A bus load of tourists look out their window as their professional tour guide points and explained, “that is one of the remaining Bedouin tents. Most of the Bedouins now lives in the village. There are also some who live in caves.”
The Bedouins, as mentioned in my Wadi Rum post, are descendants of the nomadic tribe called the Nabatean. They are mentioned in the bible as people from Canaan. They lived in Petra since prehistoric time and the creator of these magnificent carved into stone structures.
Shef’s Tent
The tourists zoomed in their 200mm lens to closer see what they’re like. Faintly, they saw a man sitting inside the tent, smoking cigarette, drinking tea. A little boy tagging along a donkey minding the sheep. A couple of women with covered faces making cheese from milk. Then the man waved to a group of people walking by. He must have invited them as they walked into the tent and sat down. Teas were poured and cigarettes were offered.
Something’s odd about the scene though. One of the 3 persons is a woman, but wearing pants, drinking tea and lighting a cigarette with the men.
Bedouin Tent
Guess what? The odd one that doesn’t fit in the picture is me!
I was brought into the inner circle of the Bedouins by my host Ghassab. I found him though couchsurfing, the just as magical place where you find instant friends anywhere in the world.
Ghassab is popularly known as the caveman, because he lives in a “furnished” cave, left to him by his grandfather. He’s also known locally as the rasta man, because of his hair, which he told me became so naturally after swimming in a salty water one day. He sport this hairdo since 10 years ago.
Khalid and Ghassab
He’s a more modern nomad and has lived and traveled the west for 17 years. But he is a Bedouin and was born inside Petra. He came back one year ago because Petra is home. Ghassab and his cousins, and I’ve met so many of them, were my hosts during my too short stay in Petra.
Ghassab Cave in the middle of these stones
the cave – Ghassab sleeps in that orange tent
furnished cave
My disappointment with the simulated genuine Bedouin experience in Wadi Rum was forgotten by my experience in Petra. For days I lived in his cave, ate delicious Bedouin food cooked in open fire, and slept under the bajillion of shooting stars.
He took me to little Petra and told me the stories of the stone carved structures. We would stop at every tent, sit with his cousins and would be offered cigarette and tea. The cousins would smile at me and they would chat about in Arabic. Once in a while, after 10 or so minutes, Ghassab would turn to me and explain what they discussed in 2 sentences. I don’t really mind. Mostly I would wander off a bit to take photos. Then we will walk again or sometimes hitchhike a passing truck of one of his cousins.
Nabatean Temple in Little Petra
Nabatean temple in Little Petra
in a cave in little petra
invited to tea every where
At night, he will cook or sometimes one of his cousin will bring food from the village and we will share this around the fire and talk about anything.
Ghassab is a great cook!
Ghassab’s family, cousins and neighbors lived inside Petra, in one of those caves or tents. They did until 1985 when UNESCO came and took over the preservation of this magnificent prehistoric artifacts. They built a village just outside of Petra and relocate most of the families there. In here they have electricity, water supply, concrete houses, schools, telephone, internet and such modern amenities.
Do the people like it? I was curious. He thought for a moment and shrugged. Once introduced to it, who could imagine living without a mobile phone or internet? The children born after the 80′s definitely don’t know what it’s like without electricity. But he said that Unesco promised many things that they are still waiting for to be delivered after 25 years, like free electricity and water.
Petra village store
I was fortunate to have been invited as a visitor to one of the houses in the village. It was the house of Khalid, son of the Nabatean chief, who has 2 wives. Khalid has a total of 11 brothers and 6 sisters. Khalid is Ghassab’s cousin and he was my guide inside Petra. And I tell you, you can’t have a better guide than a person who was born and grew up inside the nooks and crooks of Petra.
There are still about 100 families who live inside Petra, in tents and caves. They are few enough to not make any damage to the protected area, and are left to be kind of tourist attraction. These people have 4×4 trucks and mobile phones. Most of them work as tourist guides of Petra. The women sell jewelries and souvenirs and the children take tourists in their donkeys and camels.
After the exhausting approximately 6 hours of walking, sitting, and tour of Petra, we came out the back door (where tourists don’t go to). We hitchhiked with one of Khalid’s brother’s pick-up into the village. Hitchhiking is very common here. They would take anyone walking towards the village as long as they have space. As this road isn’t for tourists, I was not legally allowed to be in this truck going the back gate of the village. They told me to sit low and blend in. Hahaha. One of the girl in the truck used my scarf to cover my head as a muslin woman would. I bowed down and was smuggled into the village.
me as hitch hiker
Khalid’s family has a big house with many rooms and a center courtyard. I was led to the room where women and children sit, the living room with a big television. I was given tea instantly. The men sit in a separate room and watch another channel and smoke cigarette. I was invited to sit with his brothers, but I prefer to sit with the ladies and children. They also let me take their photos, which I’ve yet to send to them.
One of the sister offered their bathroom for shower which I quickly accepted. I was staying in the cave for couple of days with no shower. Haha! Well, water is extremely valuable in the mountain, only for cooking, drinking, and washing dishes.
the women and children in the family
the girl used my scarf to make me a hijab like hers
One of the sister went to the kitchen to start cooking, for the whole clan. I went over to help chop and peel. It’s a big, HUGE, dish of chicken rice with all the spices available in the Middle East. It’s one of the most delicious chicken rice ever! Sadly all these powder spices were unlabeled. Yes, because I thought I could cook them later!
sharing the delicious chicken rice in the courtyard
We should be going back to the cave because Ghassab is waiting for us there. But Khalid wanted me to attend this “bridal shower” party of a girl cousin who is getting married. It’s a 3-day affair and the first night (that night), she spend time with all female friends, neighbors, and relatives. The 2nd night the groom’s family come to visit and the 3rd day is the wedding ceremony. It looks like a normal party one would have where the girls are dancing and drinking tea. I sat there watching, not allowed to take photos, and soon the sisters and sister-in-laws of Khalid came they sat with me. They don’t speak English, so we speak in our own language to each other, smiling, waving, pointing and hoping messages were relayed. It was funny.
It was an Amazing experience to be immersed into the core of Bedouin culture and life. Extremely lucky to meet the people I met in Petra who shared with me their home, meals, teas, cigarettes, rides, time, and stories.
Camels Crossing
Mary says:
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April 23, 2013 at 7:12 pm
Beware.. All the boys from the bedouin village by Petra, Wadi musa, Wadi rum lies! Their Jordan business is to fool all the girls they can into falling in love with them. They do it for business.. For sex and money.. They often have 2-5 foreign girlfriends at the same time. Their family lies and all the “nice” people you meet lies! They all lie for each other because they all want something… Gifts, sex, money, phone, computer, a new donkey but mostly fun.. The money they get from girls they use to get other girls.. They will make you believe that they are different from the others and you will see the love in their eyes.. But it is not true… Don’t ever trust them! I meet them all.. They are all the same.. They do anything to fool you.. They pick you up in the airport, but when you leave they go pick up the next girl. If you had sex with one of them please take a hiv test! They are whores, gigolos and they have sex with all possible… Names I know: Eamad, Khaled, Mohammad, Mohammet, Mohammed, Ahmed and Athman Salm. The worse is Ahmed and Athman Salm… You will believe every lie they tell.. They are really good at this business!!
I’m sorry you had a negative experience Mary. I’ve no doubt something like this can happen but it could happen everywhere. I can say is that in my experience, the families & friends of Ghassab were all very nice to me (men & women). There is a guy who showed interest towards me but I was not interested so nothing happened. Indeed I saw many of these handsome guys have European girlfriends. I think the relationships are mutual and a lot of these girls get into these “relationship” with eyes open. Meaning they are also there for sex & fun; and that money, gifts, and donkeys were given wholeheartedly. I would even go as far as saying some girls go there with the intention of hooking up with these Bedouins. Like dealing with anything/everything in this world, please always be careful.
Just a word of advice, you may want to take down the photos of the women, at least until you can get their permission to post them. I lived with the Bedoul Bedouin for fourteen months and was adopted by a local family there, and know Gassab well; and I also know well that many of the women in the community don’t like their pictures on the internet, it’s something everyone is a little sensitive about.
I have permission to use them. They know I’m a blogger and that I will be writing about this experience. I’m friends with Ghassab and his cousin (the family in the photos) both in couchsurfing and facebook. I sent this blog post link to them when I posted this the first time 2 years ago.
[...] than I could remember to count, did clubbing for 12 hours straight, visited concentration camp, slept in cave, watched sunrise at the Sahara desert on a camel, had breakfast in one city and dinner in another [...]
Everyone already said what I wanted to say :D This is the kind of traveling I want to experience :) Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you could help me with couchsurfing soon :D
Thank you! Regarding Couchsurfing, it’s so easy, just go and sign up for an account. :)
This is an awesome post. I would love to become a bedouin for a few years, maybe ride the silk road. I remember when I was in the sinai seeing bedouins. They looked like raiders out of Indiana Jones but then to my surprise one of them very anachronistically pulled out a cell phone ><.
i have this experience with the Tibetan in tents… haha.. but I’ve learned since then, it’s why I was no longer surprised seeing Bedouins driving a 4×4 rather than riding camels. :-)
I wander how it feels like to be born and raised among these mountains and caves, directly in touch with nature… Its beautiful. Thanks for sharing
amazing experience lil! thanks for sharing it!
What an experience! It is nice you knew someone on the inside so to speak to understand a tourist site on a completely local level. Great photographs as well!
thanks, it’s the wonder of couchsurfing!
I agree with what everyone has said. “Awesome experience” now this is real traveling, getting the chance to experience the culture and way of living of the people in the places you visited is a real source of not only knowledge but further understanding of the world we live in…
thanks Marky. I’m extremely grateful for this special experience.
Awesome! We’re jealous!
time to pack your bags again! :)
Great adventure. One of a kind. Hope someday (soon)I can do what you did.
Thanks Eddie. Book and go. :)
I think I just oozed with jealousy…all over my keyboard. As everyone else has written here, this seems like an all-out fantastic experience that would be nearly impossible to replicate with any tour company or agency.
Thank you so much for sharing it with us!(And making just about everyone extremely jealous in the process…)
I’m not sure everyone can go on without shower for days but it was an unforgettable experience !
Thanks for the wonderful post on the true Bedouins of Jordan. Have you read Married to a Bedouin about a New Zealand woman who married one and lived there for years? After your experience you would definitely appreciate it. I live in Jordan, in Amman. Reading this made me truly appreciate all the amenities offered here. It takes a strong person to make it off the land.
I have some good news for you! You CAN cook with those amazing spices. Here is a link for a recipe for their spice mix. My husband, a Jordanian, is so happy I found it. It is better than any pre-made mix and very authentic.
http://www.food.com/recipe/baharat-aka-middle-east-mixed-spices-the-real-mix-79179
Happy Travels!
Yes, I was actually introduced to the son of this woman. Thank you for the link. I will try this out when I come back. :-)
This is such a wonderful story and I love that you were able to make all this happen via CouchSurfing. Also, I really appreciate that you were able to have such a personal and cultural experience in a place that many people look at as a “tourist site” and forget that real people live and work there.
I just hope that Ghassab is not overwhelmed by request now :) Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Aurdrey! It was an unforgettable experience for sure. Ghassab is overwhelmed with request without my help, haha… He had been featured in magazines and tv documentaries. :-)
wow! these are the kind of travel stories i love reading! stories that see more than what is normally offered to tourists, that get into issues easily glazed over unesco world heritage sites, and that really peer into the lives of the locals. really great post, lilliane! :)
Thanks and you’re welcome Paul. :-)
Liliane!!! I so love it and so inggit.com! =D Isama mo ako the next time you go back ha? I’d love to visit Petra and the rest that Jordan has to offer. Thank you for sharing. Enjoy the rest of your trip and ingat!
Looking forward to more wonderful stories from you…
Thanks Suzy! Can u handle no shower for days? And communal eating? :)
WOW! What an experience, Li! pwede na sa Discovery or Travel channel. I salute you for this truly amazing i call it “achievements”!
I was extremely luck Allan. I dunno about achievement. Thanks though :-)
Wow! This is really AWESOME Liliane! I’m proud of you and envious too! Haha :) Thanks for your inspiring posts :)
Thanks for ur kind comment, Kat :-)
now this is what i call an adventure. out in the wild, in the mountains, hanging out with a real nomadic people. awwww…
That’s one amazing experience Lilliane! Thanks so much for sharing it with us :D
Thanks and you’re welcome, wander Nina. :)
what an experience…ang galing!i think i need to reactivate my couch surfing account and start meeting friends…thanks for sharing, I’m now dreaming of visiting Petra soon
Thanks Jerome. I will one day go back to Petra. It’s crazy larger than life amazing!
awesome experience Liliane!
wanderlass na wanderlass ang dating! :D
i should really start couch surfing! beautiful account of your experience!
Thanks Ed, it’s an experience the overwhelms me up to now. =)