Hajar Ali

Hajar Ali (born 1978 or 1979) is a Singaporean entrepreneur, founder of Urbane Nomads and the website Travel Like a Humanitarian. She was the first recorded woman to cross the Rub' al Khali, the "Empty Quarter" of the Arabian Peninsula.

Hajar has a master's degree in strategic studies from the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, now the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; her thesis "[applied] James C Scott’s model of peasant resistance to the daily transgressions of Iranian youths against the ruling mullahs". She previously worked as a real estate agent.

Hajar founded Urbane Nomads, a bespoke luxury travel agency, in 2008 after conceiving the idea while traveling in Patagonia. A lover of horses, she likes to include riding in the company's trips. She intends to make a future expedition to the pole of inaccessibility in Antarctica. and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Personal life Hajar considers Singapore her home, but lives in Istanbul. She has a Bengal cat named Loki. Hajar is a practicing Muslim but does not wear the hijab.