There was a presentation by Mark Evans MBE FRGS on his forthcoming Heart of Arabia expedition in Saudi Arabia, along with a talk by Michael Engelbach at The Saudi British Society’s 2022 AGM.
The Philby Arabia Fund
The Heart of Arabia Expedition is intended to establish, in partnership with the Saudi British Society, The Philby Arabia Fund, a fund to support field research projects that contribute to our knowledge and understanding of Arabia.
The journey, led Mark Evans MBE FRGS, will run from Al Uqair in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, to Jeddah in the west, following the route of St John Philby’s 1917 mission to Ibn Saud.
Based in Muscat, Oman, Mark is an experienced desert and polar explorer and guide, writer, speaker and wilderness advocate. He acts as a consultant in the fields of expedition logistics, risk mitigation and fund-raising. Twenty two years spent living and travelling extensively in Arabia, backed up by 80 day camel expeditions, a 49 day crossing of the Rub Al Khali, a 55 day 1,700 km solo kayak journey from UAE to Yemen, and remote 4×4 journeys throughout Saudi Arabia and Oman, give Mark an unrivalled knowledge of the area.
Mark’s entrepreneurial spirit has seen him play a leading role in raising more than 30 million GBP funding from corporate and government sectors in the past twelve years for exploration and education. He is currently the Executive Director of Outward Bound Oman, the first Outward Bound school to be established in an Arabic speaking country.
In 2019 Mark was awarded The Geographical Award by The Royal Geographical Society, and The Rawabi Prize by The Saudi British Society.