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A Desert Rose
The desert gives rise to people who are tough and resourceful. This beautiful Al Wahiba girl is part of a large family of semi-nomadic Bedu living in the Sharqiya Sands Desert.
The desert is a magically beautiful place.
It is also unforgiving. You have to be tough to forge a life in these hostile, barren expanses where almost no precipitation falls.
Bedouin or “desert people” – from the Arabic badawī – have made the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East their home for thousands of years. Even today, many still follow a traditional nomadic lifestyle, roaming their tribal territories with their herds of camels and goats.
As early as 6000 B.C., agricultural and pastoral people were living along the southern edge of the arid Syrian steppes. They acquired domesticated camels around 1,100 B.C. By about 850 B.C., they had established a network of oasis settlements and pastoralist camps, and were known as the A’raab. The Bedouin are the nomadic desert descendants of these people, and are considered by many to be “ideal” Arabs – in contrast with their ḥāḍir, or sedentary, city-dwelling cousins.
There are a number of Bedouin tribes, many tracing back to a single paternal ancestor. In Oman, the numerous Al Wahiba tribe are the predominant residents, making their home across the Sharqiya Sands desert.
This desert stretches about 200 kilometres (125 miles) north to south and 80 kilometres east to west, running between Oman’s Eastern Hajar Mountains and the Arabian Sea. There are no paved roads, and the only permanent camps are those resorts that have been build for tourists. The roughly 3,000 Bedouin who live here follow a traditional nomadic lifestyle, building temporary camps among the shifting dunes.
Lunch with a Bedouin family was a highlight of my Omani itinerary. The trick, of course, when setting a date with nomadic people, is finding them! It took my guide (with NTT Tours) a number of phone calls to establish when and where we would be welcome. On Fridays, these tribal families gather in larger groups to share news and deal with problems or organisational issues – so we re-arranged our schedule, allowing a camp visit on a Thursday instead.
Once there, we were warmly welcomed, and the food was wonderful! Come meet the family:
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Dawn on the Sharqiya Sands
The desert is a sensually seductive place, with the sands ebbing and flowing over the dunes into the distance (see: Sand Songs and Desert Dreams). But, don’t be fooled! Once that sun rises over the horizon, the temperatures will skyrocket – with no water in sight!
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Bedouin Settlement
Barely visible tracks criss-cross a desert punctuated with both portable and semi-fixed Bedouin settlements. We catch sight of several from the car …
Camels in the Desert
… before parking next to the camels belonging to our lunch hosts.
Bedouin Siblings
This family has six children. They were initially timid, hiding behind their mother’s heavy black robes. Fortunately, I had an Instax mini-camera with me.
Bedouin Boy
Once I took one child’s picture, they all wanted a turn – and when I ran out of Instax film, I was able to get some individual portraits.
Bedouin Woman
Even mum got in on the fun, agreeing to have her photo taken properly once she too had her instant photo in hand. Before I made any photos, she put on her traditional Omani battoulah: a special mask which she said protected her from the sand.
Young Bedouin Child
Once they got over their shyness, the children were full of life and curiosity.
Bedouin Girl
These children have beauty, strength, and intelligence.
Whale Bone
The desert and the ocean are linked by metaphor: “ships of the desert’ and “seas of sand”. It’s more than that, though: the dunes of the Sharqiya Sands Desert stretch to the Arabian Sea. Like abstract sculptures, giant segments of whale bone decorate this family homestead.
Child in a Net
Camel at the Camp
The Bedouin call camels a “gift from God”, and they serve a number of cultural and functional uses.
Grass in the Sand
The vegetation is sparse – how the animals find anything to eat amazes me.
Life in the Sands
As unappetising as they look, Vachellia tortilis (Acacia tortilis) – or “Umbrella thorn” trees – are essential to Omani desert dwellers. The wood is used for furniture, cart wheels, and even charcoal. Their leaves are important fodder and their deep roots help fix the drifting sands. They are homes to all manner of animals and insects, and provide some shade from the sun and protection from the winds.
Camels at the Camp
Tourist accommodation in the desert is much more substantial than the portable Bedouin camps. Here at the 1000 Nights Sharqiya Sands Camp, located in the heart of the desert, camels wait for customers.
Arabian Oryx
In spite of the harshness of the desert, a number of animal species have adapted themselves to the conditions. Unfortunately, the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) couldn’t survive human predation, and the last wild one was poached in 1972. This small domestic herd was in a compound at our resort.
Arabian Oryx – (Oryx leucoryx)
The national animal of Oman (and other countries on the Arabian Peninsula), this beautiful animal is gradually being reintroduced into the wild.
Arabian Gazelles
Another pen houses dainty Arabian gazelles (Gazella arabica). Appreciated for their grace and associated with female beauty in Arabic literature, these animals are also rated as extinct in the wild.
Camels at the Ready
The camels, on the other hand, are ubiquitous; you’d be forgiven for thinking the country has plenty. However, when people found out I was from Australia, one of the first thing they’d say was: “Send us some camels!” In Australia, the 1,000,000+ feral camels – originally introduced into the country in the 1840’s to help with inland exploration – are a pest, here in the sands of the Arabian Peninsula, you can never have too many!
And that’s how it is, isn’t it? One man’s riches is another man’s pest!
I always reflect on these differences in values more when I meet the bright and engaging children in these remote places; youngsters who are perfectly suited to their environments, but who may have limited understand of, and access to, other options.
I can’t help but wonder how they will bridge that gap between their traditional lifestyle and the changing modern world – and I hope they manage it well.
To their futures!
Photos: 24-25October2019
