Back in Beirut it had seemed like an exciting idea ... At the edge of the Syrian Desert it wasn't the same.
The Nairns of New Zealand
Off the coast of Saudi Arabia and 10 fathoms down ... new sources of wealth for the Eastern Province.
In the 5th century Herodotus made history a science ... In the 14th, Ibn Khaldoun made it a philosophy.
Across deserts and over hills the oil flows west ... and into the silver tanks on the hills above the sea.
Amid the silent, mysterious Dead Cities of Syria... Qal'at Sem'an, the fortress of the enigmatic Simeon.
Of mankind's pivotal discoveries, the alphabet stands alone ... a key to learning, a base for progress.
