The Bedu

Wilfred Thesiger wrote: “to find peace that comes with solitude, and among the (Bedouin), comradeship in a hostile world”.

Bedu, the Arabic word from which the name Bedouin comes, literally means "inhabitant of the desert," and refers generally to the desert-dwelling nomads of Arabia, the Negev, and the Sinai. The Bedu are descended from peoples who migrated from the Arabian Peninsula between the 14th and 18th centuries

Made up of tribes with distinct boundaries, the Bedu are famous for their generous hospitality. Simply encountering another person in the vast, silent, brooding solitude of the desert was. and still is. a rather unusual and noteworthy event.

Our guides in the Sinai are the Muzzeina (the largest tribe) and the Gebeleya (the people of the mountains) who have a very small tribal territory around Mt. Sinai. Interestingly, they are not of Arab descent but are descendants of Macedonian people sent by Emperor Justinian to build, protect and serve the Monastery in the sixth century AD.

In Jordan we work with the Howitat, famous for their part in the Arab Revolt and their association with T.E. Lawrence.