By motorbike from Prague to Sahara – part 23
Sahara desert
Bedouin Mohammed
We will spend the night in our new accommodation, wait for the day to avoid the most insidious rays of the sun, and in the early evening, while it is still light, we are preparing to travel to the desert on camels. Mohamed, a young Bedouin, takes care of us.
If you have ever dreamed of getting to know the mysterious world of the desert, then you should not miss the opportunity to meet the Bedouins. These Arab nomads are considered to be the true descendants of the original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, and their lifestyle has hardly changed over the centuries.
The Bedouin live in small tribal groups that move according to the availability of water and pasture for their herds of camels, sheep and goats. Their home is the vast deserts that stretch from the Sahara to the Sinai and the Negev. The Bedouins are known for their hospitality, traditions and rich culture that is expressed in music, poetry and dance.
If you want to experience the Bedouin way of life for yourself, you can, for example, rent a tent in one of the Bedouin camps (that’s what we do) or attend a Bedouin wedding. You will be amazed at their ability to survive in the harsh conditions of the desert and their love for nature.
Mohamed had good English and seemed very likeable, although quite disinterested and then most of all rather mysterious with his face covered in a wrapped shawl. She helps us wrap our scarves around our heads because we still haven’t mastered it. In fact, it’s only suitable for the desert anyway, and elsewhere in Morocco, an extra person won’t use it. And an experienced Bedouin like Muhammad doesn’t really need it even in that desert, and not in a long moment his shawl unravels and he doesn’t bother to tame it in any way. There’s no sandstorm coming, so we’re not surprised. In the photos, Mohamed covered in a scarf looks very nice, of course, but without a scarf it’s not bad either, because it turns out that his hair is very similar to what my camel Ludva has on his head.
Mohamed spends half of the journey looking at his mobile phone. Not that he was looking for directions on Google Maps, but rather communicating with other Bedouins about the current situation so that they would know how much food and beds to prepare in the camp. And he probably also posted photos here and there on his instagram account.
And if you’re wondering what kind of nonsense this is, we’re in the Sahara desert, there can’t be any signal there. Well, I don’t know what the Czech operators are doing specifically wrong or if there is some intention in it, that 20 km from a larger city you lose the signal completely, when deep in the Sahara desert you have a constant 4G full signal and the tariff prices are half as much as almost everywhere else in the world . Yes, you feel correctly that Czech operators lie in my stomach as unpleasantly as 6 rums in an underage student.
A journey through the desert on the back of a majestic animal, walking through the sand dunes, watching the passing caravans of other tourists, impatiently waiting for what will appear behind each sand dune, watching the rippling hot air that transforms everything into a dancing image of reality. It is a magical experience that is hard to compare with anything… STOP!
Mohamed stopped, pointed a finger at the sand, and winked at me. I know exactly why. In a moment, like a hunting fox jumping into the snow, Muhammad jumped the arrow into the sand and is holding something in his hand.
“Do you know what a sand fish is? Put your hand up.”
I have no idea what it actually gives me. I nervously hold something small in my closed palm, smooth so that it feels gooey. I slowly open my fist and look into the eyes of a small harmless lizard. At least I hope it’s harmless 😀
I release the desert fish lizard back into the hot sand and it decides to show us why it is called what it is called. He dives and jumps up and down in the sand like a mini dolphin. I’m not sure if this is even possible according to the laws of physics, but we are in the desert and you just have to get used to the various mirages and accept them.
We arrived at our camp. We will sleep here tonight.
The sunset is approaching and Mohamed encourages us to go to the tops of the dunes and enjoy the sunset. We don’t hesitate…
Watching the sunset in the desert is an experience that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. Neither pictures nor words can convey the experience itself.
The night is approaching inexorably and with it our dinner prepared by the Bedouins. It’s a big feast, followed by a musical program where they let us individually try out their instruments as well. Then we again go to the high desert dunes to observe the night sky with Maya and count the falling stars. What happens in the dunes stays in the dunes.
