Married to a Bedouin

New
Illustrated
2009
$12.66

' Where you staying? the Bedouin asked. Why you not stay with me tonight - in my cave? '
Thus begins Marguerite van Geldermalsen's story of how a New Zealand-born nurse came to be married to Mohammad Abdallah Othman, a Bedouin souvenir-seller from the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. It was 1978 and she and a friend were travelling through the Middle East when Marguerite met the charismatic Mohammad who convinced her that he was the man for her.
A life with Mohammad meant moving into his ancient cave and learning to love the regular tasks of baking shrak bread on an open fire and collecting water from the spring. And as Marguerite feels herself becoming part of the Bedouin community, she is thankful for the twist in fate that has led her to this contented life.
Marguerite's light-hearted and guileless observations of the people she comes to love are as heart-warming as they are valuable, charting Bedouin traditions now lost to the modern world.

Synopsis

' Where you staying? the Bedouin asked. Why you not stay with me tonight - in my cave? '

Thus begins Marguerite van Geldermalsen's story of how a New Zealand-born nurse came to be married to Mohammad Abdallah Othman, a Bedouin souvenir-seller from the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. It was 1978 and she and a friend were travelling through the Middle East when Marguerite met the charismatic Mohammad who convinced her that he was the man for her.

A life with Mohammad meant moving into his ancient cave and learning to love the regular tasks of baking shrak bread on an open fire and collecting water from the spring. And as Marguerite feels herself becoming part of the Bedouin community, she is thankful for the twist in fate that has led her to this contented life.

Marguerite's light-hearted and guileless observations of the people she comes to love are as heart-warming as they are valuable, charting Bedouin traditions now lost to the modern world.

$12.66

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More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 288
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Virago
Published: 05 Nov 2009
ISBN 10: 1844082202
ISBN 13: 9781844082209
Book Overview: It was as Mohammad guided us singing through rocky, oleander-crowded canyons that I fell in love with him. Why I hadn't noticed his quick, eye-crinkling smile the day we met I don't know but I noticed it now. He fixed his red and white mendeel, throwing the knotted ends up over his head into an exotic Bedouin turban and flashed me a smile. I was fascinated.

Media Reviews

For anyone who enjoys travel books, especially about the Middle East, this is the real thing - a fascinating account of life as a Bedouin in the late twentieth century written by a Western woman * Mary S. Lovell *
In a world troubled by Arab extremism, this sparkling memoir is a refreshing antidote and a rare window into the legendary hospitality and mysterious customs of the Bedouin Arabs * Publishing News *
In a world troubled by Arab extremism, this sparkling memoir is a refreshing antidote and a rare window into the legendary hospitality and mysterious customs of the Bedouin Arabs' Publishing News

Author Bio

Marguerite is from New Zealand. In 1978 she met Mohammad Abdallah in Petra, Jordan, married him and moved into his Nabataean cave. In 1985 they moved to the new Bedouin settlement, Umm Sayhoon. She was widowed in 2002. She has three children.