John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series EGYPT and the SAHARA www.johntyman.com/sahara |
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7.1 Ain Khudra and Tourism Pt. I : 509-529 |
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John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series EGYPT and the SAHARA www.johntyman.com/sahara |
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7.1 Ain Khudra and Tourism Pt. I : 509-529 |
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| .509. Ain Khudra lies in a hilly section of the Sinai Desert (which is an eastern extension of the Sahara) north of St. Catherine’s Monastery, and roughly 10 kilometres inland from the Gulf of Aqaba. (The approach to Ain Khudra) |
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| .510. Here the Bedouin have swapped their traditional lifestyle for one grounded in a growing tourist industry, as increasing incomes in other countries allow both young and old greater opportunities for travel. (Sale of handicrafts) |
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| .511. Heads of families still wear the keffiyeh typical of the Bedouin, to protect their faces against both sun and sand, and loose white dishdashas which reflect the sun's rays during the day but can be wrapped tightly around the body on the cold nights common under clear skies: but almost everything else has changed. (The boy in the blue shirt holds the author’s microphone) |
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| .512. The village lies in a dry river channel (or wadi), where little rain falls, but where water is naturally available beneath the surface. |
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| .513. Sheep were grazed here traditionally over rock-strewn pastures on the surrounding hills, which are still marked by stone sheepfolds where animals could be penned up at night. |
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| .514. The Bedouin have watered their stock here for thousands of years, at a spring where Miriam, Moses’ older sister (who had saved his life years before), is said in the Bible to have been stricken with leprosy as a punishment for criticizing him (in Numbers, chapter 12, verse10). (“Miriam’s Spring”) |
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| .515. Since the Bedouin believe themselves to be descended from Ishmael, son of Abraham, they are not only allied racially to the Jews, as Semitic people, but also have histories that are inter-twined. And Miriam is celebrated in Islam as an important member of the generation of Moses. (Painting of Miriam with “Moses in the Bulrushes” by Paul Delaroche, at Wikipedia) |
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| .516. For most of its history “Miriam’s Spring” was a stopping off point visited by nomadic herders. That people have been settled here permanently for only a short period of time is obvious from the cemetery. Since no grave is ever disturbed in a Muslim cemetery they typically date from the foundation of a settlement; and, clearly, few people have been buried here. |
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| .517. Muslim graves are so aligned that the body has its face turned towards Mecca. An upright stone is placed at the head and another at the feet, though the graves of women usually have a third stone in the middle. There will be no ornament whatsoever. |
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| .518. Four families now live here year-round, -- or 30 people in total. A few more families work at resorts on the Red Sea coast and spend their holidays here in the desert. |
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| .519. Most of Ain Khudra’s inhabitants now own houses built of local stone. These are more secure but less suited to the climate. |
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| .520. For old time’s sake, though, many men have hung on to their tents and pitched then alongside their new homes. |
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| .521. And some even live in tents and use their stone houses for storage and/or to keep their youngest animals safe at night. |
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| .522. At Ain Khudra shelters have also been built for tourists. They are made of palm fronds attached to a wooden frame, and are furnished with carpets and cushions so the visitors can rest in the shade. |
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| .523. The folk who live here now keep a few sheep and goats -- all of which scavenge for food and are also fed kitchen scraps. |
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| .524. At night they are locked up in improvised pens made from the kinds of odds and ends which accumulate in permanent settlements. |
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| .525. Their chickens, which feed mostly on garden waste, look for shade during the heat of the day. |
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| .526. At night these same birds are kept safe from foxes and raptors in this old oil drum. |
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| .527. Today, water from Miriam's spring is actually drawn off in plastic pipes to irrigate the gardens of what has in effect become a small oasis. |
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| .528. Some of this water is used to supplement the moisture supply which the date palms had previously obtained naturally through their roots. |
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| .529. They have some fruit trees here too now, most of them olives. |
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