Bedouin Lifestyle

By: Anna Shaw, Paige Brown, Olivia Maly, and Susan Hoffman

Background on the Bedouin

Bedouin comes from the Arabic word Bedu, which means “inhabitant of the desert.” Bedouins are nomads who travel place to place, mainly in the desert.

The main religion of the Bedouins is Sunni Muslims (Islam), but there are some who are Christians.

Bedouins are divided into different social classes based on ancestry and profession. Passing from one class to another is relatively feasible.

Bedouin

tentsThe original Bedouin tents were made of hand spun and woven goat hair. They provide good shelter from the wind and the hot sun. It is also easy to pack up and travel with when needed.

Bedouin clothes

decoration. The men usually wear a “dress” made of white cotton

to their ankles. Under this they wear a sarong or a sirwal.

Women wear a range of jewelry, this represent their family’s wealth and also hasperceived protective qualities. For example, triangles or eyes deflect the evil eye. The jewelry includes necklaces, rings, anklets, and bracelets.

A normal “dress” for Bedouin women is called a tob or thobe. They usually come in dark blue with light blue bands of

Bedouin Food/DrinksThe Bedouins had tea and coffee as the traditional drinks. The tea would usually be very sweet and often flavored with mint or sage or some other locally grown desert herb and served in small glasses. Also, you would probably be offered a small cup of the original Bedouin coffee. Coffee was an important symbol of hospitality. The tradition was to shake the cup to indicate that you do not want a refill.

Food eaten by Bedouins upholding traditional lifestyles, are dairy products, milk and meat. They also eat dishes like flat bread, dates, olives, chick peas, rice, couscous, berries and herbs. Mansaf was a national Bedouin dish served on special occasions, when there are guests or when there is a wedding or party. The meal is, stewed lamb with a sauce made from dried yogurt, served on a bed of rice and bread, specially prepared over an open fire, and sprinkled with pine nuts.

Bedouins in the World TodayBedouins are not limited to Egypt, nor are they limited to a specific region of Egypt, though the more traditional Bedouins do normally go to the desert regions, including the Sinai and the Eastern and Western Deserts. However, today, they can also be found in many of the resort communities of the Sinai and even in the larger cities of Egypt, such as Cairo.

As of 2006, there are approximately 4.2 million Bedouins around the world today!

Our Cooking Outcome (Process of making Bedouin Bread)

Balls of rolled dough

Mixing the doughBread Rising

Finished Product

Our Cooking Outcome(Process of making Pita Chips)

Brushing on the pita topping

Cutting the

pita bread

Finished Product

First Bite! Yum!

Our Cooking Outcome(Process of making Bedouin Salsa)Chopping Onions

Browning Vegetables

Final Salsa and Pita Chips

All of our delicious food together.

Yummy!

Food Processor

Resources

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http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t045/T045464A.jpghttp://www.jordanbeauty.com/images/bedouinDress01.gifhttp://members.tripod.com/tribe_badir/id24.htmhttp://www.raqs.co.nz/photos/dress/bedouin%20big%20thobe%201937.jpghttp://www.raqs.co.nz/me/clothing_bedouin.htmlhttp://www.nyazi.com.jo/Bedouin/bedouin_a.htmhttp://lexicorient.com/e.o/bedouins.htmhttp://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bedouins.htmhttp://www.centre4sinai.com.eg/culture.htmhttp://30-days.net/muslims/muslims-in/middle-east-muslims-in/bedouins-arabia/http://lexicorient.com/e.o/bedouins.htmhttp://www.geographia.com/egypt/sinai/bedouin02.htmhttp://minyos.its.rmit.edu.au/~dwa/BedouinTent.htmlhttp://www.geographia.com/egypt/sinai/bedouin.htmhttp://lexicorient.com/e.o/bedouins.htmhttp://www.sheikhsalemhouse.com/bedouins.asphttp://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_79.htmlhttp://images.google.com/http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/Bedouin-Religion-and-Expressive-Culture.htmlhttp://www.inmamaskitchen.com/RECIPES/RECIPES/Breads/bedouin_bread.htmlhttp://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Bedouin-Salsa-355011http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pita-chips/detail.aspx

Resources