Dr. Robert Carter is a leading archaeologist and expert on the history of the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf. After completing his degrees at Oxford and UCL, he spent his career conducting extensive surveys and excavations across the region, including in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. He served as a Full Professor at UCL Qatar from 2011 to 2019 and has since held senior cultural heritage advisory roles at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and Qatar Museums. He provided the core content for the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Muharraq, Pearling: Testimony of an Island Economy. He is a long-standing Trustee for the International Association for the Study of Arabia (IASA).

William Facey is an accomplished historian, author, and museum planner specialising in the Arabian Peninsula. Following his studies at Wadham College, Oxford, he began his career in Arabia in 1974, playing a key role in developing numerous museum projects across the region, particularly in Saudi Arabia. His extensive body of work explores the history, architecture, and early photography of the Peninsula, along with Arab maritime history and Western travellers to the holy cities. He founded Arabian Publishing Ltd in 2002, which he ran until 2015. He is a founding trustee of the International Association for the Study of Arabia (IASA).

Idries Trevathan is the Curator of Islamic Art at the prestigious King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in Saudi Arabia. Since Ithra’s opening in 2018, he has established its reputation as a major destination for Islamic art by building its collection from scratch and curating pivotal exhibitions. Idries holds an MPhil and a PhD in Islamic art from the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London. As well as the author of In Praise of the Artisan, he has authored and edited several celebrated books, including Colour, Light and Wonder in Islamic Art (2020) and Hijrah: In the Footsteps of the Prophet (2022).

Michael Crawford is an independent historian who focuses on the history of the Arabian Peninsula. After training as a barrister, he served the British government overseas for many years, including in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. A visiting Fellow at Princeton in 2009, he is the author of the incisive biography of Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, founder of the Wahhabi movement, published in the Makers of the Muslim World series.

Mark Evans MBE is an acclaimed explorer and educator who lived in Arabia for over 25 years. He was awarded the MBE by Her Majesty The Queen for his pioneering work using challenging outdoor journeys for personal development. In 2023, he received the Medal of Honour by The Sultan of Oman for establishing Outward Bound Oman. In 2016, Mark and two Omani companions became the first people in 85 years to retrace the first crossing of the Rub’ Al Khali—the largest sand desert on Earth—a 49-day journey on foot and camel. His latest feat was a 28-day east-west crossing of Saudi Arabia, following the 1917 footsteps of the explorer Harry St John Philby.

Joy Totah Hilden is a recognised authority on Bedouin textiles. Born in Jerusalem in 1935, she spent her childhood in Palestine observing traditional crafts, including Bedouin weaving. With degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute and teaching credentials in Art and English, she combined her academic background with her passion for textiles. While living in Saudi Arabia, her fluent Arabic allowed her to conduct detailed and exhaustive field research, communicating directly with Bedouin women about their dyeing, spinning, and weaving techniques. She continues to present on the subject and correspond with the thriving weaving community from her home in Berkeley, California.

Joy Totah Hilden is a recognised authority on Bedouin textiles. Born in Jerusalem in 1935, she spent her childhood in Palestine observing traditional crafts, including Bedouin weaving. With degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute and teaching credentials in Art and English, she combined her academic background with her passion for textiles. While living in Saudi Arabia, her fluent Arabic allowed her to conduct detailed and exhaustive field research, communicating directly with Bedouin women about their dyeing, spinning, and weaving techniques. She continues to present on the subject and correspond with the thriving weaving community from her home in Berkeley, California.

Prince Turki AlFaisal Al Saud is the youngest son of the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Educated at Princeton and Georgetown, he served as head of the Saudi Arabian General Intelligence Department from 1978 to 2001, where he was heavily involved in the Kingdom’s dealings with Afghanistan. He later served as the Saudi Ambassador to London (2003–2005) and Washington (2005–2007). In these diplomatic posts, he was a prominent voice arguing against the invasion of Iraq and advocating for sensitive political solutions. He now runs the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.

Alan Dillon is a serving diplomat in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.  He has worked extensively both in and on the Gulf and South Asia, and observed first-hand how shared history shapes modern diplomatic relationships and foreign policy. He is an independent historian, Royal Historical Society Fellow, occasional lecturer and has featured in the Saudi Broadcast Authority’s Erth (Heritage) documentary series, covering the founding of Britain’s relationship with the ruling Al Sa’ud family and the Empire’s military campaigns against the Qawasim tribe of Ras al Khymah and Sharjah.

Susan Maria Farrington MBE is an author, researcher, and avid traveller who has contributed to the compilation of travel memories in both Strolling About on the Roof of the World and Seen in the Yemen. She has a passion for, and has authored several books on, the history of British cemeteries overseas and West Country local history.

Norman Cameron spent the majority of his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) specialising in the Middle East. He later served as the Secretary of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA) from 2001 to 2008. His experience in both diplomacy and the RSAA gave him a unique perspective and connection to the late author Hugh, positioning him to assist Sue Farrington in compiling these memoirs of one of the Society’s most unconventional members

Dr Abdulkader Al-Guneid is a practicing doctor and prominent human rights activist from Taiz, Yemen. Known for his outspoken commentary on current events in the region, he has been a featured voice on major international news outlets, including the BBC, Al Jazeera, The Financial Times, and The Independent.

Michael Field is a historian and journalist specialising in the Middle East. After studying history at Cambridge, he became a journalist and worked for the Financial Times in the 1970s and 80s. He is the author of several books, the best known of which is The Merchants, which documents the history of some of the major Arabian business families. He currently focuses on creating comprehensive ruling family trees and government charts covering Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.