Marching with Aurence.

It was 1917 and the First World War was in its third year.

I sat on the sand, a few metres behind the Englishman, my master, Aurence who had been sent from Cairo to help the Arab army fight against the Turks.
‘Aqaba!’ he whispered, ‘We must capture Aqaba so that the Allies can land and push forward towards Damascus. In order to achieve that, I must get Auda Abu Tayi to join us and unite the Arabs. But that would mean crossing the Neffud Desert!’
He got up and started to walk back to the tent.
‘Come on Aban,’ he said, ‘we must see Sheriff Ali.’

‘You are mad!’ exclaimed Sherriff Ali the brother of Emir Prince Feisal, stubbornly, ‘Crossing the Neffud desert means certain death.’
‘We can reach the city if we march at night and if we take fifty men with us, then more will join us but to achieve that, we need Auda on our side.’
As I placed some tea in front of them, I looked at the Sheriff and saw a look of distrust. It seemed that he did not trust the Auda Abu Tayi, the great Bedouin.
‘It’s the only way we can defeat the Turks,’ insisted the master.
‘I don’t trust Auda,’ said Sheriff Ali hesitantly, ‘but if it means defeating the Turks then so be it.’
It was agreed. That night, as I laid awake outside my master’s tent. I stared up at the cold night, watching the stars twinkle away.
‘A Camel can live without water for several days but no humans can and none have ever managed to cross the desert. Is Aurence a desert lover like Gordon of Khartoum, or, is he mad as the Sheriff said?’

The flaps of the tent, blew open as a tall man, with peppered coloured beard stepped in and walked upto the Sherriff. It was Auda Abu Tayi.
‘Salam Wahlequm,’ greeted the Bedouin, as he sat opposite my master.
‘I have heard of the great Auda,’ said master Aurence, as I saw a strange sparkle in his eyes, ‘Now I meet the man in person!’
I soon vacated the tent and the meeting commenced.

‘You ride besides me,’ the master told me later that night, as I served him some food. He handed me a sword and a small pistol, ‘Don’t use the pistol until I tell you.’
‘Aurence,’ said Auda as he walked in, ‘It is good we march tomorrow. The sands of the Neffud soak plenty of blood. At night, in Arabia, there are no friends. So we must stay together.’
‘I agree,’ replied Aurence with an expression that showed his delight and admiration for the leader of the Howeitat tribe.
The next day, we started the march to Aqaba. There were some days when we marched during the day when the sun was so hot that it burnt our skins but mostly, it was as agreed, at night that we marched. One night, just before dawn broke, we stopped and as I was preparing my master’s meal, I saw something burning away in the distance. It was fire!
‘Aurence look,’ I said, as I pointed it to him and saw some people around it.
‘Who are they?’ he whispered, as he squinted his eyes.
Seconds later, we were joined by Auda Abu Tayi and Sheriff Ali.
‘Bedouins,’ replied Auda, as he took out his rifle and loaded it.
‘No,’ said Aurence, as he grabbed the rifle, ‘you shoot now and it will alert the nearest Turkish army. We must move on quietly!’
Sheriff Ali looked at the Howeitat leader and then at my master.
I agree with Aurence,’ he whispered, ‘it will alert the enemy and the element of surprise will be gone.’
There was anger on Auda’s face as he withdrew


On reaching the outskirts of the city, some men were sent in and report back with information on the Turkish garrison there. Then on the morning of 5th July, we got ready to attack, as we sat on our Camels with swords, rifles and pistols to fight with and each one of us was fearless. Suddenly, the order was given. Yielding our swords and guns firing, we yelled, as the sand rose in the air and galloped towards the enemy, sending fear down their spines. I could hear the alarm bells being rung but that made me more determined. There was gunfire from the enemy and bodies around me, began to fall. We jumped over the enemy and their defences, slashing heads off with swords and killing many. By nightfall, it was all over! We had taken Aqaba.
‘I must return to Cairo and inform my superiors,’ said Aurence, as he prepared to go.
‘You will cross the Sinai?’ asked both Auda and the Sheriff.
‘I will,’ he replied.
‘Only gods can cross such areas and you are not one,’ argued the Howeitat leader.
‘I will go,’ insisted my master, as he turned to me, ‘Aban! You stay here.’
With that he was gone. I, somehow knew I would see him again. A few months later, he returned and trained me to plant mines on the Turkish railways and slow them down in their movements The Allies, under the command of General Allenby, soon landed in Aqaba and began to move towards the ultimate – Damascus.