Tag Archives: Arabia

A look at the nomadic lifestyle in Arabia

I am honored to have my work about the Bedu of Arabia featured in the current issue of ETHMED online magazine. The values of this traditional and ancient way of life have persisted for over five thousand years and have adapted to modern life in the 21st century.

It was one of the highest honors of my life to be accepted by the clans of the Al Amrah and Al Erq of the Al Murrah tribes to live with them and document their way of life. From 1980 to the present I continue to maintain a relationship with the clans and learn so much about respect, honor, relationships, loyalty, survival, and adaptation a few of the values that define nomadic life among the Bedu of Arabia.

Gathering at the wedding of Mohammed Alerq. Social protocol demands that everyone sit in a circle. Dahna Sands, Saudi Arabia
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Radio interview on 95.5 WSLR. (Podcast)  Patti and Wayne Eastep share their first hand experiences living with the Bedouin the Saudi Arabia.

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Patti Eastep in traditional Bedouin dress living with the Al Amrah clan of the Al Murrah tribe in the Dahana Sands in Saudi Arabia.

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Wayne Eastep in traditional Bedouin dress photographing in Saudi Arabia.

Wayne with Shaikh Jaber of the Al Amrah, Saudi Arabia

Wayne with Sheikh Jaber of the Al Amrah, Saudi Arabia

 

Culture, Recent Personal Images, Saudi Arabia

Let’s Talk About The Middle East

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Sunrise in the Najd

Sunrise in the Najd, or “highland,” the central region of the Arabian Peninsula. 

The dromedary camel walks moving both legs on one side then the other while its body rolls side to side.  This seesaw movement can cause a storage bag to rub against the camels body developing  a hole.  As best I can tell this is what most likely took place on one of the caravans crossing the Arabian desert.

Numerous caravan routes criss crossed Arabia.  This image is of one traversing the  Najd in central Saudi Arabia.  Along this ancient trade route a hole wore into a bag carrying iris bulbs.  The seesaw movement of the camel deposited bulbs along the desert floor.  Wind blew sand over the bulbs and they lay dormant until in the spring the winter rains enable the iris to bloom.

To buy a print and see more images visit EastepPhotography.com

Art, Culture, Design, Interior Design, Nature, Recent Personal Images, Saudi Arabia, Travel

Gift of the Caravans

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Art, Culture, Saudi Arabia, Travel

Color Beyond Description

Mada'in Saleh, the historical site of a Nabataen trading center, northern Saudi Arabia

Mada’in Saleh, the historical site of a Nabatean trading center, northern Saudi Arabia

Photography has reached a strange place when I have to explain that “yes, that was the true color” and NO I did not create this in Photoshop, yikes!

The place I made this picture is Mada’in Saleh the historical site of a Nabatean trading center in north-west Saudi Arabia.  These folks were part of a group whose capital was Petra in modern-day Jordan.  It is also the place the Ottomans had a railroad depot which T.E. Lawrence destroyed.  It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I made this image as part of a  feature story of archeology  for Smithsonian magazine. There are two reasons the color is other worldly.  The first is the light in Arabia gets this way sometimes, that’s all I know.  The second reason is I used a rare film Kodachrome Photomicrography which had insane saturation and detail.  The ASA is 16.  I did not add any color, the film simply  recorded everything that was there.

To see more images from this story visit Eastep Image Archive @ www.EastepPhotography.com 

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Murie bin Mohammed Al Murrah brought us a bag of truffles from the Empty Quarter. Dahana Sands, Saudi Arabia.

The Bedouin of Saudi Arabia are one of the world’s most unique nomadic people.  They survive in the Arabian deserts under some of the harshest conditions in nature.

The Al Murrah Bedouin tribe attracted my attention because they have lived as nomads in Arabia with an unbroken bloodline for 5,000 years +.  I figured such unique people would have important insights into human relationships.  I was right.

Leading Saudi families in government, business, judicial and academic communities have sent their young children to live among the Bedouin for similar reasons.  King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Sa’ud, the monarch who unified the Arabian tribes and created the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, spent time with the Al-Murrah in the southern deserts of Saudi Arabia.

When I began my documentary photography career I decided to study the Bedouin in Arabia, specifically the Al Murrah tribe.  This modest collection of images is from a library of over 25,000 images.  They are the subject of the book BEDOUIN which won the Pershke Price “Best Book” award and Gold Prize for the “Best of All Things in Print”.

To see more images of the Bedouin visit EastepPhotography.com

Culture, People who have influenced me, Portraits, Saudi Arabia, Travel

BEDOUIN of Saudi Arabia

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The Bedouin of Saudi Arabia are one of the world’s most unique nomadic people.  They survive in the Arabian deserts under some of the harshest conditions in nature.

The Al Murrah Bedouin tribe attracted my attention because they have lived as nomads in Arabia with an unbroken bloodline for 5,000 years.  I figured such unique people would have important insights into human relationships.  I was right.

Leading Saudi families in government, business, judicial and academic communities have sent their young children to live among the Bedouin for similar reasons.  King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Sa’ud, the monarch who unified the Arabian tribes and created the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, spent time with the Al-Murrah in the southern desert of Saudi Arabia.

When I began my career I decided to document the Bedouin in Arabia, specifically the Al Murrah tribe.  This modest collection of images is from a library of over 25,000 images.  They represent the book BEDOUIN which won the Pershke Price “Best Book” award and Gold Prize for the “Best of All Things in Print” the year it was published.

Visit http://www.EastepPhotography to see images from the book BEDOUIN

Saudi Arabia

BEDOUIN of Saudi Arabia

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