From its lifeless waters hidden treasures for the farmers ... From its ancient caves hidden treasures for the scholars.

It is older than the Odyssey; it is older than the Iliad ... An epic search for love and friendship and life eternal.

Amidst "the stillness of a world that never knew an engine..." he found at last a life he longed to know and share.

The hurdles are high, the stakes big and the track fast ... It's the petroleum industry's fast-paced production race.

"Today there is little need for us; tomorrow none at all" ... So, sadly, speaks a scribe, the practitioner of a dying craft.

Shari'ah. in Arabic, means "the clear path to be followed." It is, American lawyers have learned, a good description.