Out in the desert reliving the past

Abu Dhabi - Local families either "rent" a camp from a company that also set it up and maintain it for them, or they prepare and set up everything themselves.

The dallah, or the Arabic coffee pot, was just pulled off the wood fire with a fresh brew of light cardamom coffee as the first guest walked in.
Arif Al Mesaabi stood up from the soft, comfortable red cushions and carpets surrounding the fire, to greet his guests.
"Welcome, welcome shabbab," he greeted the group of young men who had just arrived after a five-hour journey from Qatar.
After introductions, everyone sat around the fire. Arabic coffee was served and conversation started about the guests' trip, family, friends and, of course, about the weather, which has been unusually chilly.
This is a typical scene at a private desert camp in Abu Dhabi - a reminder of old Bedouin traditions, of desert camps spread every winter all over the desert of Abu Dhabi emirate.
Local families either "rent" a camp from a company that also set it up and maintain it for them, or they prepare and set up everything themselves. Usually, the camp has at least one sleeping tent - large enough for eight adults - and a majlis, a guest-receiving tent, as well as a few smaller tents for cooking and keeping supplies, and portable bathrooms. An electricity generator and water tank are always available.
"Some people like to add all kinds of luxuries or comforts, like a television, but for me, I prefer it simple, the way it was in the past, when people used to live out in the desert," said Arif, an Emirati from Abu Dhabi, who organised his desert camp among the sand dunes near Al Khatem with a couple of his cousins.
Before oil dramatically changed the lifestyle of Emiratis, the desert was home not only to Bedouin tribes, but coastal and oasis folk, too, who would often travel through the desert for trade or in search of cooler weather.
Large tents handmade from camel and goat wool were used as bedrooms and living rooms. In front of the main majlis the fire pit was arranged, where people would sit in the cooler nights to exchange news or entertain themselves with stories and poetry.
In the early morning, fresh bread was cooked in the sand, while fresh dallah of Arabic coffee brewed on the charcoal left over from the night before and, when available, dates and honey were added to the breakfast. At night, the main meal was rice or saloona - vegetable stew - with meat if the men and their falcons or saluki dogs were successful at hunting. Camels, goats or sheep were only sacrificed for important events or guests visiting from afar. Not much has changed in the desert camps of today.
"Arabic coffee and tea are still offered to guests as soon as they arrive, along with traditional sweets and dates. All our food is cooked here, at the camp, by ourselves, and not brought from restaurants in the nearby towns," explained Arif.
While the other tents are made of more modern, waterproof canvas material, the main majlis is kept in the "old style", made of camel and goat wool, so think it keeps its occupants comfortably warm even in the coldest desert nights.
Apart from the majlis and bedroom tent, Arif's desert camp also has a caravan, a public and a private bathroom with hot showers, a few smaller tents for various purposes and a volleyball court.
A tall poll stands right in the middle, connected to the generator, with ropes holding light bulbs tied to all corners of the camp, lighting up the entire camp. The entire equipment and tents cost Arif and his cousins Dh40,000.
"It took us just three days to set up the camp, but we were a large group, about 20 people, working in shifts, about five people at a time," he pointed out.
The camp is closely connected to the weather, lasting as long as the cool temperatures, but in these next couple of months people will make the most of it.
"Just as with this group of friends from Qatar, who just arrived now, our friends and relatives from the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia come here for a few days, just to enjoy the desert like in the old days," said Arif.
"We sit together, talk, cook together, play games and sometimes go offroading in the dunes".
These visits are usually returned by Arif and his cousins, who travel to their friends and relatives in the Gulf countries, enjoying the same desert hospitality.
silvia@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE