An opening between the women and men’s section of a Bedouin tent. Saudi Arabia
The space between the men and women’s section of a Bedouin tent is divided by a wall made of cloth. The cloth material of the tent wall makes it convenient for women to listen in and keep an eye on the goings-on in the majlis, “the public sitting place.” When the majlis is free of visitors from outside the women sit with the men.
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
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