Description

This magnificent book was self published in the UAE by author Wael M Buheiry and essentially chronicles a classic car rally that he organised through Jordan.

A wide range of classic cars were invited with a number of well known characters including Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. The photography throughout not only shows spectacular images of the cars in many settings but also captures the landscapes and people and cities of Jordan in glorious colour.

These were all commissioned by the author with the former official photographer to the King of Jordan.

A large format book, with dust cover and matching card slip cover running to 370 pages, it was one of 1000 limited copies and this seems to be the only one that we have ever seen offered for sale. As a result rare!

Below, for background the introduction provided by the author:

Anyone who has searched for inspiration before starting a large project may well remember the pivotal moment when all the details fall into place and the project is propelled into motion.

As inspiration grows and momentum takes over until it becomes a labour of love with a life and persona of its own.

In the case of ‘Rouge: A Classic Car journey through Jordan’, the pivotal moment came to me in Jordan late on a October afternoon in 2006.

I was competing in a car rally called The Jewel that is Jordan’ organised by the dynamic Jonathan Lyons requiring rare and classic cars to race for more than eight days across the length of Jordan from Aqaba in the South to Umm Qays in the North. The event brought together sixty cars which between them spanned more than a century of motoring.

Three days into the rally, as we were crossing the expanse of the fabled Wadi Rum, the land that inspired Lawrence of Arabia to write his ‘Seven Pillars of Wisdom’, my red 1951 Jaguar XK120 broke down.

As mechanics went to work on it I resigned myself to enjoying the scenery during the enforced break. The late afternoon sun was bright orange tinged with
streaks of red. It was casting shadows and reflections on both the mountains and desert giving rise to the legendary red hue which blankets the Wadi. In the midst of this awe inspiring landscape stood my beautiful red Jaguar.

It was then I decided to share this extraordinary relationship with as many people as possible and this book was conceived.

My fascination, and later passion, for motoring started long before that afternoon and is an inherited family tradition. My father rallied during the 1950s in a red roadster built by Arnolt Bristol and designed by Bertone.

He raced in events organized by the Jordan Automobile Club in which His Majesty, the late King Hussein of Jordan would participate with a 300SL Gullwing Mercedes Benz. The excitement and fascination was easy for a young boy to inherit.

Also, my father spent much of the late 70s and early 80s compiling extensive photographic records of the region which were later published as the Splendor trilogy: The Splendor of Lebanon’, The Splendor of Egypt’ and The Splendor of the Holy Land!

So his interest in documenting the beauty of the Middle East through photography, combined with his love of fine cars and admiration for Jordan was passed down to me. Needless to say,

I fell in love with the country: its generous people, its noble history and its majestic landscape.

The idea behind ‘Rouge’ was to compile a photographic testament to the beauty of Jordan while recording its connection to motoring history.

While selecting the content, I was enormously fortunate to be able to collaborate with Zohrab who for more than 25 years was the official photographer of His Majesty, the late King Hussein. To be able to take his advice and include his images was an incalculable benefit and I thank him for both.

Zohrab’s library of historical photographs, capturing the country’s splendid landscape with his unique vision made the gargantuan task of compiling the bulk of this book a sheer pleasure. Additional help from Canadian fashion photographer, Robert Leslie and renowned British travel writer, Dave Saunders adds the final pieces to the puzzle and ‘Rouge: A Classic Car journey through Jordan’ was born.

My hope with Rouge is that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a country steeped in natural beauty and inextricably intertwined in both the region’s past and present, is honestly represented and indeed, celebrated.