Atlantis of the Sands: The Search for the Lost City of Iram

[@geographicstravel]

Go to curiositystream.thld.co/geographicsdec for unlimited access to the world’s top documentaries and non­fiction series.

[@internetexplorer1057]

Calm down, timetraveller.

[@YusufGinnah]

@Geographics I'm convinced that there's more than one _Simon Whistler_ How else can he produce so much quality content and still look so relaxed...? 😎👍🏼

[@lolumo]

you forgot to mention how it includes nebula for free

[@chronosschiron]

im sorry we went back in time and looted it , i need soem gems for my video game

[@je4894]

Simon, could we get a Geographics on Western Sahara. thank you.

[@carbohydration9251]

"The Atlantis may have succumbed to the sands of the desert, but it sailed unscathed through the sands of time" Absoluetly gorgeous line. I adore it.

[@lospolloshermandez4299]

look at the eye of the sahara aka recot structure

[@TheKamahl07]

@hinden A family member of his, Solon was exiled from Greece, traveled to Egypt and heard the story from Egyptian priests. The Ricat Structure isn't Atlantis though, it's my understanding that the Azores Plateau is *exactly* where Plato describes Atlantis, several days due West of the Pillars of Hercules (strait of Gibraltar) The isostatic pressure of the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets 11,000 years ago pushed the crusts of North America almost a mile into the mantle, this would displace areas on the edge of their respective continental plates upwards. The Azores could very easily been one *massive* island, a perfectly situated paradise as Plato laid out. That's about as far as I'm willing to accept the existence of Atlantis however. It's worth noting, Solon was even told by the same priests about a hidden tomb submerged under water just outside the great pyramids, and wrote about it. This tomb was considered fantasy as well until it was found recently.

[@chouseification]

@@lospolloshermandez4299 is right - close to the Atlas Mountains... hmm, wonder if that name meant something. :P

[@bojokowski]

Eye of Sahara = Atlantis Y’all lying to yourself

[@flintlockwoodhd7932]

I remember it from uncharted 3

[@thegunpenguin]

Iram was great until Nathan and Sully destroyed it, just like all of those other ancient hidden cities.

[@williamcrisp6032]

How was Nate to know that destroying the crane and dropping the Urn back into the lake would cause the entire city to collapse into a sinkhole?

[@yomama69s]

@@williamcrisp6032 I'm replaying that one right now! awesome games. classics even.

[@bogdanoff148]

Uncharted 3 is underrated.

[@squamish4244]

They were just following Indiana Jones' lead of destroying priceless archeological sites.

[@yomama69s]

@@squamish4244 There isn't an Indiana Jones video game though.. is there. Uncharted for the W.

[@mouadchaiabi]

As a Muslim I have been wondering about the story of Iram of the Pillars since I was a child. When the internet first came I did a lot of research and found nothing but now your video gave me a sense of closure that I have been seeking for years. Thank you.

[@asfandmajeed9891]

# me too 😂

[@reinatycoon3644]

The creator is a formless and infinite mass of energy and consciousness.. that the only name I can use is "The Great Spirit And Will" It will only take form as a way to communicate with people so their lesser minds can understand. It gives punishment equal to the evil committed in life there is no eternal suffering. It accepts all straight, homosexual, transgender, male and female all equally. Reincarnation is forced for those that were evil but only after they suffered in the afterlife realm for their crimes. those that were mostly good on the scale of justice will have the option to remain in the paradise realm or reincarnate. Even celestial bodies have spiritual energy bestowed by the divine Great Spirit And Will.

[@AlphaMonkeyNips]

You live close to "iram"

[@here_we_go_again2571]

Didn't Mohammad mention a city ruined by some sort of phenomenon (metorite shower?) that "glassed" the site (city?) ? I assume that traders sitting around a campfire might have told others what they observed or something that their ancestors had witnessed. This was not Sodom and Gomorrah -- It was someplace in the Arabian peninsula. Geologists found nodules[1] of glass srewn about-- Meteorite/astroid strike. This location was much older than Iram. I don't think that there were even recognizable buildings I don't think it was Iram of the Pillars (aka: "Ubar" as well as other names) Ubar was destroyed by the collapse of an underground limestone cavern (a HUGE sink-hole!) Was thid collapse caused by a lowered aquifer (i.e. water-table) level due to climate change? __________________________ (1) Nodule (geology), a small rock or mineral cluster

[@xx3768]

​@@reinatycoon3644 kinda of

[@rogerhwerner6997]

The discovery of Ubar has a rather interesting backstory that I learned about through several of the study participants. In 1988, I began using a software program suite that had yet to gain widespread use in archaeology. In fact, by 1990, there weren't many universities using it for archaeology and only 3 private sector consulting groups worldwide had adopted it; my company, one based in Albuquerque, and a third in Bentonville, Arkansas (it was a small world). This commercial software, known then as Arc/INFO, permitted seemless intergration of digital vector and raster mapping, image processing and analyses, and relational databases. It was this software that aided the Bentonville company's analyses of NASA satellite images taken with SAR cameras and the subsequent identification of linear features as probably caravan routes not visible on contemporary aerial images; features that converged on a single location in the Empty Quarter. The Bentonville team had been contacted by the British who had been studying historical sources, and who had become convinced that the Ubar legend was real and of its location in the Omani interior. Arabian Peninsula archaeologist Dr. Zarins knew the Bentonville archaeologists, and together with the British and Omanis formed a consortium of specialists under the auspices of Omani Ministry of Culture, which also provided funding. One can not overstate the importance of the integration of said linear features with contemporary images and maps with a high degree of precision, without which finding the buried ruins in a sea of sand might have never occurred. I knew the Bentonville group and it was through them that I met Dr. Zarins and obtained a first-hand look at this fascinating project. At the time, I had been working on mapping projects in Israel and it was through that work that I came to know my Bentonville colleagues. Without accurate satellite-based radar imagery, powerful software technology and portable computers, painstaking historical search and faith that these sources weren't simply describing legends, hard field work by many people in difficult conditions, and substantial Omani funding and logistical support the archaeology of the Empty Quarter would still be largely unknown. Thank you to Simon and the folks at Geographics for bringing this little known to a wider audience!

[@aneelakhan3681]

thank you for sharing this!

[@davidwallace1644]

Nice

[@explorinjenkins349]

That's some wild stuff, man. Sounds like you've had an interesting career.

[@randomobserver8168]

One of the most interesting and informative comments I've ever read on this site or many others. Thanks for sharing all that. I had been aware of the use of new imagery tools and satellite photography in this discovery in a very general sense, you've added a lot. An amazing combination of old and new skills, of hard field work and the latest technology, to achieve one of the oldest and most fantastical goals- the discovery of a lost city. What a story.

[@GotYourWallet]

following the breadcrumbs to a sunken city

[@LehmannDrew]

Looks like Simon has discovered the Uncharted series

[@johndillermand4053]

Or read the Necronomicon

[@toh786]

@@johndillermand4053 Written by the Mad Arab, Abdul Alhazred...

[@xanderunderwoods3363]

Yes

[@xanderunderwoods3363]

@@johndillermand4053 also yes

[@t373__4]

iram was actually mentioned in the quran, some people say it's a city and others say it's a tribe

[@damainponce1631]

The uncharted series did an amazing job covering iram as well.

[@FrownyZero]

I'm from Oman and I visited the ruins showing at 18:39 , it's amazing to visit a place with that much history.

[@YeeSoest]

Simon: "Nisnas...a creature with one eye, one leg and one arm" The Nisnas in the Image : 👀

[@sulla175]

Lol, you beat me too it.

[@samyebeid4534]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@St.Linguini_of_Pesto]

The last Nissan I witnessed was on the freeway, getting cut off by a Prius (color me a deep, rich shade of Unsurprised). It had 1 taillight, no rear passenger window (just that new shatter-proof stuff called plastic wrap + masking tape), and 1 headlight. I believe the Prius felt danger was close at hand.. in the form of an accident-prone Nissan.

[@Max_Le_Groom]

Timestamp plz?

[@samyebeid4534]

@@Max_Le_Groom 13:58

[@blazeit4905]

6: Have you not considered how your Lord dealt with ‘Aad - 7: [With] Iram - who had lofty pillars, 8: The likes of whom had never been created in the lands 9: And [with] Thamud, who carved out the rocks in the valley? 10: And [with] Pharaoh, owner of the Pyramids? - 11: [All of] whom oppressed within the lands 12: And increased therein the corruption. 13: So your Lord poured upon them a scourge of punishment. 14: Indeed, your Lord is in observation.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:45 - Chapter 1 - The empty quarter 6:20 - Chapter 2 - City of pillars 10:15 - Mid roll ads 11:20 - Chapter 3 - City of rubble or garden of delights ? 14:15 - Chapter 4 - The trails of dunes 16:40 - Chapter 5 - Eye in the sky 20:30 - Chapter 6 - Case closed ?

[@baz6128]

Hell, who needs Curiosity Stream when you have Geographics, Biographics, Megaprojects, Sideprojects...

[@jean-michel_comhaire]

I find your lack of Business Blaze disturbing

[@kennethallen3843]

You can also make a top 10 Simon Whistler channels

[@Simon-eu2hz]

Also forgot.. today I found out and top tenz

[@St.Linguini_of_Pesto]

@@jean-michel_comhaire and totally bypassing Highlight History is nearly unforgivable.

[@Mark-xg3zn]

*I like the ending. It's pure poetry !!!* "The Atlantis may have succumbed to the sands of the desert but, it scaled unscathed through the sands of time." 👌

[@onehouse4022]

Hypothesis: A city that drank itself to death. Drank water until the roof of the water table collapsed. Literally swallowed up by the Earth.

[@happybuddyperson]

So a sinkhole eh? Paralyzingly terrifying, that thought is.

[@danielduncan6806]

@@happybuddyperson I take it you live nowhere near Florida.

[@Gilhelmi]

That would be similar to what is currently happening to Las Vegas. Their water table has already dropped by over 100 feet in just a century. The whole region has an unsustainable water usage and will be gone within another century unless they build a water channel or reduce the number of pools.

[@onehouse4022]

@@Gilhelmi Modern examples from the news are what made me think of it.

[@sheepdawwg]

@@Gilhelmi 84% of Nevada is owned by big brother lol

[@kayakat1869]

You should do a Great Lakes shipwrecks/history episode.

[@thetvbaby83]

Didn't he?

[@kayakat1869]

@@thetvbaby83 I'm not sure. I know Ask A Mortician did one that was really good.

[@kayakat1869]

@@thetvbaby83 oh wait, he did that on side projects. I think he should just do a history of the great lakes video though. Its a really unique area.

[@xenatron9056]

also in the Southern Ocean

[@twopeaksnorth8184]

What about the flooding of the st.lawrence seaway?

[@motubak1622]

Iv been to the deserts of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Iv seen so many random clearly very old ruins in the deserts that no one knows what they are. Also there were many instances where when people dig the foundations for their homes they would fine old tombs and ruins but the government would just swarm the scene and take everything. Literally at my grandmothers house there’s a old ruin/ tomb in the back garden but it’s illegal to try to dig it up. My uncle and my cousin tried to get through into it once and the neighbours called the police and they were both arrested. The government officials finished off the dig and emptied it. Its even illegal to just have a metal detector their. Iv seen with my own eyes a house foundation being dug and a clear very old tomb/ruin in there but again government officials just took everything and no one knows what was actually found in there. Corruption is rampant in that part of the world and government officials just take whatever artefact’s for themselves.

[@Ashleii]

House of Saud are corrupt.

[@here_we_go_again2571]

I've always said that one can't plant a rosebush without finding archeological artifacts in the Middle East! :)

[@joeyr7294]

Probably trying to make sure the museum of Brittain doesn't come take it first tbh lol

[@mehmetfatihcetin5932]

Smilar thing happened in turkey. Around the prophet tomb in tarsus. They closed the building and put special polis to make sure no one comes. After years they said they find nothing.

[@joeyr7294]

@@mehmetfatihcetin5932 yet people get mad about their freedom in America..... 😂

[@GusCraft460]

The collapse of the limestone cavern beneath the first site fits very well with the accounts of earthquakes and cities buried by the desert. I think that, plus the eight towers, plus the geographic location being corroborated by multiple sources strongly points to that as the settlement of Iram. They say that the intersection of two lines is inevitable, three is a coincidence, but four suggests something of note is going on. The legends of a city suddenly struck by catastrophe sinking beneath the sand is one line, the repeated mentions of pillars is the second line, the correct geographic location is a third line, the wealth brought by the frankincense trade is the fourth line, and where they all intersect is a ruin that meets all of those descriptions.

[@Ezralite7]

@الأزدي Yes, I’m sure a band of superstitious nomads have a firm grip on geology, meteorology, and archaeology. 😒

[@casualcausalityy]

@@Ezralite7 those crazy nomads building giant pyramids that align with the solstices across several continents. Have you considered that human progress isn't always linear?

[@Darkstar-se6wc]

@@Ezralite7 - What a non sequitor! As if one needs to understand the geological processes at play in the collapse of a subterranean limestone cave to accurately describe the catastrophic fate of a city sitting atop said cave. Archeological knowledge is required of the diggers, not the historical sources that suggest where to dig. And meteorology? Not seeing where it’s at all relevant, but while nomads may not know meteorology, they have a firm grasp on the expected weather patterns of their own time period.

[@SkunkApe407]

​@@Ezralite7a similar band of nomads made Gobekli Tepe. Nomadic hunter-gatherers built Stonehenge. Your skepticsm is a thin veil for your ignorance.

[@Musslewhite]

Love the comparisons between the city of el dorado in the americas and Iram. All the guides give different answers

[@Rmirfin]

It's a tragedy that I have only just found your channel, I've been binging episodes. Absolutely fantastic!

[@TheHortoman]

This channel is terrible, always gives scraps of partial information, sensationalist at best

[@kelvindesilva4408]

Now I want to replay the uncharted series. Sure, definitely took liberties with certain facts but the games were a great way to inspire curiosity about ancient civilizations

[@Sublimeoo]

He who controls the Spice, controls the universe

[@calebroca5134]

Underrated comment

[@ianscott9396]

The spice must flow

[@anassmsallem1977]

Spicy comment

[@justinmartin4662]

Sounds like something a spice runner would say!

[@sohype6827]

Smells like the baron Harkonnen 😤

[@Ravangers]

You got a typo at 4:28, it's Labdanum not Laudanum. Laudanum is an opium tincture, labdanum is the perfume base/ herbal medicine.

[@twistedtimbers]

i was wondering about that, lol

[@Matsuiginshi]

"The empty quarter experienced another moist moment" -Simon Whistler, 2020

[@justinmartin4662]

His poor wife.

[@ChangedNames]

It's indeed very rare to see a high viewed youtube video that mentions my country's name so much. Al Salam Everyone, from oman!!

[@Kosheon]

Alaikom al salam from the UAE 🇦🇪 Love you all 🥰

[@rohankishibe8259]

و عليكم السلام من تونس 🇹🇳

[@hiitsme4901]

ikr lol😂

[@jureklemencic7316]

u should be proud oman is imo the best arab country

[@ChangedNames]

@@jureklemencic7316 Always am, Always will be. While every nation burn their life time for quick fame, we just outlive everyone by trading and being chill. Just the usual fights against Persia every few centuries

[@adamschindler5766]

"Experienced another moist moment" Gotta love that technical jargon

[@baraxor]

Imram or Ubar probably gained notoriety by being the "last chance for gas"...it was the only water source for considerable distance on either side of the north/south trans-Arabian trade route, so that if a caravan wasn't willing to pay the hefty fee for water access, it would in all likelihood not survive to the next oasis. That kind of thing easily brings resentment. When half of the fortified town tumbles into a massive sinkhole, it's no wonder that this would be seen as an act of God to punish the unjust.

[@kimjongun6746]

I don't know how Simon is managing to get these many videos done! As usual, great work 👍

[@Babylon_Fallin]

Rocket man

[@mickmccarthy8219]

@@Babylon_Fallin nice one

[@shanewilson9814]

Cocaine

[@timothykaiser3571]

He doesn’t write or edit any of them

[@kimjongun6746]

@@timothykaiser3571 Still presenting the entire content is hard considering the fact that he is hosting multiple channels.

[@hertzer2000]

*drags giant hair pick across Arabia* "We ain't found Shit!"

[@Mikey5421]

There's only one man who dare give me raspberries...

[@zachespinoza1794]

@@Mikey5421 lonestar!!!

[@Albukhshi]

Gotta use the Schwarz!!!

[@paulgallagher5092]

@@zachespinoza1794 I'm my own best friend!

[@zachespinoza1794]

@@paulgallagher5092 who made this man a gunner?

[@drmattconrad77]

Even if it wasn’t Iram it’s still a pretty cool discovery.

[@Cle44139]

I have had to pause the video and google the information presented so many times that it's taken me nearly 90 mins to finish. Well researched sir, even for your high standards!

[@live2ride18]

There’s so much crap probably buried in sand. As well as ocean. Man the lost history of earth. I want to know it all. Mostly to go get the buried treasure.

[@live2ride18]

@Maria Kelly lol that show lost me at season 1. I refine metals from scrap stuff so I ‘dig’ the precious metals 😉

[@mohamedelhaddade6371]

you watched too many Indiana Jones

[@live2ride18]

@@mohamedelhaddade6371 never seen one.

[@semaj_5022]

I wanna know what all is still buried in Doggerland

[@live2ride18]

@@semaj_5022 never heard of that one. Where’s that at? Now I have a whole new land to learn of 🙏

[@thatone1280]

As a Saudi 🇸🇦 this place is like our Atlantis, there are many evidence of the city but I don’t think a gold city would go unnoticed in 2020 but I hope I am wrong. Btw I have been to rub alkali , it a place like no ever.

[@broteinsheikh]

Why doesnt your government try to search for this city they have resourses and tools

[@IkedaSerra]

It might be a bit like El Dorado, the supposed golden city in the Americas. I think I watched a documentary that said it was a combination of a translation error, greedy conquistadors and wishful thinking.

[@KnivingDispodia]

@@broteinsheikh Because there are much better things to do than search for mythical cities

[@broteinsheikh]

@@KnivingDispodia no theres not they build things in dubai skyscrappers malls resorts etc they have everything they need already

[@KnivingDispodia]

@@broteinsheikh That’s the UAE, not Saudi Arabia

[@thetiniestpirate]

That ending was remarkabley sentimental for Simon, I dig it.

[@djayt]

Can you do a video on Shambhala? This video reminded me of Uncharted 3, then i remembered uncharted 2's shambhala.

[@ChrisBrackman]

I got three ads for some resort called Atlantis while watching this. The connections the algorithm makes make me smile.

[@iTeerRex]

I had never heard of this city before, but it intrigues me more then the famous Atlantis.

[@ronindraco4194]

@شبيح Wow, interesting

[@MrChristianDT]

I guess play Uncharted 3, if you have a playstation & assuming you're old enough & your parents let you. It's not very accurate & the story isn't great, but the game is still really fun, if you can finish it.

[@Stettafire]

@@MrChristianDT Uncharted is an old game now. Why not read a book on it instead and get some facts? I mean I enjoyed uncharted, but don't see how its relevant 🤷‍♀️

[@frankmartin2503]

Try reading the novel Declare by Tim Powers.

[@valletas]

@@Stettafire well its fun thats what he was saying

[@dominusetdeus060644]

Oh man i had never heard of this before. Thanks. This channel is a gold mine of information and entertainment

[@billharm6006]

One of your more informative. I've known of "Ubar" for years. I've know of some of the legends and sources for years. Still, this video presented related information that I had not known before. I appreciate the research that went into creating this presentation.

[@zachdietrich4648]

so, "limestone cavity" likely means a drained aquifer. the reason there was an oasis there, likely, was an aquifer. and the overuse of the resource over time caused the water level to drop enough to change how pressure was distributed. causing cavity collapse. ending site viability. so, in a sense, they were a victim of their own success. strangely, my impression was that Ubar and Iram of the Pillars were different places. but that could be me confusing Wallace Stevens and Historicity.

[@corynorell3686]

Learned about this through the Uncharted series. In fact, those games are what got me into history. And people say games are a waste of time.

[@katiemartin487]

Same here, along with the Tomb Raider games, high school for me was a drag, since they only focused on wars and depressing stuff throughout history, so I had to learn through video games, Uncharted 3 and 4 are my favorites in the franchise, because of Iram and Libertaila set in the games.

[@train_go_boom2065]

Call of Duty and Uncharted helped me get into history

[@AFGsultanZ]

Uncharted, Assassin's Creed and Age of Empires are what got me into history. I do think a lot of people can relate to it as well.

[@AFGsultanZ]

@@train_go_boom2065Call of Duty World Wars and Black Ops I’m assuming? That’s very cool. Uncharted, Assassins Creed, and Age of Empires is what got me into history.

[@zora508]

The name Iram is also mentioned in the Qur'an. And it says in the Qur'an that Arabia was full of green And that Yamen was so rich and full of food that people didn't carry Supplies with them when traveling. Because the fruit-rich trees were everywhere Until they called upon themselves and said, "Our Lord, separate our travels."

[@BlizzardWind99]

People of Saba’ right?

[@khalil8043]

@@BlizzardWind99 the people who built Iram were a tribe of giants, ppl of Saba are different

[@BlizzardWind99]

@@khalil8043 okay thanks JazakAllah Khair

[@Mark-xg3zn]

Sic Parvis Magna. *uncharted theme intensifies !!!*

[@xanderunderwoods3363]

Indeed!!! 8D

[@YukihyoShiraki]

20:51 "-were all tall and powerfully built. Like pillars." *queue pillar men theme*

[@zarahasan331]

Its times like these I can appreciate my middle eastern heritage. Probably gonna go back to some of these verses mentioned in the Quran to do my own research too! (Thanks for the video!!!)

[@futurewitness2862]

They were the people of add right?

[@elmajraz6019]

@@futurewitness2862 yes, the people of 'Ad. He is usually linked as a son to the biblical character Uz the son of Aram (the founder of the City of Iram?). and the other tribe, Thamud, is usually linked as a son to Gether, another son of Aram.

[@mohdsyahrulazmanmdsaru6909]

@@elmajraz6019 thanks! No wonder Quran always relate and links people of Aad and people of Thamud

[@elmajraz6019]

@@mohdsyahrulazmanmdsaru6909 welcome. it's a pleasure.

[@elmajraz6019]

@george james I will try. What is your question?

[@tehbonehead]

"There is nothing in the desert, and no man needs nothing." -Faisal

[@Darkest_matter]

Faisal who?

[@tehbonehead]

@@Darkest_matter Faisal I bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi... to be specific.

[@aliyanZedit]

@@Darkest_matter your Daddy

[@ibrahimidrees328]

@Deez Nutz I’m not exactly sure so I might be wrong but at that time the people of aad were very big and tall

[@ssa6227]

I went to Salalah Oman. They have ruins of past city. Very impressive indeed. I only later found out how important that city was historically.

[@antoniovillanueva308]

*"Where frankincense traders flogged their goods"* If that's not a euphemism, it ought to be.

[@frenchrev.2379]

I read this RIGHt when he said it

[@davematkins6829]

Kinda like flogging the Bishop?

[@alyssinwilliams4570]

Simon reads, "Sent on a diplomatic mission" and my brain automatically finished it with "to Alderaan" -_-

[@Trabunkle]

Iram joins Atlantis, El Dorado, The Lost City of Z, The Lost Land of Lyonesse, Aztlan and countless more! Nuff Said!

[@jackmanley1473]

I'd love to see you gusy tackle the city of Mogadishu on the channel at some point. It was arguably the most important city on the planet 650-750 years ago due to its ideal location at the center of the Indian Ocean trading zone. That it was so highly coveted for centuries, only to fall to an absolute nadir at the dawn of the 21st Century, has always fascinated me. It makes sense why many of the ancient trading cities collapsed, but Mogadishu had possibly the most going for it geographically of any trading city in existence at the time

[@MrLastname-g3d]

I would love to see that to

[@bakubread9308]

Having never heard of this before, i genuinely did not expect this city to exist

[@golddragonette7795]

Having been to Wadi Rm, I'd love to hear the evidence for Aram being there - the towering pillars are natural cliffs there, and it was definitely part of the frankincense trade route heading north to Petra

[@somethinglikethat2176]

Video idea: the Canal of the Pharaohs. It was an ancient version of the Suez Canal and connected the Nile River to the Red Sea. Also the Great Dam of Ma'rib would be awesome too.

[@anishdynamo]

4:03 ma boy rocking those golden rolex

[@KRJayster]

You know, considering the desert environment, civilization located between two disparate civilizations in Europe and China, and mysterious vanishing in a night of tragedy that is considered by some to be a punishment by a god, I'm wondering if Hiromu Arakawa had heard of Iram when she came up with the city of Xelkses for Fullmetal Alchemist.

[@tayjaytesla1142]

Very probably, wasnt Xelkes meant to be quite wealthy/ beautiful?

[@satyayana1399]

now i think about it, rouran, a kingdom from naruto shippuden 4th movie may be inspired from iram

[@travellingtheworld7447]

4:04 Assurbanipal rocking that Rolex like a boss

[@roselane8152]

They were advanced indeed

[@MrAndrew941]

Yeah, imagine how well preserved to say it would be not destroyed by war, but just engulfed by sand.

[@slinkbradshaw8674]

Oooh real early to this one. Thanks for the great content once again

[@ArcAudios77]

Credit for a well researched & excellently delivered narrative on the lost City of Iram. Learned from it, appreciated. Geographics is a quality use of anyone's time.

[@williamprosser7637]

I believe the round stone columns around the stone gate were the pillars or towers ... They were used until the early medieval time.. they actually found a early medieval chessboard there inside one and the Italians came and rebuilt some of what you could already see to give a more visual reference.

[@mm4u1986]

(ألم ترى كيف فعل ربك بعاد* و إرم ذات العماد) سورة الفجر

[@Ali-qk3xw]

نقلك غير صحيح إرم ذات العماد بدون حرف (و)

[@نويكحص]

لا لم نرا 😂😂😂😂😂 كلام خرافي وأساطير وكذب بدو الصحراء

[@Ali-qk3xw]

@@نويكحص ماتبي تؤمن بالاسلام هذا شي راجعلك تشوفه خرافه او كذب بس احتفظ بكلامك هذا لنفسك محد له علاقة باللي تؤمن فيه بس انك تجي تسيء بالاسلوب هذا كذا تجبر اصغر شخص فينا يعيد تربيتك واذا ما فاد معك نربي الي رباك ونذكرك بأن اهل البادية اسيادك عبر التاريخ ماعرف العالم امبراطورية عربية الا امبراطورية اهل البادية ولا تنسى انك من الاساس ماكنت بتكون عربي لو ماعلمناك لغتنا.

[@نويكحص]

@@Ali-qk3xw يا صعلوك أنتم من وين لكم لغة اللغة العربية أصلها يمني حميري أنتم تكلمتم لغتنا وحتى الأحرف لم تأتوا بها من عندكم ولم تستعملوا حروفكم بل حروف الفارسيين لم يكتب الزمن لكم إختراع إلا أنكم أخترعتم الإرهاب والكتاب الشيطاني المسمى خرأن وهو من صنع داعش ثم ألا تعلم أن الصحابة قتلوا بعضهم البعض وناموا مع نساء بعضهم البعض

[@timbrwolf1121]

Red silver? So walls of pyrargyrite? That would look awesome!

[@Ntwolf1220]

If it's true the city must have been truly breathtaking

[@mirandagoldstine8548]

Indeed.

[@Robbie_S]

Never realised the term "Ajib-o-Gharib" to describe "strange and unbelievable", was derived from two brothers Ajib and Gharib.

[@nejm612]

Where did you hear that term?

[@NadDew]

@Tay Stan urdu borrow too much from Arabic anyway it's a common phrase in arabic but u never thought about its origins.

[@AymenDZA]

It's the other way around, the brothers are named after the adjectives

[@M.W.H.]

Correction: Ajib means "marvelous" or "wondrous", not "unbelieveable".

[@lastword8783]

We have the same term in pashto as well

[@gregdeon705]

Hi Simon , was enjoying this episode and a conversation ensued , a friend asked " I wondered how much from all these channels , he retains " .

[@dinolover]

I love this place cause one of my favorite games has it as its focus. U3 baby!

[@neocomixx5128]

curiosity stream is rad, except for one small problem: You can't tell what year something was made. So there's nothing quite like starting a video about space science, only to see a video in 4:3 aspect talking about science that's been completely rewritten since the video was produced...if you could filter, or even just see, the creation date of the videos, it would be a vast improvement.

[@Q_QQ_Q]

You wouldn't see if they did .

[@Theggman83]

4:05 that's a sick watch...

[@3p1cand3rs0n]

The Rolex of the Sands. 😀

[@citizena8501]

One of my favourite videos you've made, keep it up!

[@DarkGlass824]

Love the mention of Cthulhu.

[@DarkGlass824]

@Draugr dark and creepy as it will always be......:)

[@Perceptious37]

i'd love to see you dig deeper into the history of the silk road trade route.

[@RichardCranium321]

Sir Randolph Feines recently returned with his nephew to retrace his expedition from Bedouin tribes up the nile to the pyramids in Egypt

[@Dman8s]

Can you use satalites for finding structures under the sand, similar to what they started doing in forests to find old temples ? Or does the sand mask it. How can we see under the sand without digging ?

[@tomasbarata1060]

Sand its a good light reflector, thats why is hot there ,probably the satelites laser would not do the job

[@Dman8s]

@@tomasbarata1060 So we should look for something that doesn't reflect light or higher density reflection indicating maybe a wall

[@cmdr_thrudd]

I lived in Oman as a child. Got to meet Sir Ranulph Fiennes and got a signed map of one of his expeditions. :) I didnt know why he was there at the time so it's interesting to now hear what the mission was.

[@maxt4138]

المفروض ينذكر اسم المكتشفين العرب والعرب المفروض يكتشفوهة مو خواجات

[@TheTombree]

Uncharted 3 music kicks in :

[@tombakabones274]

Can somebody explain to me what CE stands for I'm familiar with BC and AD BC meaning before Christ and AD meaning Anno Domini (year of Our Lord)

[@gigamut11b86]

I just found it... Common Era - Wikipedia Common Era (CE) is one of the year notations used for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Before the Common Era or Before the Current Era (BCE) is the era before CE. BCE and CE are alternatives to the Dionysian BC and AD notations respectively. Now, we both know....lol I hope you have a great day & be safe.

[@tombakabones274]

@@gigamut11b86 thank you And same to you

[@fixman88]

@@tombakabones274 Basically it's a non-religious version of BC and AD. BC means 'Before Christ', and AD means 'Anno Domini (In the Year of our Lord'). Scientists stated getting twitchy a while back at using those terms so they came up with BCE and CE. Of course, changing the name of something doesn't change what it is.

[@robertsollory7475]

A good place to do a geographics on would be the amazing transformation of Shenzhen. From a humble fishing town to the manufacturer of the world's electronics.

[@lastword8783]

"Iram cannot be allowed to have chariots of mass destruction"

[@andrewmalik3737]

Could you do a video on the London Underground?

[@johniwan1]

Soon, the entire internets will consist of Simon telling us about his new channel. I for one will welcome our new knowledge dispersing overlords. We mean you no harm.

[@jacobhuff3748]

Just be sure to not to drink the water here. Sir Francis Drake and Nathan Drake learned the hard way what brought about the end for this great society.

[@SamuraiGhostGirl]

Best game in the series.

[@jacobhuff3748]

@@SamuraiGhostGirlThought Thief's End was best in terms of story but Drake's Deception refined the classic game play the most.

[@SamuraiGhostGirl]

@@jacobhuff3748 maybe. I like all of the games, but the third was my favourite.

[@valletas]

@@jacobhuff3748 well i love uncharted but absolutely hated the gunplay so i am here more for the setting I like all of them but i think 4 has the best one

[@jacksavage4098]

Great video, love Simon in the well spoken non raging. There is recent archaeology I read somewhere a possible massive sinkhole opened after the oasis below its aquifer dried up taking with it a city in the collapse. Anyone recall this?

[@tevis3]

Nah dude, all Blaze all day.

[@luxborealis]

Ah, Iram. As a historian I get quite a lot of questions about it, I always have to disappoint them.

[@فهميكتاني]

It is a real city As he said was called Iram of the pillars. Was mentioned in Qur'an, a city that was populated by ancient Arabs that have gone extinct. They were granted the best of gifts of body strength and wealth and technological advancement. Though once they denied their prophet and refused to follow him they were destroyed and genocided and wiped out from the map by God as punishment for their crimes. They were mentioned to the people of thamoud who also were similar to them and were also destroyed for not obeying their prophet shortly after. The people of thamoud were famous for long life spans and good phsycal strength and ability to build homes from digging in mountains.

[@HFBN2004]

@@فهميكتاني And they're prolly big af.

[@russellfitzpatrick503]

As ever a fascinating video on a subject totally unknown to most, but one that has its own tale to tell. Thank you

[@sam_s_]

People have been flexing on eachother for thousands of years.

[@mattlawyer3245]

At the beginning, I though "This sounds a whole lot like a Lovecraft story!" And then you proceeded to show Cthulu on the screen. That was fun.

[@absolutelynoone7171]

So many tales of lost cities due to disaster. It's almost as if this happens quite often and frequent throughout our history. Yet it's considered a crazy idea that human civ goes back way way further back.

[@valletas]

Well nobody is saying that human civilisation isnt a old think in fact its a old as humas itself it just changed a lot

[@absolutelynoone7171]

@@valletas true. I agree. But I'm saying well before the ice age old. Hundreds of thousands of years ago.

[@Ball_Chat_FC]

@@valletas But people assume that our oldest civilisations were simple Hunter-gatherers when in actual fact, they could’ve been a lot more technologically advanced than us for all we know.

[@valletas]

@@Ball_Chat_FC nah not more tachnologically advenced if that was the case we would have records and other things about that Humans arent really that old BUT they could have use some primitive technology that we never did

[@Ball_Chat_FC]

@@valletas This is the thing, we're quick to assume that there are a lack of records, or structures, of past civlisation technological feats. But in between a catalysmic event around 12,000 years ago, followed by severe globlal flooding, any pieces of evidence would've been either completely destroyed or buried underwater. Are you aware that we've explored less than 5% of our oceans? If entire expeditions were funded for this, I am positive that we will find a lot more than we could even imagine. Our current narrative of earlu humans is that they were basic and incompetent hunter-gatherers only 10,000 years ago. If this is the case, how did they manage to build the 10,000 year old site of Göbeklitepe? This monolithic complex with vast pillars and underground networks shouldn't have been remotely possible if early humans were mere hunter gatherers. There is so much more that we simply do not know about the past civilisations and it's not far fetched to assume that some could've existed with technology that is even superior than ours.

[@kimothefungenuis]

10:00 Aad is the name of the tribe. Iram is the name or the city.

[@dafttool]

Desertification manmade? The area is prone to drought cyclically due to the wobble of the earth, going from desert extremes to monsoon extremes every 15,000 or so years. Same goes for the Sahara. It was also wet back 5000 bce, & then became desert when the winds changed

[@سلامسالمي-ر6ذ]

That's right Arabia and north africa was more habitable during this time between 10000 and 5000 yrs ago as monsoon retreat to south

[@fyeahusa]

Extensive irrigation also results in desertification and likely also affected the region while the climate changed naturally as well.

[@dabo5078]

@@fyeahusa Unlikely intense irrigation can cause desertification. By the time irrigation is not possible in the area there will still be plenty of nutrients for basic shrubbery, however if the climate dries up, (or like in Mesopotamia the Euphrates and Tigris changed course) than desertification is inevitable. Besides you need some extremely intensive agriculture in the scale close to what we have in the modern world to affect such drastic changes. I have doubts neolithic farmers had the technology or the population to do such intense agriculture.

[@XHollisWood]

Great work !!!

[@resileaf9501]

I had no idea about the connection between Saba and Sheba. The Saba tribe is one of the playable factions in Rome 2: Total War, as one of the greatest trader factions in the game, with a special dam building said to have irrigated their desert kingdom. I'd love to learn more about that tribe. Sounds like they have a very impressive history.

[@simosan4451]

Coran describe it

[@texenna]

Rome 2!😊

[@mexps8093]

@2:40 Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The Last Hour will not come before wealth becomes abundant and overflowing, so much so that a man takes Zakat out of his property and cannot find anyone to accept it from him and till the land of Arabia reverts to meadows and rivers. The Prophet PBUH says that the land of Arabia was green with meadows and rivers and it will return to be a green land in the future. The Prophet PBUH was born in 6th century A.D.

[@severalwolves]

0:15 “Onnober the First, 1907”?? wtf did he say?

[@psilocin223]

Lmfaoooo

[@ArchonShon]

You need a channel called Simon says. It could be a live stream quiz competition channel based on all the geo and bio topics.

[@TurtleChad1]

A Turtle remembers visiting the Lost City of Iram.

[@kylealexander7024]

How was the water there?

[@sdesytfcanon]

At 6:50 you show a map that displays no longer existing river in Northern Africa. How old is that map and if I’m not mistaken those rivers disappeared a few thousand years ago…

[@nitroxide17]

Yo why aren’t you doing visualpolitik anymore? It’s not the same.

[@dawnpalmby5100]

Check out "the eye of the desert" its in Mauritania just south of the mountains near the straight of Gibraltar - the map at 4:41 marks the area as Atlas

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

I find the ubiquity of lost cities to be kind of suspicious. I'm sure many cities over the millennia have been lost, but the idea that they are always fantastical cities that nobody actually remembers just doesn't grok IMO. You're telling me they were responsible for effectively millions or billions of dollars worth of commerce and nobody has direct records of them? Idk, maybe I should take it as a lesson of how easily we can be forgotten instead of not believing it existed at all.

[@kvogt88]

are you guys gonna do a video on biographics on Lawrence of Arabia?

[@xxGhostXIIIxx]

i remember this place from uncharted 3 the city's water supply was poisoned by this hallucinogenic stuff that brings your worst nightmares to life and drives you insane

[@aalhard]

This was an info dense episode, in the extreme! Awesome