"So, daddy, where did you serve in the military?"
"In the desert my son, in the desert."
Click on image to see it larger.
The caption for this photos says "British Regiment Sitra Bahrain." Another snapshot from Donald G. Schnabel's visit to Bahrain in 1957.
To read about Sitra click here. They paved paradise and put up car and furniture showrooms.
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At first I couldn't figure out how Donald took this photo without standing in the water, but a closer look reveals a dirt road that was wet down to reduce the dust. The tents were probably no different than those used by the British in WW1 or the relief of Gordon of Khartoum in 1885. The images on the Wikipedia entries for Sitra and Bahrain could have come from Donald's slide collection too.
ReplyDeleteDo you think it's water or did they oil the road? I can see a refinery in the distance.
DeleteI hadn't thought of oil, but I remember that it was used in some places and certainly in Bahrain there was more oil to waste than water. On the other hand if it was oil I would not want to be doing the laundry for all those white robed sheiks. Maybe salt water was used instead as the tire (tyre) marks look clean enough.
DeleteI do wonder who was in charge of maintaining the roads. Government or outsiders such as the regiment.
DeleteLooks like tire tracks going across the road and into the "field" to the right of the photo.
ReplyDeleteMessy. Looking at all these photos - I can't imagine myself leaving there - there isn't anything living green thing outside!
Neither can I. I like the desert, but I want to occasionally see some hills with a bit of life on them. This is all very Lawrence of Arabia. Day after day of riding through the same.
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