Journey to Wabar
 After a long, arduous journey, an expedition led by British explore Harry St. John Philby arrived at the site of a meteorite impact in the 'Empty Quarter' of the Arabian desert in February 1932. Philby was looking for an ancient city that legend said was buried beneath the shifting sands. Instead, he found several big circular holes in the ground and some fragments of iron and black glass from the impact. Although the craters are not visible from space, the site is near the center of this picture, which was snapped by astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Scientific expeditions after Philby's found more evidence of the impact and mapped the site in detail. [NASA]
For years, Philby had heard stories of the destroyed city of Ubar in the Rub' Al-Khali -- the Empty Quarter. Bedouin legend said the city had been wiped away by wind or fire from heaven. The legend also said there was a piece of iron as big as a camel.
Philby -- who misidentified the site as Wabar -- organized a large expedition, with more than 30 camels and enough food for weeks. It was an arduous journey across hundreds of miles of desert. Even today, with modern transportation and GPS to guide the way, it can take days to reach the site. Temperatures can top 120 degrees, even in winter. And there's almost no water anywhere across the limitless dunes.
When Philby and his entourage arrived at the site, they found no lost city. Instead, they found two big holes in the ground -- the largest almost 400 feet across. They found small pieces of black glass and iron scattered around the site -- but no giant lump of iron.
Philby reckoned that the site was sculpted by volcanoes. Not until decades later did scientists realize its true source: an impact by a meteorite. More about that tomorrow.
Script by Damond Benningfield, Copyright 2006
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