Tag Archives: bedouins
Abdullah’s miracle
8 October 2019, Dahab, South Sinai, Egypt. I was meandering my way down a dusty, nameless Dahab street on a sunny desert day, on my way to visit a toothless, old Bedouin lady. She speaks to me in an old dialect through her scarf and I barely understand a word, but I am intrigued by […]
Bedouin women making history
Um Yasser, a middle-aged Bedouin woman of the Hamada tribe in South Sinai, was born in a rock house, but spent much of her childhood living in a cave dwelling in the desert, where she and her mother tended their herd of goats. The Bedouins are an old, conservative ethnic group, with laws that govern […]
Ramadan in the Sinai
I have just spent my first full month of Ramadan in the Sinai, Egypt. In the past I had experienced snippets of Ramadan before in other Arab countries, but never been here for the full length, so was kind of excited to see how things progress. Here is a little bit of background and a […]
Getting married the BEDOUIN way – the women’s party
I walked carefully in the dark between the houses, through rough alleyways on stony ground, the sound of the Egyptian pop music getting louder. Finally I saw the tent walls and the hanging lights. Little boys hung around outside, as they always do, eager to get a glimpse of the girls as they anonymously entered […]
Oman -why I fell in love with it
Oman… I wasn’t quite sure what to expect before arriving, not having done much research. Saw a few pictures, heard it was nice, that’s about it. And then I arrived and it all fell into place…
The Sinai Trail – a 220km hiking odyssey across the desert
The Sinai Trail is a 220km epic walk accompanied by Bedouin guides through the mountains and desert of South Sinai
Hiking 200km through the desert: the Sinai Trail – part 1 – Anticipation
You know that feeling of needing a soul-stirring adventure? A little challenge to get your pulse up and give you that “alive feeling” again? That was me, stuck in my office a few months back. Bored and flicking through Facebook I found something that rang my bell: the opportunity to hike 200km through the Sinai […]
A fascination for the Sahara
Sahara is the Arabic word for desert. Visit a desert or two, and you will find out that the desert is a magical, ever-changing landscape and not just a huge pile of sand: huge golden dunes, flat packed desert, a moonscape scattered with strange rock formations or craggy and colourful mountains. If you care to spend a few days […]
9 different reasons why I love to visit Muslim / Arab countries
In these days of rampant Islamophobia, a trip to an Arab country could do everyone a bit of good. Being amongst Muslims has certainly changed me, and understanding other cultures, not judging them, is key, I believe, to peace. Travelling either as a lone female or with a group of women in the Muslim world, […]
Desert Days – spending time with nomads
Recently I had the privilege of spending a couple of days in the Sinai desert with a nomadic family. They are not quite as “nomadic” as they used to be, as modernity and necessity has crept into their lives, forcing them to adapt in different ways. Whereas children used to learn survival in the desert (how […]
Adventures of Venus 