Where to experience Bedouin culture in Jordan

Few peoples have been more over-romanticised in literature than the Bedouin, traditionally the nomads of the Arab world. English writer-adventurers of a certain stamp, such as TE Lawrence and Wilfred Thesiger, deliberately sought them out, believing that their tough lifestyles (the name Bedouin derives from the Arabic badawi, or ‘desert dweller’) would provide solace from the apparent corruption of modern life. In doing so, they helped fashion the cliché of the noble ascetic with a timeless culture that persists to this day. Like all tropes, this is an unhelpful reduction; the truth is far more interesting, as any visitor to Jordan will discover.

Exact census information doesn’t exist, but an estimated 40% of Jordan’s 10 million-strong population claim Bedouin descent. Today, they are a people who live thoroughly contemporary lives, with the provision of schooling, housing and education meaning that more and more are now settled. But the Bedouin are no strangers to managing the balance between a sedentary and nomadic existence, and their culture, which is bound up in a traditional lifestyle, remains as important as ever.

Raising sheep and goats is still the backbone of Jordan’s Bedouin culture, even if many have moved with the times and largely replaced camels with 4WD vehicles. But there is no one Bedouin experience. In many places families still follow their flocks from summer to winter pastures, while others have largely swapped out their livestock for crops and the pursuit of a farming lifestyle.

Preparing traditional tea in Jordan (Shutterstock)

Domestically, life still centres around the clan, with the head of local family groups given the honorary title of sheikh. This is a respect for hierarchy (and patriarchy) that reflects the support the tribes lend the Jordanian monarchy and the high numbers of Bedouin enrolment in Jordan’s army. Family identity is tied to strict concepts of honour. This is most commonly experienced by visitors in the form of hospitality: Bedouin maintain respect in their community through their ability to display generosity to guests.

This friendliness is a boon to travellers. Bedouin family life is segregated between public and private spheres, and although these are typically presented as masculine and feminine spaces, visitors of any gender will be welcomed into a tent. Female travellers may even be further invited to share aspects of women’s lives that are inaccessible to men. Either way, this welcome will be accompanied by a glass of mint tea or a pot of wickedly strong and sweet black coffee. An accompanying meal reveals that the diet of a herder’s lifestyle persists: expect plenty of yoghurt, cheese and milk to go along with bread, rice and vegetables, plus the occasional lamb or goat from the family herd.

For all this, you don’t need to seek out Bedouin culture in Jordan; many of the people you meet in Petra, Wadi Rum and beyond will be Bedouin, even if they’re not riding the camels of old. Just a simple conversation with them is an entry point into the richness of their culture.

Wadi Rum (Shutterstock)

The delicate petroglyphs tucked into the epic landscape of Wadi Rum are witness to more than 12,000 years of human habitation. Its current guardians are the Zalabieh Bedouin. From Rum village, Zalabieh guides can take you deep into the desert to camp in traditional tents and drink scalding tea around a brushwood campfire after a day of walking, rock scrambling and marvelling at some of the most otherworldly landscape that the Middle East has to offer.

Petra (Shutterstock)

The rock-cut city of Petra is undoubtedly one of world’s great archaeological treasures, but it is also home to the Bdul Bedouin, who were forced to give up their semi-nomadic lifestyle living in the caves of the city when Petra became a World Heritage site in the 1980s. Most now work by providing services to visitors, with tent cafés and tours of the site by horse and camel. Conversations with local Bdul give a sharp insight into how the balance between the protection and promotion of heritage sites and local communities can be a hard one to get right.

Dana Biosphere Reserve (Shutterstock)

The green, wildlife-rich escarpments of the Dana Biosphere Reserve are one of the best places to hike in Jordan – and a centre for Bedouin community tourism. The Dana Cooperative represents around 100 families of the Ata’ta Bedouin and runs the local Dana Hotel and Wadi Dana Lodge. It also offers shepherding experiences, allowing visitors to spend a day learning about Bedouin pastoralism as they follow grazing flocks of sheep.

The off-grid Feynan Ecolodge in the western tip of the Dana Biosphere Reserve is a model of how tourism development can work with local communities. Staff all come from the local Azazmeh and Rashaydeh Bedouin communities, and can take their guests hiking, teach them how to cook bread in a sand oven and recount stories from Bedouin astronomy while stargazing.

Bedouin woven designs (Shutterstock)

The importance of herding to the Bedouin identity is reflected in the products they make. You might not be able to bring home an expansive tent made of goat’s hair and sheep’s wool, but hand-woven carpets make a perfect substitute. The best place to buy them is at the Bani Hamida Weaving Centre in Mukawir on the King’s Highway. This cooperative run by and for the women of the local Bani Hamida people showcases the best of traditional and contemporary Bedouin design at fixed prices that fairly reflect the skills and time of these artisans.

Mansaf (Shutterstock)

Even if you are restricted to an urban adventure in Jordan, it’s still possible to get a literal taste of Bedouin culture at a Jordanian restaurant. Bedouin cuisine gifted the country its national dish, mansaf, where hunks of lamb are slow-cooked with rice and served in a generous mound topped with pine nuts and goat’s milk yoghurt. It’s a dish for special occasions, and best enjoyed with friends who demonstrate the finest traditions of Bedouin hospitality, such as repeatedly pushing the choicest pieces of meat onto your plate until your stomach groans that it can take no more.