The Bedouin, who lived in the Qetara Depression and the Siwa Oasis in the northwest of Egypt, were a branch of the Bedouin people known as the Sadis.
If tourists wanted to visit the Bedouin tribe out of curiosity, they would usually go to the Red Sea or the Black and White Desert to explore the Bedouin living there, rather than coming all the way here. Anyway, for tourists, there was no difference between the Bedouin and the Bedouin.
Salem was a little puzzled when he saw these SUVs. He hadn't been back to the tribe for a long time. Could it be that the stubborn chief had finally been enlightened and was ready to develop tribal tourism?
A string of crisp laughter came from not far away. A few Bedouin children were chasing and playing with each other, enjoying their carefree childhood. Children of this age in the outside world were probably in school, watching cartoons in front of the television, or playing the puzzle games their parents downloaded for them on their tablets. And these Bedouin children's toys were a few empty plastic bottles strung together by strings. It was hard to understand what fun they had dragging plastic bottles around, but that was their only entertainment.
The elfins couldn't bear to watch. The gap in life was too big, and it would only get bigger. No wonder Salem didn't want to come back here before.
What was the point of insisting on this way of life?
Adults might be able to choose, but the future of these children was basically doomed. Even if they grew up and walked out of the tribe like Salem, the gap in education would only make them the bottom of the big city.
Seeing Zhang Zian's unfamiliar Asian appearance, the children stopped playing and looked at him curiously, just as he looked at them. Their clothes were a little dirty, and they didn't dare to get too close. They just stood a little distance away and watched.
Zhang Zian touched his trouser pocket, wanting to give them some small gifts, but he only touched the cooling oil that was popular with Pong Xixi. It was obviously not suitable as a gift.
However, in order to cope with the inconvenience of eating and drinking during Ramadan, he prepared some chocolate, ham sausages, orange bread, milk, and other food in his car. He opened the trunk and took it out to wave at the children.
The children were still shy and did not dare to come over.
Their eyes were big, like puppies. They stared at the brightly packaged food in Zhang Zian's hand and kept licking their lips. It wasn't until Salem said something that they cheered and gathered around Zhang Zian, raising their hands high.
"Don't fight, everyone has a share."
Although he knew that they could not understand, Zhang Zian still muttered and stuffed the snacks into the hands of each child in turn. The children were not greedy, and after getting one, they did not ask for more.
If these foods were placed in front of the children in the big cities of China, they might think that they were not famous brands. However, the children here treated them as if they had seen a treasure. They held them in their hands and were reluctant to tear open the packaging. Perhaps they did not know how to tear open the packaging. Or perhaps … this was their Ramadan. The sun had not set yet. No matter how delicious the food was, they could not eat it.
Their wariness towards Zhang Zian was gone, and everyone's faces were full of smiles.
Zhang Zian did not prepare too much food. It was only for emergencies, so it was quickly distributed. However, every child got some.
The next time he came, he had to prepare more snacks.
A woman in a dark blue robe walked out of the tribe. Her face could not be seen, but her voice sounded very young. She shouted, and after the children heard it, they waved to Zhang Zian and ran away.
She was carrying a cloth bag — it was not accurate to say that she was carrying it, because the strap was not on her shoulder, but on her forehead. A small, tender hand stretched out of the cloth bag. It turned out that there was a baby sleeping in the cloth bag.
Although he could only see her eyes, Zhang Zian felt that her gaze was kind. He did not know if it was because she saw him distributing food to the children.
She was also carrying a woven bag in her hand. After a few steps, she squatted down and picked up some yellow things to put into the woven bag.
Salem introduced her as his cousin. She picked up the dried camel dung for fuel.
Zhang Zian did not know how Salem recognized that this was his cousin. Did he have a pair of X-ray eyes? He could see the person's face under the robe?
Or, every young girl here was his cousin, just like most adult men were his uncles.
The primitive people here had refreshed Zhang Zian's bottom line again and again.
It was not that these Bedouin people could not leave here. They just chose to live like this, or were chosen.
There was a well at the entrance of the village. To prevent the wind, there was a circle of stones around it.
More than a dozen camels seemed to have a mind of their own. They lined up in front of the well, waiting to drink water. They were all dromedary camels.
Unlike the secularized and tourist-oriented Bedouin people in the east, the Bedouin people in Saadi still maintained their original lifestyle to a considerable extent. It was hard to say whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Perhaps it was a good thing for tourists.
Salem said that these camels might have just returned from outside, or were about to set out. The camel team traveled between the tribe and the town, selling their own livestock products or spices collected in the desert to buy necessities such as dates, flour, vegetables, and some simple tools.
Fina stared at the slightly thin camels, her eyes full of curiosity.
While Salem was looking for someone to ask about things, Zhang Zian whispered, "What? You've never seen a camel before? "
When he had bought tickets next to the Great Pyramid, there had been local vendors who had tried to sell camels to Zhang Zian, but he had rejected them. However, the elfins were not with him at that time. They were waiting for him a little further away.
Fina glared at him unhappily. "What makes you think that I have seen one before?"
This was strange. Wasn't the desert often associated with camels? Camels also had a nickname, the Boat of the Desert. He took it for granted that Fina had seen a camel.
Fina saw that he really did not understand and asked, "Have you ever seen a camel in the murals of ancient Egypt?"
If that was the case …
Zhang Zian thought about it carefully. He had not seen many murals in ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians liked to depict all kinds of animals and animal gods on murals, but there did not seem to be any camels or camel gods …
He suddenly remembered that there seemed to be no camels in ancient Egypt. In about a few hundred years AD, it was the nomadic Bedouin who brought camels from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt.
Camels were considered imported goods here.
If he had known earlier, he would have spent a few dollars to let Fina ride a camel at the Great Pyramid, but there should also be opportunities here.
After Salem finished asking about things, he ran over and waved to Zhang Zian, indicating that he should follow him into the village.
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