The Road to Ubar.

• Author: Kreyche, Gerald F.

**** Many mythic cities of history have turned out to be factual, as was Homer's Troy. This book recreates the search for Ubar, an Arabian city referred to in legend as "The Atlantis of the Sands." Like the Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, it supposedly was destroyed by Allah because of the residents' moral corruption. Its story tells of the inhabitants being petrified as punishment for their sins.

There are various ancient references to the city that go back to the writings of the Roman scholar Pliny and even maps from the time of Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy. Indeed, Ubar is located on one of the maps, but unfortunately for those seeking it, under a different name and in a different location. The Koran refers to it, as do the tales of Arabian Nights. It variously has been called Wabar and Iram.

Soldier/archaeologist T.E. Lawrence knew about the rumors, but died before he could follow them. Expeditions in the 1930s and 1950s in Oman came upon some intriguing hints. An ancient camel caravan trail was found that explorers hoped would lead to Ubar, but most of the road was obliterated and covered by sand dunes.

Nicholas Clapp, a documentary filmmaker, became interested in this mystery during a trip to the area. It became a fixation and he couldn't rest until he discovered whether Ubar was a reality or just a myth.

This endeavor reads like a novel, and one can scarcely put it down any more than the author could put off his quest. He utilized Space Age technology by getting Landsat maps of the region with the cooperation of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. One of the Challenger missions made a double pass over the remote desert, and he drew from its maps, as well as those from a French satellite. Each gave tantalizing clues...