The Desert People

This week I spent 24 hours at the home of Amal and Zaid and their four children in the Bedouin village of Tel Sheva.  

This post is intended to be apolitical; my words are not meant to contain any judgment, but to reflect what I heard from Amal and her immediate family, including their children. The older children asked that their pictures not be included in the blog.  

During the  evening I also met Amal’s parents, three of her five sisters, one of her three brothers and many of their children.   We had gathered in Lekia at her parent’s home (the family home) just to visit "for a few minutes" and ended up staying for several hours which included dinner.  In the Bedouin tradition all the gathering is done at the family home. So if one sister wants to visit with another sister one calls the other and they meet at the family home.  Amal's mother is an amazing cook. 

                              

Stuffed peppers

Stuffed zucchini (stuffed end to end)

We were at the family home for several hours; they hardly spoke English, and of course I spoke no Arabic.  We shared a few words in Hebrew but mostly I sat and observed.   During those hours we seemed to be able to communicate and develop some type of relationship. The children were intrigued by my camera and they had fun fooling around so I could take their pictures. 

Two cousins (l) plus Amal and Zaid's youngest - Mayar (r)

Amal is a gynecological emergency room nurse at a large teaching hospital in Be’er Sheva and Zaid is a genetic researcher studying epilepsy at Ben Gurion University.  Amal explained that her marriage to Zaid, a member of the Original Bedouin group, as well as her desire to became a nurse, were not easily accepted by her father.  Zaid described his journey – literally walking from the desert 7 km each day to attend school in one of the villagesl – to becoming a physician.   They both prevailed, very successfully.

Rather going to the local school in Tel Sheva which is considered to be less than optimal, Amal and Zaid have chosen to send their children to a Jewish school, where they are clearly a minority as I saw when we picked the children up at school.  I was impressed with the knowledge that the children have about the culture, the language and the practice of Judaism.

My exposure to the Bedouin culture has been limited to the tents and tiny lean-to type buildings seen as we drive through the desert.  I knew little of their history other than what I’ve read in tour books. 

Amal patiently explained that there are two groups of Bedouins, one large group, known as the “Original” Bedouins, and one small, known as “Falach”.

The Original group, from which Zaid's family comes, historically lived in the desert in tents. Now many of the Original Bedouins live in the recognized villages and many have chosen to stay in the desert in unrecognized areas.  Those who have stayed in the desert still move from place to place every few months so their animals will have grass and other foliage to eat.  Much of the food of the Original Bedouins comes from their animals: cows, sheep, chickens and camels, which are used not only for meat, but for their milk as well.  The livelihood of the residents is also dependent on the animals and animal products such as milk and soap made out of the animal fat. 

The Falachs, a much smaller group who lived in caves and houses, consists of two families.  The Abu Karin, came from Gaza and settled in the village of Lekia. Amal's family is from the Abu Karin family.  The Drujat family came from the West Bank and lives in the village of Drujat.  

Amal’s great, great…grandfather came from Gaza over 200 years ago and brought spices to Lekia. The Bedouins came from all around to buy the spices.  Her grandfather became quite wealthy and built the first constructed house in the Negev which located in Lekia.  The house, known as the “Palace”, has stayed in Amal’s family all these years.  

When Amal brought me to her home I was surprised to see that they live in a large, modern house with everything we would find in our own homes.  I hadn’t known what to expect, and as I mentioned previously, my only knowledge of the Bedouins' housing was in the desert. 

Amal and I spent a long time talking about the range of Bedouin living situations, from tents to apartments and houses.  She explained that the Israeli government created 7 villages in the Negev for the Bedouins.   Many of the Bedouins moved to these villages and many have chosen to stay in the desert in unrecognized locations, and continue to move around as they have for years.  

Amal explained that living in the villages have not been universally or enthusiastically accepted.  Living in the desert provided a regular and substantial income for the Bedouins.  As well, the work of caring for the animals and their products was shared between husbands and wives, both equally important to their success.  For the families that moved to the recognized villages, many of the men go to work, generally in Israeli jobs.   Women's roles lost their significance in the villages, leaving them to stay home raising their children. With the women mostly uneducated, moving into the villages has significantly changed the way they feel about themselves.

Bedouin embroidery

Bedouin made jewelry

Amal has taken it upon herself to improve the quality of life for women in the Bedouin villages.  She has taken over the Palace and is turning it into a museum, displaying what Bedouin living quarters look like, the clothing, jewelry and products that they weave and embroider.  She has recruited the women in the villages to help her with the work it takes to accomplish this.  Amal doesn’t have money to pay them right now, but any profit that is made in the future will go to the women.   This not only provides something for the women to do during the day, but also gives them some training and a purpose.

Amal and I had some very interesting and intense conversations. We both listened respectfully to each others’ perspectives on the land situation. During my visit I learned a great deal about the Bedouin culture, making it both educational and very emotional. It opened my eyes to the impact some decisions of the Israeli government have had on one specific culture, introducing me to information of which I had previously been unaware.

Cooking

Friday morning we made magluba, a delicious combination of vegetables, chicken and rice.   I'm sure there is some way to make this vegetarian, but the flavor of the chicken combined with the spices and the vegetables make this an unforgettable dish.  

Amal's kitchen is modern and was easy to cook in it.   Having two of us to prepare and cook all of the ingredients made it very efficient.  When we finished, the entire family and I sat on the cushions on the floor and devoured it.  

We didn’t have time to do other cooking, but I have been invited back to their home any time.  Amal is as enthusiastic about teaching about the Bedouin culture and cuisine as I am learning about it.  

Sliced potatoes being fried in oil

Frying cauliflower and layering the vegetables

Preparing to unveil the magluba

Getting ready to eat

Magluba

1 whole chicken, in pieces
4-5 med potatoes sliced into ½” pieces and salted

1 med eggplant sliced into  ½” pieces

1 whole cauliflower, cut into large florets

2 onions thickly sliced;

4 whole garlic cloves

vegetable oil (or other non-olive oil)

salt

ground black pepper

1 pound basmati rice (approx 2.5 C)
2 tsp turmeric

3 tomatoes, sliced

Put chicken in large pot and cover with water.  Bring to boil, then cover and simmer until chicken is fully cooked.

Heat ½” oil over med-hi.  Add potato slices in single layer and cook until brown. Repeat with remaining slices.   Repeat the process with the cauliflower, then eggplant.  Repeat with onion and garlic together, and generously add salt and pepper.  Cook until onions are soft.

While vegetables are cooking soak the rice for about 2-3 minutes then drain well.  Add to the rice about 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp pepper.

Drain chicken keeping the broth. Place the chicken on a separate plate.

In the same pot that the chicken was cooked in, layer in the following order, trying not to waste space in the pot.

-       sliced tomatoes

-       chicken pieces

-       onions

-       cauliflower

-       eggplant

-       potatoes

Add rice mixture to pot, spreading around to cover.  Add the broth in correct proportion to rice, 1 C rice: 1¾ C broth.  (2.5 C rice: 4 ⅓ C broth)

Place pot on stove, bring to boil then turn down to simmer.  Cook until rice is done.  Add more broth if necessary.

Let cool for 30 minutes.  Remove the lid of the pot. Place a large round platter upside down on top of the pot and flip the pot and the platter so the pot is upside down on the platter.  Carefully lift the pot off the platter and the magluba will fall out of the pot.

Serve with varieties of Middle Eastern salads and pita.

Magluba