Standard Oil Bulletin - September 1936
Several months ago a cable message flashed out of the Near East, sped halfway around the world to offices of Standard Oil Company of California, in San Francisco.
"Dear Folks": Chapter 21
The waning months of 1956 are history-making for the Middle East. King Saud hosts a first-ever summit of Arab leaders with high hopes of healing ancient tensions and establishing new and mutually beneficial diplomatic and economic relations.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXXI: Bedouin Wisdom, A Video
In this piece, Mark Lowey shares a special video of a recent, in-depth interview with desert legend and retired Aramcon, Quriyan Mohammed Al Hajri, who has gained growing recognition in Saudi Arabia for his twin passions, advocacy of environmental awareness and preserving Bedouin traditions.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXX: Aramco Helicopter Ride 1979
In this piece, recent college graduates Mark Lowey and Jim Sides venture to Saudi Arabia to work in Aramco’s vast Ghawar oil field, where on one eventful day they find themselves aboard an Aramco helicopter flying over Bedouin encampments.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXIX: Tracing the Path to Shaybah–Before the Mega-Project
In this piece, Aramco’s legendary desert expert, Quriyan Al Hajri, describes the early stages of the Shaybah project and his experiences exploring deep into the Rub Al Khali to determine the best access route for what would become the Shaybah Mega-Project.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXVIII: Old Ain Dar
In this piece, Mark Lowey describes a day spent with Quriyan Mohammed Al Hajri touring his boyhood home village, Old Ain Dar, in 2021. At Quriyan’s farm in Junayah, I awakened at first light. I knew Quriyan would have been up for at least an hour already.
"Dear Folks": Chapter 20
The summer and early fall of 1956 are packed with important developments for the Middle East, Aramco and the Webster family. The Suez Canal is nationalized by Egyptian President Nassar. A massive Aramco oil well fire rages for two weeks.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXVII: How To Khabsa
Midafternoon on a bright and warm November day, Bdah and I drove to the outskirts of New Ain Dar near Jebel Al Riyahiyah. Bdah’s cousin runs a roadside business there where camels, goats, and sheep are kept in open-air stables and offered for sale.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXVI: The Remarkable Life of Bdah Al Hajri– Part 5, Finale
My wife, Ann, and I moved to Abqaiq in 2010 to begin a six-year stint with Saudi Aramco. It was my second time living in Saudi, and, fortunately, I had preserved and brought my photographs of the Fazran Bedouins taken in 1978 and 1979.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXV: Boy Scouts Meet Bedouin
In this piece, we are introduced to Dhahran’s Boy Scout Troop 966. The troop of 10–15-year-olds venture into the Saudi desert under the guidance of famed Bedouin, Quriyan Al Hajri.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXIV: The Remarkable Life of Bdah Al Hajri – Part 4
In this series, Mark Lowey, known as “Abu Jack” (Father of Jack) to his Saudi friends, tells the story of Bdah Al Hajri, whom he first encountered in the desert as an infant in 1979. Reunited in 2013, Abu Jack and Bdah have become close friends. From the age of seven to seventeen, Bdah attended Salasil school (1986 to 1997). Up to age 14, Bdah and his family lived in the desert north of Fardaniyah.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXIII: The Remarkable Life of Bdah Al Hajri – Part 3
In this series, Mark Lowey, known as “Abu Jack” (Father of Jack) to his Saudi friends, tells the story of Bdah Al Hajri, whom he first encountered in the desert as a baby in 1979. Reunited in 2013, Abu Jack and Bdah have become close friends. In 1986, Bdah was seven years old, and his two older sisters were already attending elementary school at Salasil. It was time for Bdah to begin his formal education.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXII: The Remarkable Life of Bdah Al Hajri – Part 2
In this series, Mark Lowey, known as “Abu Jack” (Father of Jack) to his Saudi friends, tells the story of Bdah Al Hajri, whom he first encountered in the desert as a baby in 1979. Reunited in 2013, Abu Jack and Bdah have become close friends. Bdah’s mother, Masturah, reflected on her life as a newlywed.
Ad Vita per Aspera
In al Hasa, fifty miles inland from the Persian Gulf, a small drilling rig was helping to prove the existence of the great En Nala anticline, still the largest single complex of oil fields in the world. Sandy was "sitting" that well.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XXI: The Remarkable Life of Bdah Al Hajri – Part 1
In this series, Mark Lowey, known as “Abu Jack” (Father of Jack) to his Saudi friends, tells the story of Bdah Al Hajri, whom he first encountered in the desert as a baby in 1979. Reunited in 2013, Abu Jack and Bdah have become close friends. In late 1978, Bdah Al Hajri was born in a Bedouin tent at the northern extremity of the Eastern Province oil fields, near the remote Aramco construction site at Fazran.
Photos that Capture a 1950s Aramco Childhood
Here is a wonderful collection of photographs taken by Aramco photographer Bert Seal that will take you down memory lane while envisioning those happy golden days of the 1950s.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XX: Journey to Meet The Son of Bathan – Part 3
In this piece, Mark Lowey, known as “Abu Jack” (father of Jack) to his Saudi friends, is escorted deep into the Rub Al Khali (the Empty Quarter) to meet, for the first time, the son of an old acquaintance. Before first light there was a slight chill in the air, and the men gathered around the cooking fire. Coffee and tea were served, and conversation ensued. Inevitably the discussion turned to the herd.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XIX: Journey to Meet The Son of Bathan – Part 2
In this piece, Mark Lowey, known as “Abu Jack” (father of Jack) to his Saudi friends, is escorted deep into the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) to meet, for the first time, the son of an old acquaintance. We stopped at the edge of the camp. I stepped out of the Landcruiser and called out “Salaam Aleikum!” to the group of men standing facing us.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XVIII: Journey to Meet The Son of Bathan – Part 1
In this piece, Mark Lowey, “Abu Jack,” is escorted deep into the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) to meet, for the first time, the son of an old acquaintance.
Tales of the Bedouin – Part XVII: Roots of Thanoon
In this piece, Mark Lowey relates an alarming incident in the early childhood of Bakhait Al Marri, son of a Bedouin gentleman who Mark met in 1979.