This story dates back to 200 AD, of ancient time and place, of people that made some of the greatest discoveries and inventions, Saudi Arabia. It is a story about a young boy named Taesnin from the village of Qaryat al-Faw, a bustling trading town, in current day Qatar, who lived with his father, Sheikh Mohammed Ulman. In this little town, venders from abroad would sail in with their exotic fabrics and spices, jewelry and pottery, all ready to be bartered for some food or shelter, sometimes both, before they headed back to the sea and continued their journey. 

Taesnin's father would usually allow the foreign merchants to live in his humble home and sell the goods acquired from them to the local Quatrain people for coins. Taesnin enjoyed his father’s line of work as it involved foreign people with their unique habits and way of being, something that he was always fascinated by. 

It was one of those days when the guests from TÄrÅ«t had left after spending a good two weeks at their home, and as much as Taesnin liked having them around, he was excited to go see what they had left behind. He was so curious that he stole in his fathers room to see what he could find; and what he found, launched a thousand imaginary journey. He looked down at a sun-compass complete with an astronomical guide that took the route of the starts, and in the very center held the globe with three continents distinctly etched to show where all the land masses of the Earth held place. Taesnin had heard about Africa, but never really seen how big it was compare to his own land, he had read about Australia, but never imagined it being this far from Europe. His find was so amazing to him that he could not keep it aside to look through the trunk for other items, he kept playing with the globe with his small hands and held it up at different directions to know what moves and what points where. 

Taesnin was a curious child with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He wanted to know who named the stars and how great men could measure the galaxies, he wanted to know what wonders there were in the palaces of kings and queens. He wanted to talk to the explorers who sailed to the very edges of the world and hoped the go explore the world from his own eyes someday. And so Taesnin’s life would have continued with dreams and plans for the future, but fate determined that it was to take a different course. 

In the very late hours of the day, when no man dared to roam the street and only bats and owls would take flight, Taesnin was tucked into his blankets, but his father was up and about. The word was out that there is a uproar from the neighboring community because of a war with the politicians of both the towns, and a mad riot was taking place in the dead of the night. Taesnin’s sleep was cut short as his dad shook him to consciousness and briefed him about the ongoing situation. They quickly gathered whatever little they could before circumstances drove them out of their very own house and were forced to leave the town they once called home. 

For many weary months, the father and son duo journeyed across the treacherous territory of Arabia. They avoided towns which were plagued with pirans and unrest and travelled through the vast emptiness of the deserts and mountains. Taesnin’s father was worried for his wellbeing, firstly for their survival through the unending stretches of sand and more sand, and secondly of financing their future. He was worried about the lifestyle he would be able to provide for his son once the money he had gathered was spent, the future looked gloomy and uncertain. Thoughts of their home that was now far behind them ran through Taesnin’s mind, he was starting to grasp the situation and eventually gave up on his dream of learning, ‘‘what hope was there now’’, he thought to himself and sighed deeply.