The welcoming culture of the Bedouin peoples has remained fairly unchanged over the
past few centuries and is well documented thank too many historical and sociology personalities who have been exposed to it over the years. Their culture of greeting new friends is based on a number of very important social rules which are discussed in further detail below.
A Guest is Always Made to Feel Welcome into a Bedouin Home
One of the most well known and documented social rules within Bedouin culture is that a guest to the home or tribe is always welcome. This guest is seen as a guest of God and is warmly welcomed as being guided there by the hand of God. Bedouin tribesmen will always offer kindness to a stranger who visits as it is seen as a way to honor the maker.
Tea and Coffee is the Heart of the Home
All guests to a Bedouin home will be offered tea and coffee. It is permitted to decline the offer, but those who accept will find themselves honored gusts and warmly accepted as friends. The tea will inevitably be very sweet and is often flavoured with mint or sage. It is served in small glasses unlike in western cultures. After tea is served coffee is also offered as it is an extremely important part of Bedouin hospitality.
A Bedouin Tent is more than a Simple Home
Bedouin tents are referred to as Bayt char or the house of hair. This is because traditional Bedouin tents are woven from goats hair. These tents offer the perfect home to the dessert dwelling Bedouin tribesmen as when wet the got hair contracts and doesnt let water in. It is also very comfortable in the heat as even in mid summer it offers a blissfully cool respite from the dessert temperatures. During cold winter nights in the dessert the traditional Bedouin tent also offers a warm and cosy alternative to the freezing dessert air.
Please Note! A Bedouin tent is normally divided into two main sections or rooms by a central curtain known as a ma'nad. This allows the tent to be divided into a section for men and a section for woman. Visitors will be shown to the part of the Bedouin tent that best suits their gender. The place where most men are received is called the mag'ad, or 'sitting place while woman are received in the maharama, or 'place of the women.