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Book Review of The Lost City of Ubar: The History and Legends of the Ancient Arabian City Known as the Atlantis of the Sands

The Lost City of Ubar: The History and Legends of the Ancient Arabian City Known as the Atlantis of the Sands
jjares avatar reviewed on + 3294 more book reviews


After reading this book on Ubar, I have a different take on the book. Sometimes the travels (whether or not we find the place sought) are worth the trip. I found this an interesting dive into the search for Ubar. I found it fascinating to see how many people, at different times, searched for this city or region.

Ubar is thought to be in the Dhofar region of modern Oman. However, the piles of sand could easily dwarf and submerge a town or region. It may be hard to imagine such a thing happening, but we lived in Saudi Arabia for a couple of years, and the power of sand rivals the power of water.

I found it interesting that the Koran and the Arabian Nights were both sources of information about Ubar. The inhabitants of the city were Adites. However, the Koran referred to the people as wicked (a la Sodom and Gomorrah) and worthy of God's annihilation.

Much of the book covered filmmaker Nicholas Clapp's story, "The Road to Ubar." After all the energy expended in the search for Ubar, they arrived at a huge sinkhole. Clapp believes he found Ubar; others are not so sure. This issue will be debated until new facts emerge. This was an entertaining read.