Laura Jean Zito • Magnetic Sinai
VISITING
CAIRO IN
a UN mail truck, I arrived to the border
between Egypt and Israel, which at the
time was at El Areesh. Not realizing the
border was closed on Friday, I found
myself waiting out the weekend there.
The hotel owner, Mohammed, told me
not to worry. This would prove to be the
most interesting weekend of my life. He
invited me to walk into the desert across
the street from the hotel with his seven
brothers to meet some Bedouin.
He first introduced me to this woman, with
her blond child. Because she allowed me
to photograph her, I gained confidence
that I could make images of the Bedouin
of South Sinai, though everyone had
informed me to the contrary.
RETURNING
FROM
El Areesh to Dahab, I found myself near
a Musseina Bedouin settlement, named
Ossela. Sitting on the ground taking this
photo of the village, a black form near
me that I thought was a pile of clothes
started to move.
A tiny woman motioned to me to come
to her house and drink tea. She wanted
to interest me in the purchase of some
silver and beadwork. I really only wanted
photos, but saw my chance, and signaled
to her with sign language that the man
I was with had all the money and that
he would have to come too. While she
was busy showing him the goods, and
not paying attention to me, I was able
to get my first photo of the Bedouin in
Dahab, a girl making pita over the fire.
I had seen Bedouin wandering the The fire was often made right inside the
shores of the Red Sea in Sinai, and been hut, though it might be highly flammable,
fascinated by their faraway flowing robes as it was made from palm fronds.
and camel trains and seemingly aimless
wanderings, and now this was the first I also photographed a woman
time I was sitting down to lunch with breastfeeding. I was so intrigued that she
them. But these Bedouin in El Areesh didn’t appear to care that her breast was
had been under Egyptian rule already visible to my male friend, but was anxious
for many years and didn’t have the same about keeping her mouth covered. The
intact code of customs as do the Bedouin mouth is considered the most sexual part
in Sinai, who had been much more of the body to a Bedouin while the breast
is considered purely functional.
isolated.
March 2015
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