Category Bedouin life
The Interesting Characters of St Catherines village
The Bedouin Jebeliya tribe of the St Catherines area (South Sinai, Egypt) is full of interesting characters. In fact, I have never met so many interesting people in one place. Being around these people, with all their knowledge, fascinating old skills and wisdom, is a privilege and I learn something new every time I visit. Jamil Attiya […]
A fistful of Fata (and it’s not goat cheese)
Sitting in the dark, gravel-floor lean-to at my old Bedouin neighbours house, sipping on a glass of hot, sweet black tea, two little girls came in and said something to me in Arabic. I didn’t quite get everything they said, since my Arabic is not that great (yet!), and also since they speak another dialect, but […]
Changing Bedouin lifestyles: from the tent to a house
Times are changing fast for the Bedouin tribes of the South Sinai. Up until around 30-40 years ago most of them used to live a nomadic lifestyle in the desert, moving with the seasons to feed their herds of goats and camels on the fragrant desert herbs. They lived in tents woven from goat and […]
IN THE MOOD FOR A STORY
The electricity had gone off, but this was a good thing. There was to be no tv tonight: there was something better in store. Everyone, six children and two men, sat cross-legged in a circle, all eyes on Salameh, his face glowing in the light of the single candle, stuck to the bottom of an […]
Cars, camels and chaos – a day at the Bedouin camel races
When the chance to have a cultural experience comes along, I always take it. So when I heard about the Wadi Zalaga camel race, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to go. This Bedouin camel race, held high up in the desert of the Sinai peninsula, Egypt, was a competition between […]
Adventures of Venus 