All photographs by Enas El Masry
Reaching out and connecting is an innate
human tendency. Some people reach out through mindful observation, while others
do so through conversation. However, there’s nothing like walking a mile in
someone else’s shoes to really understand them.
For as long as we’ve inhabited the deserts
and highlands, nomadic tribes have walked these ragged terrains and made them home.
Beneath the surface, many secrets and plenty of wisdom lurked awaiting to be discovered. With each step closer to nature, man's pool of knowledge and understanding of himself and the world around him grew deeper. For many generations, this knowledge has been passed down solely through practice.
Today, as the urban influence grows
stronger, many indigenous cultures, such as Egypt's Bedouin culture, are up against the threat of extinction
without leaving any traces behind. To save Sinai’s Bedouin identity from its
otherwise inevitable fate, members of South Sinai’s local community have collaborated
to bring forth a first-of-its-kind project in the region, the Sinai Trail.
Stretching over 200 km from Ras Shitan on
the Gulf of Aqaba to the city of Saint Catherine, the Sinai Trail is hailed as South
Sinai’s first inter-tribal project, which aims at overarching community
development. Unlike other community development projects that focus on a
certain area, the Sinai Trail passes through three tribal territories –
Tarabin, Mezeina, and Jebeleyya territories. On the trail, Bedouin leaders,
interns, and cameleers from all three tribes cooperate to bring together an
experience of a lifetime.
Led by Musallam Abu Farraj of the Tarabin
tribe, Faraj Sulaiman of the Mezeina tribe, and Nasr Mansour of the Jebeleya
tribe, the first group to walk the full length of the Sinai Trail successfully
completed the journey on December 10th, 2016.
Before the Middle East knew the luxury of
railways, camel caravans were the most common means of commute across an
entwined network of trade and pilgrimage routes that covered much of the Middle
East’s desert terrain. Orchestrated by the Bedouins who knew the deserts and
highlands like the back of their hands, taking merchants and pilgrims across
the peninsula was a lot more than a job; it was life.
In the absence of text books that teach how
to lead a nomadic life, Bedouins, whether shepherds or desert guides, took it
upon themselves to preserve their culture by passing on their nomadic ways to younger
generations through apprenticeship and mentorship.
Nowadays, job opportunities that secure a
space for Bedouins to practice their nomadic lifestyle have become scarce –
mostly confined within the off-the-beaten-track tourism market – which raises
the pressing concern: what will become of the Bedouin culture if no one
practices it?
“We need it, you need
it,” says Musallam. “The old ways are useful for everyone.”
According to certified
mountain guide Ben Hoffler, “the Bedouin culture is as old and rich as some of
the world’s most ancient cultures; the only difference is that it’s
undocumented.
“Imagine the loss if,
for instance, the ancient Egyptian culture were to be erased from history. A
culture as old as the Bedouin holds knowledge of as much value.”
Besides the shrinking chance
for Bedouins to practice their nomadic ways, younger generations find very
little necessity to learn how to survive the wilderness. Once upon a time, it
was a matter of life and death that Bedouins knew how to survive the
wilderness, whereas today, younger Bedouins have easy access to the luxuries of
our modern dystopia.
Why is it important to
keep the nomadic ways alive?
“I believe humans were
meant to live close to nature. We weren’t meant to live in cement blocks on top
of one another,” Hoffler adds. “Maybe one day we’ll collectively find that we
need to go back to the natural ways of dealing with nature. It’s very important
for people whether they live in the city or the wilderness to know how to deal
with nature.”
Even if we continue to
live our lives in the city, periodic breaks away from the city and into the
nature are necessary, as Musallam puts it, to “change your scale in life.”
Far from museum halls and centres of
culture preservation, one of the world’s oldest and richest indigenous cultures
is hanging by a thread, pleading for attention. Will you answer the call and
help preserve it by walking its path? Will you give it life by learning its
ways?
The call is yours.
