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was travelling to summer in Al Ain [or Buraimi as it was known then] to get away from the humidity of Abu Dhabi Island.One of the camels was ridden by a Sheikha and was none other than Sheikha Salama bint Butti Al Qubaisi, the mother of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who had such an influence on her sons and, consequently, on the history of Abu Dhabi. Even in the towns, tribes and families would also often move if their situation required it.During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, many moved away from Abu Dhabi with its scarce resources caused by the declining pearl trade following the invention of the cultured pearl. With the hardships of life during those times, people needed to do whatever was necessary to improve their lot and, often, that meant moving. Fast forward to the present day where the riches that came with oil and the foresight of the Founding Fathers has allowed the former emirates to unite together into a country where the new generations are born into a lifestyle of privilege in the world. Food is plentiful, water is plentiful thanks to desalination and most are able to live a comfortable, stable and peaceful life. Many might think that there is little in common between those Bedu of old and the modern Emirati of today – they would be wrong! Emiratis, probably more than any other nationals I have known, like to travel – to seek out new places, new climates and to see the world that is the subject of TV programmes and films that they watch. They do so, in my experience, at every opportunity and have become world travellers on
Two Bedu watch as another Bedu, out of sight, opens up a well near the Liwa group of settlements. Drifting sand would quickly fill a well and the water table would vary in depth depending upon whether there had been recent rain, April 1953. Ronald Codrai © DCT Abu Dhabi
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A camel caravan crossing the Maqta with the watchtower, thought to have been built around 1760[about the same time as the original watchtower at Qasr Al Hosn], in the background. The watchtower was used to guard against anyone trying to cross to Abu Dhabi Island from the mainland. The caravan is carrying brush and supplies to Abu Dhabi Island – probably from Buraimi, May 1949. Ronald Codrai © DCT Abu Dhabi
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Bedu are people of the desert regions of Arabia – nomadic and, historically, tribal. Westerners call them Bedouin but that is, in reality, a double plural. The Bedu call themselves ‘Bedu’ which can be both singular and plural. With their life of hardship, it was inevitable that the Bedu looked for new areas where more was available – more food, more grazing for their camels and, of course, more water. They would intensively enquire of passing travellers about news and, of course, how things were in the places the travellers had visited – if it sounded attractive, they would move their family and home. The Bedu, as a result, were nomadic and frequently moved to more sustainable surroundings whenever the need or the opportunity arose. In addition, there were those, such as the southern Bedu who lived in their settlements in Liwa who, during the winter months tended their date palms and, during the summer months, went North to the coast to go pearl diving or to fish. They too would follow the age-old tradition of the Bedu in moving to, and seeking, the best place to make their livelihood. Similarly, for those who were able to, the climate would often dictate where it was most comfortable to be. An early story I remember and that appears in my father’s diaries for 10 May 1949, was about an encounter he had with a small caravan of seven camels, four being ridden by ladies and being led by Bedu, near the Maqta crossing in Abu Dhabi. Baggage was loaded on the remaining camels and the party
The Sheikh Zayed Bridge – the most recent of the three bridges crossing the Maqta from the Mainland onto Abu Dhabi Island. Opened on 28 November 2010, it is a stunning contrast between the days where Bedu would have to wait for low tide to cross the Maqta. © Victor Romero
A pearl diver rests after a dive. He is wearing a nose clip, known as Al Fitam, to assist with the dive. The nose clip might be made of wood and cut into a Y shape or, sometimes, made of tortoise shell, June 1950. Ronald Codrai © DCT Abu Dhabi
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