Discover Sinai

Originally posted on November 22, 2015 It’s a beautiful story about a Bedouin tribe’s honour and a very unique, ancient ritual that is practiced by the Bedouin, the Ordeal by Fire . It is one of those rare cases where a Bedouin writes about their own culture, not an outsider: the story is told by the son of the Sheikh whose tribe was involved in the case. The son, Salim Alafenisch, went on to study in Europe, and now lives and works in Germany. Unfortunately his books, including this one about the Fire Test, are only available in German, but here is the story in a few words. The story starts in the Negev desert, before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. In an area that was peaceful at the time someone gets shot and killed near the place the tribe of Salim lived. The footprints of the perpetrator were tracked by specialists from an independent tribe, who confirmed they didn’t lead to Salim’s settlement. Despite this, the victim’s tribe accuses Salim’s tribe of murder and want revenge. To keep t...

Originally posted on June 11, 2015 The Bedouin used to be pastoralist nomads and so they had to be mobile and lived in tents. Today, at least in the Sinai, most Bedouins are settled, but there are still a handful of old people who refuse to go in a brick house and prefer to live in tents. After rains, however, when pasture is plentiful, many people move out with their herds to their grazing lands and the old tents are back in use again. But the most likely places where visitors can see a traditional Bedouin tent are tourist establishments, either along desert safaris or in the camps on the coast, where it is used as a communal gathering place for guests.  The tents are made by hand of goat and sheep hair, so they are fairly expensive, but provide an ideal shelter in the desert. Its loosely woven material lets air come in and the smoke out, so the tent is pleasant in summer; however, when it rains, the fibers get swollen and the tent becomes waterproof. Once visiting a friend in Wad...