Brainerd S Bates Assistant Editor (1 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Good. Aramco photographers: Owen Oxley; Dick Cesare; Carl von Hoffman (illustrator). Original b/w illustrated wraps 22x28cm. 16pp including b/w photos and drawings. Good, creased, with a couple of patches of staining to the back. The cover story describes the Aramco Training Center at Sidon, and how it prepares employees for life and work in Saudi Arabia. It opened in New York in 1948 before transferring to Lebanon in 1951, with 3 US staff including head R.E. Sullivan, and 19 Lebanese. Offering long 4 week and short 2 week intensive courses it aimed to teach 600 words of Arabic ("a language so complex that some thirty volumes are required merely to explain its grammar"), Saudi history, the history of oil, a tour of Tapline installations, and supervision and training skills if required. It offers insight into recreational facilities on-site, and weekend tours to Baalbek, Damascus, Jerusalem and Cyprus. The photos feature the campus and locale including Tapline's tank farm seen through the eyes of one of its students. Other articles include "The Caravan" (a description of an exploration team's encounter with a Bedouin caravan in the Rub al Khali); Middle Eastern influences on modern jewellery; a description of the "Christmas Tree" (oil well control head); and a comparison of wedding ceremonies in different countries.