The road home led on past a hill crowned with crumbling ruins, traditionally the palace of the legendary Queen of Sheba, into the old Gulf port of Ras Al Khaimah.

Just inland from the coastal salt flats, low ruined walls and scattered shards of Greek and Persian pottery still marked an outpost of the legions of Alexander the Great, still a legendary figure across all of Asia. These archeological sites remained known only to scholars and adventurers: no fences, opening hours, regulations or rangers came between us and the ruins.