Journey to the East - страница 2

Women with children work part time that offer tourists tea and jewelry.

The Sinai Peninsula is home to 5 major clans (families) of the Bedouins. Almost everywhere the Bedouin will find a distant relative or acquaintance. Distinguishes these people of extraordinary hospitality, they are always ready to help, to share the latest piece of bread and be sure to buy traveler’s tea. Probably, these customs produced for thousands of years, because life in the desert very difficult and dangerous. If you don’t help today the traveler, it may simply die, and tomorrow you can be in his place. The Bedouin cherish their families, parents touching care of children, and the children honor and respect their parents. In the family usually between 6 and 10 children, the older look after the younger, but without the quarrels and fights, too, is not bypassed, as in any family. Parents, as a rule, not yelling at kids, trying to explain to them calmly, but if that’s persuasion do not work, you can give a few slaps. Again, all families are different. However, if one of the members of the family some difficulties, the whole family (and sometimes several families) comes to his aid. The birth of a child, wedding, and other celebrations are also marked with the whole family.

The main source of income for the Bedouin is the camels (in the desert), the tourist business, sometimes to flag a private car (taxi) and the sea. Many of them are engaged in fishing, diving. Almost all men-the Bedouin – born swimmers, easy dive with mask at 5—10 meters. Women beduini almost can’t swim because they have to swim in clothes and not float away. But they are skilled in making simple dishes on the fire, the manufacture of all kinds of jewelry from beads and shells, hand embroidery. Many times I observed how the Bedouins bake bread. Knead unleavened dough, rolled out flat bread and baked it on the coals (ash), or is rolled on a metal circle and also baked on the fire. This bread is delicious with tea, can long shelf life and is an important part of any meal. The tea is a special ritual, which seems also not changed for centuries. In a metal kettle is boiled the water, poured in her tea and placed the sugar, then the tea infuse. Special odor and taste of tea “marmaria” – the grass collected in the desert. This tea is very fragrant, good thirst quencher in the heat and warm in the cold winter days. By the way, winter in Sinai is very harsh, especially in the mountains. The temperature at night can drop below zero, and the day to rise above 20 degrees. Such extreme temperatures and strong winds require warm clothing, rescue blankets made of camel wool is very warm and light.