Tea with the Bedouin

Towards the end of my recent trip to Sinai I took the opportunity to visit some of the local Bedouin people with Jane and Helen, photographer friends and colleagues from the Photo Training Overseas group. The nearest town to our hotel in Taba was actually about 45km down the Red Sea coast, but dotted along the roadside were various Bedouin encampments. Not, as you might imagine, the romantic notion of luxurious tented villages in the desert, but makeshift shacks made of old scraps of wood and metal. We parked the car nearby and approached a small group of shacks, not quite knowing what we were letting ourselves in for and how we would be received. We needn't have been concerned. In traditional Bedouin fashion we were welcomed as friends, once they had established that we simply wanted to meet them and to take a few photographs.

The welcome party of curious little boys that came out to greet our arrival. A proud father poses unprompted with his son. I love the charm of this spontaneous moment.

The traditional Bedouin welcome of tea and talk.

An amusing diversion as Saleh attempts to call Janet, back home in England, on his mobile (he got the studio off my business card, but managed to connect to a very puzzled man somewhere in Egypt). Traditional lifestyle meets modern technology A camel demonstration..... This little girl was wary of us at first, shy above anything else, but gradually we gained her confidence and even coaxed her into the shade where the light was better for portraits! A beautiful, pensive portrait...

And finally, a gorgeous smile.

This small group of Bedouin, living in extremely basic but hopefully only temporary conditions, made us incredibly welcome and were disappointed that we couldn't stay for the whole day. The short time we spent with them is an experience I will never forget, not only for the amazing photographic opportunity but especially for the warmth of the hospitality and genuine hand of friendship extended to us.

This was my first ever visit to the Middle East. I don't pretend to understand the politics of the situation, but my simple understanding is that the Bedouin people used to travel freely thoughout the whole region but no longer have that freedom. Security issues and tight border controls have separated and isolated the various tribes, stifling their traditional nomadic lifestyle. In Sinai, recent droughts have made the desert areas even more inhospitable than normal, but development for tourism has forced them out of their only bolt hole when the desert is barren - the lands along the coast. The Bedouin way of life is disappearing fast. Some have welcomed the opportunities that change can bring, but others have not. Some of the local Bedouin have found work in the building and running of tourist hotels, but in general most of the jobs go to men from the major cities, mainly Cairo. The March 2009 issue of National Geographic magazine covers the issues affecting the Bedouin of Sinai and makes fascinating reading.