Bedouin Culture in Dahab

Today Dahab has examples of cultures from around the world, a multi national group of people have decided to settle in Dahab or have made this their second home. This gives Dahab an interesting mix and a very continental flavour.

The second largest population group in Dahab is made up of Bedouin Tribes who settled here some 800 years ago. In the past 30 years they have seen much change, some has had a positive impact on their lifestyle whilst some of it has been negative. The Jeep or pick up has long replaced the camel as the transport method of choice, but fortunately the Bedouin Culture in Dahab has remained largely intact for now, with Assalah being the Bedouin Village.

In Dahab today there are around 10,000 Bedouin people made up mostly from The Muzzeina Tribe. In addition there are about 20,000 people here from the rest of Egypt and around 3,000 people living or working here from all over the world.

Bedouins are Arabic speaking nomadic tribes that originate from the Arabian Peninsula (mainly Saudi Arabia) and would travel the desert to locations where they would find drink and food. Sometimes traveling for days before they arrived at their final destinations. Each tribe would have an area of land under their responsibility from which they would make income by allowing travelers and traders to pass through. As knowledgeable guides of the desert they controlled the desert trade routes, and escorted caravans.

They have proudly managed to maintain their natural and rural way of life for thousands of years. They have survived in the dry nd harsh desert regions of the Middle East, on their herds and by supplying the surplus meat and dairy products to the more urban communities. The Bedouin people in Sinai can teach us much about surviving extreme conditions. They are excellent trackers recognising animal and human tracks and they are able to find their way in the desert without compass or map.

Bedouin men and women traditionally carry out different roles in society. Bedouin men are generally the ones who go out to earn a living for their families, some work today as safari guides, drivers, shop keepers, or in construction and maintenance. Whilst the women work in the home looking after the house, the family and the livestock of goats and camels.

Generally women are not to mix and socailise with men, unless they are from their family or are guests invited to the family home. This is starting to change in Dahab, with a small number of Bedouin women starting to work outside of the home as child careers, and in shops. Most of Dahab's Bedouin Women are excellent at making detailed beadwork necklaces and bracelets which are sold by their children in and around the town.

Bedouin people are excellent hosts and are well known for looking after guests and making them feel welcome. This is part of a tradition that has been passed down generation after generation. Firstly there is the famous bedouin tea, made from tea leaf with sugar, and desert herbs of habuck and marmaraya. This gives it a distinctive flavour.It is customary as soon as a guest arrives to get the tea on the fire, whilst sharing stories and news.

The second part of the hospitality always involves food, Bedouin people will always make sure their guest are well refreshed with tea, water and traditional bedouin food. This includes delicious bedouin bread cooked on an open fire, rice and either a meat, fish or vegetable dish. The cooking is always from fresh produce grown or reared locally. They take much pride in their cooking and food is always seen as a special event.

For weary travelers in the desert the sight of a Bedouin Tent was equal to that of seeing an oasis. The custom is that food, water and a place to sleep should be provided to all travelers and guests if needed for up to three days. After this time the guest would be well and fit enough to continue onwards with their journey in the desert. Whilst modern times and cars, have really changed the need for such hospitality it is still forms a strong part of the bedouin culture and it is still offered if needed.

To accompany all this hospitality the Bedouin are excellent story tellers, many have stories about how things were in the 'old days'. Most have great story's about their relationships with camels, about amazing herbal medicine cures that they use and about general family life. Many Bedouin people are also great poets, and have a real talent. But this is often reserved for special occasions such as weddings.

See cultural activities for your chance to have a tasty bedouin dinner, cooked on an open fire in the desert.

Bedouin people are strong advocates of herbal medicine, this was their only source and hope of getting better when were ill in the desert. They have hundreds of herbal cures and medicines, one of the most popular being camels milk. It is used for many conditions including stomach and digestive disorders, circulation problems and bone complaints. In addition they have vast knowledge of the desert plants and what they can be used for. They will amaze you with this, and in Dahab we find evidence of how effectively these cures have worked on people. Our safaris have been developed to provide more an insight into the fascinating life and knowledge of the Sinai Bedouin and to provide examples of how this knowledge is still used today.

Sinai Bedouin are Sunni Muslims and follow their religion Islam with true faith and compassion. As part of their faith they have maintained a strong connection with the natural world. They usually know when a storm is coming before it arrives, or when a wild animal is approaching their home. Living with nature, in a very natural way preserves their faith. you will find most of Dahab's Bedouin have to get away every now and then and go somewhere remote so that they can feel close to nature again. Many of them miss the silence and the peace, so they make time to return to the desert.

Finally Bedouin people are very open minded to western culture, tourists have been coming to Dahab for over 30 years now. They love to talk about different ways of life and share stories and experiences. The majority of Sinai's Bedouin now depend on tourism to sustain an income for their families.

Bedouin weddings are usually held during a full moon, and are an excellent way to experience this unique culture. The weddings can last from 2 - 5 days with most of the celebrating happening during the night time. Much of the celebrating is done in the family homes. But big weddings held once or twice a year are often held in a big valley in the desert. One of the highlights includes a special night of tribal dancing and live music. This is when unmarried women can look for a husband, and dance in front of potential suitors. This is an amazing experience, as this is one of the few times of the year that young men and women can mix together, in the hope of finding love. Like weddings elsewhere in the world, a bedouin wedding provides everyone the opportunity to dress up in their best clothes and celebrate with food, music, and dancing.

When big wedding takes place in Dahab, it is an event that everyone will talk about. Many people from the town are invited and guests and visitors are normally welcome to attend. So if you are lucky enough to be invited when a wedding is hapenning make sure you attend, it really is an opportunity not to be missed.

Tradditionally Bedouin women would weave the family tent from goat or camel hair, and be responsible for the setting up and the packing of the tent when the family would move on to new lands.

Today Bedouin women make beautiful handicrafts including woven rugs, necklaces, bracelets and burkas. These are usually embroidered or embellished with beads, sequins and coins using tradditonal designs passed down through the generations. Bedouin children are often found selling these beauitful crafts around Dahab town centre. Many shops also sell these locally made items on behalf of the Bedouin families.

A tribe is a group made up by a number of clans, each clan made up of individual families who can trace their ancestry back to one original source. Each clan always has its own wells, grazing grounds and land. These clans are further split into groups each performing different functions within the tribe i:e herding and rearing cattle, guiding traders etc. At the head of the tribe there is always a leader called the Sheikh.

The Sheikh is the leader of the tribe that has considerable power, but must always adhere to traditional customs and the advice of the council of tribal elders. The Sheikh is always elected from a noble family, but any one from this family is eligible for the position, however it is usual for the Sheikh to be the oldest male. The Sheikh is the spokesman for his tribe and is often the one called upon to resolve disputes or to act as a champion in order to resolve differences.

Sheikh Salem was one such Sheikh and he is still remembered in Dahab for his honesty and loyalty. He worked hard to ensure Dahabs Bedouin community were supported and guided through a very traumatic time in Sinai's History. He was passionate about ensuring that Sinai's Bedouin Communities would be able to survive and benefit from all the tourist developments. Salem was Sheikh of Dahab from 1969 until 2001.

His son Sheikh Twalia now carries this forward, being head of one of the biggest tribe groups in Dahab the Muzzeina Tribe. The biggest challenge faced by the Bedouin of Sinai today is finding the balance between the old way of life (the nomadic) and the new (settled urban dwelling) that tourism and development in Sinai has brought about. The numbers of nomadic Bedouin have declined and the challenge now is to maintain this unique history and culture whilst trying to keep up with the modern world.

We are planning a number of projects that will require interested and dedicated people to help us preserve and show case this unique culture and way of life. If you are interested in this, want to help and are able to come to Dahab, please contact us.

We have the following projects in progress which need help and support or volunteers:

1. Womens Crafts Project - we are working with Bedouin Women in Sinai to help promote their crafts
2. Community Leaning Centre- we are starting a project to establish a community learning centre for Dahab, which will include English and Languages Courses and computer training. We need volunteers to help us set up this centre.
3. Bedouin in Sinai Web Site - we are starting to develop a new Bedouin website for Sinai and we need volunteers to translate pages from English to Arabic and other languages.

We are also seeking more information, and photographs about Sheikh Salem himself for an information display at the Guest House. Please email us with any stories or information you have about this special Sheikh and this unusual House.

Please also read this new blog called Turning Bedouin for more information about Bedouin Life in Sinai and the challenges faced in todays globalised world. http://turningbedouin.wordpress.com/