are drinking

is riding his camel down a steep dune slope

[image out of focus]

In the near foreground a camel is couched in the sand

a few couched camels and a second resting falcon

A young Arab man kneels in sand

and some have balconies

Behind them sits a large 'arish building made of palm fronds

In the centre another man

One of the tombs has an inscription which states it is the resting place of Sheikh Saad

The boom has a large cloth canopy covering its middle deck

Three Sahul Bedouin