With the rev of an engine and a last tremendous pull, Raghdan Salem Zodeh's SUV was freed from the sand and rising tides near a resort in the desert state of Qatar.

Zodeh, 47, a Syrian living in the Gulf emirate, had become stuck near the on-rushing tide, his wheels spinning in sea-sodden sand, before volunteers from the Aoun Qatar rescue team came to wrench him out with towing cables.

"The guys here are all chivalrous, they are all helpful," Zodeh told AFP, after waiting just 10 minutes to be rescued.

Zodeh is one of hundreds who head into the desert at weekends in Qatar's cooler months, when expatriates, tourists and locals spill out of the capital Doha to barrel down dunes in all-terrain vehicles or camp beneath the........

© Al Monitor