Living with in the El Muzena Bedouin Tribe

Nuweiba, Sinai, Egypt

Part 2 ~ A Day and What a Night!

'Lady' Colleen Heller

Within the first quickly organized and purely based on emotion visits to Nuweiba, Sinai from England, I’d return to the same accommodation. A ‘boos’ (bamboo) single room hut with one window, ‘sal ata’ (striped) carpets strewn on the floor over sand with thin mattresses piled on each other to sleep. Basic, simple, no private toilet or electrics but a shared toilet block was available not far away. Why, you might be thinking, is this place worth returning to? Every morning the sun rose over the water in front of my doorway which was a boos door held tight with rusty hinges secured with nails running through metal coke bottle tops to hold them in place! Through this unusual doorway the most amazing azure waters of the Gulf, shimmering like crystals floating before me 2 meters away. It was consistently spectacular.  Oh, and I was within several meters of my new friend ‘Ollie’~ ‘Ollie’ the dolphin. In fact, the village of ‘Teg er aah’ was named the ‘Dolphin Village’ in Ollie’s honour as she was the attraction that fed and clothed the Bedouin families of Tegeraah at that time. 

Not only did I swim with her every day, I was also taught how to ‘call’ her by the boys who played with her daily. I practiced and finally she accepted my call, it was unbelievable! She rose out of the water in front of me with her head out and stayed there till I hugged this massive dolphin. Then she slipped back gracefully into the water without a quiver. Scary, awesome, igniting, and so many other words still will not explain the sensation of those moments I had with her. When the other children of the village saw my relationship with Ollie it spread to the families.

In this village the families are set back from the beach. Eidah, one of the Bedouin girls who spoke some English, brought me to meet the women. I found them happy in their surroundings, sparse as they were. Blankets were tossed over unpainted cemented walls with no furniture in sight. Salata carpets were on the ground as well as hand made Bedouin narrow carpets of beautiful colours. In the main bedroom you would find a bed and a table with mirror and nothing else. Every home or compound has a ‘how sh’ (walled enclosure) surrounding the homes where the women have freedom to go about their business. Women wear the veils that are custom when they go from their homes or men unfamiliar come into their homes. A lot of women keep their veils on all of the time, I feel now it has more to do with the trouble to put in on and off than any cultural issue. I left them with smiles, thanks and home made Bedouin bread. Lovely.

On this night I was to have dinner with Abdullah, who helped me ‘call’ Ollie, with Bedouins and foreigners staying at the camp. I saw him in western clothes with a huge smile plastered on his very young face most days; I was completely stunned when I finally came to recognize him after dinner! Traditional clothes of the Bedouin men are galabeya (long dress) and khafia (head scarf). Varying colours are common to the tribe. He was wearing his galabeya and khafia in off white making his skin tone vibrant and alive. His ‘far ah wah’ (outer long coat) was in the same colour with gold trim detail accenting his broad shoulders and his khafia was ironed into folds that framed his beautiful enormous dark brown long lashed eyes. The magnificence of this mans presence threw me and my friends into a staring match, each of us trying to smile our best for this new stranger who looked as if having a harem was natural and easy to come by. He was startlingly beautiful and gracious. The men knew who he was and the rest of us tried to decide where he was going to sit! Picking up a lounging pillow, placing it close to me while stretching his long legs towards my companions, much to their dismay, was the answer.

As dinner was about to start I produced the bread the women had given me. The stranger smiled and asked if I wanted to hear the old stories of the Bedouin after dinner and asked me to walk with him when I was ready. This was very nice but still I did tell Abdullah I would eat with him and felt badly that I had not waited. When the tea came, I asked my host Salam where was Abdullah? Salam looked at me confused. The stranger stared and said, ‘You do not know me?’ I looked closely ‘Abdullah!’ He said, ‘You came to my family today, they gave you bread and now you forget me?’ He was upset. I thought, ‘His family??’ After I collected myself I commented on how kind and friendly his family had been, whilst continuing to smile hypnotized into his eyes. Finally he returned my smile.

I rose to leave and he did as well. Salam stood and asked me where I was going. Abdullah told him and Salam reminded me to be careful in the dark, I could fall at anytime. This was an interesting idea because falling for the Sheik of Arabia would not take much from me.

We walked down to his camp where he proceeded to shake carpets and bring lounging pillows so we could face the moonlit Gulf of Aqaba. It was impossible not to float on air being with this incredible young man, listening to stories of his family under the moonlight with the sea lapping against its boundaries. Yes, oh what a night!

Next in the series~

‘Desert Beauty’ ~ Lives of Nomadic Men and Women

all rights reserved Lady Colleen Heller 2010