Report by Abdullah Fahd Aba Al‑Jaish
For centuries, the Arabian Peninsula has been — and continues to be — a destination for many travelers and Orientalists whose passion and curiosity drove them to explore this vast expanse of land. Within it, they encountered a wide spectrum of cultures and customs, which they often described in their writings as noble and honorable. These books and accounts constitute an important body of documentation that enriches the history of the region, followed by extensive studies produced during that era. As a result, libraries became filled with a wealth of information about Arabia, gathered by those travelers during their stays and later published in their own countries and languages. This left the Arab reader deprived for decades of historical narratives about his own region. For a long time, these works existed only in foreign languages, until translation projects into Arabic began — projects that added significant facts and insights to the Arab knowledge base.
Among the most prominent and important of these works describing the reality of life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the 1950s — specifically in the reign of His Majesty King Saud, may God have mercy on him — is the book “A King in the East” by the Austrian writer Dr. Max Reisch. The book was translated by the Saudi Cultural Mission in Austria under the supervision of Dr. Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al‑Humaidhi, former cultural attaché in Austria and current attaché in Germany, who oversaw the translation project along with the rest of the team. Their efforts resulted in the translation of this valuable work, which contains precise and meticulous descriptions of the personalities of that era, the places the author visited, and the photographs he captured — images that are today among the rarest visual records of the period.
The book recounts numerous events encountered by Dr. Reisch and his companion, Dr. Rolf Hecker, in addition to detailed descriptions of roads, cities, and the individuals they met along their journey. Reisch compiled all of this into a book divided into twenty‑seven chapters, along with an appendix of photographs taken during the expedition. In the book’s introduction, Dr. Al‑Humaidhi classified this type of work as belonging to the refined literary genre known as travel literature, which combines artistic narrative with rigorous scientific content. He expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Higher Education, represented by Minister Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al‑Anqari, for supporting the translation of the book from German into Arabic.
Al‑Humaidhi noted that the book offers a vivid and engaging account of Reisch’s journey with Hecker by car into Saudi Arabia after the passing of its founder, the late King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman — may God bless his soul — and the accession of his son, King Saud. He added that the book’s pages present a detailed portrayal, through the author’s eyes and pen, of the Saudi citizen — steadfast in his Islamic principles, customs, and traditions — and other aspects of his character that reflect his patience and endurance in the face of hardship. The introduction also praised the author’s commitment to accurately documenting what he witnessed, supported by a rare collection of photographs that now serve as an archive of that historical period. Al‑Humaidhi further explained the effort made to contact the author’s son, Peter Reisch, to obtain translation rights and materials for the Ministry. He concluded by expressing his hope that the project would succeed and enrich the Arab reader with new knowledge or deepen what he already knows.
The Heart of the Peninsula… A Life Untouched by External Influences
In the first chapter of the book, titled “The Reserved Country,” the author begins by reflecting on how easy travel had been in earlier decades, when visas were unknown and one did not even need a passport. He contrasts that with the modern reality, in which obtaining a visa had become difficult. He expresses his happiness at securing permission to travel to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait — steps that brought him geographically closer to his long‑held dream: traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in his vehicle, which resembled a mobile home and which he later named “My Friend.”
He describes Saudi Arabia as a country closed to outsiders, attributing this to several reasons. Foremost among them, he writes, is that an Eastern king benefits from Western technological development and invites experts to his country, yet he knows that Western culture does not align with the conservative customs of his people. What had happened in some Arab countries served as a warning: Western cultural influence had produced a class of people indifferent to tradition. He praises King Saud’s thinking, describing it as progressive because it recognized the time needed for his people to develop at their own pace.
The chapter begins by outlining the steps of his project to enter the Kingdom, which he titled “The Arabian Peninsula Exploration Expedition by Car.” During the months of preparation, he often spoke about the Arab countries for which he had already obtained entry permits, but his mind remained focused primarily on Saudi Arabia. His research suggested that attempting to obtain a Saudi visa from the Kingdom’s embassies in Europe would be futile. To strengthen his case, Reisch obtained a letter of recommendation from the Austrian Chancellor’s Office in Arabic, German, French, and English — a document he described as promising and which gave him a glimmer of hope.
Aboard the ship Esperia, which carried him and his companion Dr. Rolf Hecker, Reisch arrived in Beirut. There, he asked many Arabs about Saudi Arabia, only to find that they knew very little about it. He writes:
“I would ask Arabs why they did not travel to Saudi Arabia.
Their answer was always: ‘What would I do there? It is only desert — nothing but desert.’
Later, I realized how little they knew about this country, and how mistaken they were.”
He adds that he felt deep inside that Saudi Arabia was a distinguished land among all others. The heart of the Arabian Peninsula — the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — had remained distant from waves of human migration, successive wars, and even peaceful external influences. It had lived its own unique life, untouched by negative or positive foreign impact. This made it different from other Arab countries that had been shaped by British and French colonial influence during the previous century.