'Bedouins remain keepers of the land, despite a long list of challenges'
Driving on the narrow road toward the imposing mountains of the Sinai Peninsula, the wind is cold, but the sun is warm and clean air rushes into my lungs. I take out my driver’s license in preparation for the upcoming military checkpoint. “Where are you heading?” comes the usual question. “St. Katherine,” I respond, referring to the St. Katherine Protectorate, an Egyptian national park that is home to the Bedouins. The officer looks skeptical.
The Jebeliya tribe, the oldest indigenous community, has been inhabiting the region for more that 1,400 years. Tribal members protect the sacred land, home to the ancient St. Katherine Monastery, and Mount Sinai , where Moses received the Ten Commandments, according to Jewish, Muslim and Christian teachings. The community has survived wars, forced relocation deeper into the mountains, drought and pandemics.
Naturally isolated from the rest of Egypt with their settlements nestled between the high mountains, among them Mount Sinai and Oum Shomar, the Bedouins find peace in solitude. Today, the land that serves as their home is considered one of the most spiritual places in Egypt. In this embroidered photograph, Hajja Oum Mohamed, 53, is seen standing in her garden. Up until the 1990’s, women were prohibited from being seen, even in photographs, by men from other tribes without consent. As part of a community effort that uses embroidery as a form of expression, female Bedouins add embroidery to self-portraits printed on fabric. This way, they control what to reveal or conceal.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
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