The spirit of Bedouin hospitality thrives in Jordan’s tourism renaissance

Hashem Zuwaydeh, a Bedouin tour guide in the desert of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)
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Updated 10 January 2024
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The spirit of Bedouin hospitality thrives in Jordan’s tourism renaissance

  • Leveraging their inherently friendly nature, Bedouins excel as tour operators, desert guides, camel handlers
  • Jordan’s $3bn tourism industry presents challenge of preserving cultural heritage amid commercialization

AMMAN: In the deserts of Jordan, Bedouin communities are finding new ways to open their homes to the world, bridging traditional hospitality with the economic opportunities of global tourism. Whereas Airbnb listings around the world range from spare couches to mansions, in southern Jordan, hopeful visitors might encounter just a cave.

Indeed, Imad, a 34-year-old local from Petra, has ventured into the digital age by listing his own cave on Airbnb. The ancient city attracts nearly a million visitors annually, and Imad says his peculiar real estate is fully booked during the high seasons.

During their stay, guests are treated to fresh tea and enjoy traditional dishes slow-cooked beneath the desert sands, while their warm and welcoming Bedouin host shares old tales by the campfire.

Imad explains that this profound sense of hospitality is “deeply ingrained in his DNA.” He told Arab News: “It is a trait that has been passed down by our ancestors and is a legacy of tribal life in the desert.”




A Bedouin local sits on a rocky cliff in the ancient city of Petra in southern Jordan. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

Bedouins in Jordan maintain a strong connection to their nomadic origins, tribal affiliations, and ancestral lands, with cultural heritage remaining a source of pride. Hospitality is a key pillar of the Bedouin ethos, a trait believed to have been forged by the unforgiving desert terrain.

“A Bedouin would open his home even to a stranger because he knew that in the desert, he would one day also seek refuge,” Hashem, a 29-year-old local and tour guide from Wadi Rum, told Arab News.

“Hospitality was about security and solidarity. This was long before there was anything called ‘police’ or ‘government.’ Our people looked out for each other,” he added.

For centuries, the desert’s Bedouin inhabitants maintained their traditional agricultural and pastoral way of life before Jordan experienced a surge of global tourism in the 1980s. As places like Petra and Wadi Rum — famed for their archaeological and natural marvels — transformed into popular travel destinations, traditional values of hospitality seamlessly merged with the growing need to cater to visitors.




Young Bedouins in Petra offering tourists a ride on their camels. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

Leveraging their intimate knowledge of the desert and inherently friendly nature, locals excel as tour operators, desert guides, camel handlers, and souvenir merchants, all while offering visitors an authentic Bedouin experience.

But navigating through Jordan’s $3 billion tourism industry has presented the local communities with the challenge of preserving their cultural heritage in a rapidly commercialized world.

Hashem underscores the centrality of hospitality in Bedouin culture, explaining that, in keeping with an age-old Arab custom, a host would refrain from asking his guest about his identity or reasons for his journey for the first three days.

Bedouin hospitality is exercised through the symbolic ritual of serving coffee. The offering of three distinct servings — al-dayf (for the guest), al-kayf (for pleasure), and al-sayf (for the sword) — solidifies the bond between host and guest, binding them in shared respect and defense.

Today’s visitor to a Bedouin’s doorstep is typically not stranded or in need. Instead, many have abandoned the hotel chains to experience a way of life that cherishes a connection with nature and is unburdened by the trappings of urbanism.

“A lot of foreigners tell me they prefer Bedouin life. The city is short-sighted. Here your eyes will relax because you see all this open space. You don’t look at the time. This is freedom of the desert,” Awad, a 21-year-old cameleer from Wadi Rum, said.

With hospitality as a marketable asset, the symbolic pact formed through coffee is being replaced with contractually binding sales for goods. This commodification of hospitality has stirred debate among local communities, given its stark contrast to the traditional values that reject transactional interactions.




Imad and Faisal sit down with Arab News to share their experiences with hosting tourists in their Petra cave-dwellings listed on Airbnb. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

“Some locals view hosting tourists for money as shameful and dirty work. It’s definitely something you have to get used to,” Faisal, who also listed his Petra cave-dwelling on Airbnb, told Arab News.

Another local, Mahmoud, said: “I’m against making hospitality a business; it makes me sad. These people exploit the name ‘Bedouin’ to make money.”

However, many others perceive it as a necessity in a changing world.

Tourism plays a vital role in Jordan’s economy as one of the top two sources of federal revenue. In desert regions like Wadi Rum and Petra, locals heavily rely on visitors for income.

“All the job opportunities in our region are predominantly in tourism. We don’t have industrial or financial industries, but Allah has blessed us with a beautiful area like this. So you have to excel in the field you’re given,” Hashem said.

While economic opportunities are reshaping certain practices, many, like Faisal, tread cautiously. For example, he draws the line at charging guests for meals, saying: “I would consider it very shameful if I made people pay for their food. Our hospitality comes from the heart.”




Fadi, a Bedouin from Wadi Rum, opens his tent to tourists where he offers complimentary tea and an array of souvenirs for sale. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

Fadi, who runs a bazaar in Wadi Rum, illustrates how to strike a balance between tradition and trade. He offers a warm drink to every visitor who enters his tent, regardless of whether they purchase any souvenirs.

“We leave these jars on the table for whoever would like to give a tip, but we never ask,” the 31-year-old explained.

Fadi says that locals, for the most part, are happy with the increased income and improved standard of living that tourism has brought to his tribe’s area. He also highlighted that the industry provides a platform to showcase their heritage to the world, with tourists embracing customs becoming a source of pride.

“We are here in Wadi Rum in the name of Jordan and the kingdom to serve everyone. If I am the face of tourism, I see this as an honorable thing,” he added.




Fadi's friends stop by his tent for a with a tourist they are hosting for the week in Wadi Rum. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

For many like Hashem, working in the tourism industry has also allowed them to feel connected to contemporary Jordanian society and a wider global network.

“I’ve made friends from all around the world. Any country I want to visit, I know someone who would welcome me into their home as I did with them,” the 29-year-old said.

However, amidst this global convergence, he voiced concerns about fading traditions. Hashem misses the times when daily gatherings and conversations around a fire were the norm.

“Today, a man might not know his neighbor. Everyone is busy working,” he said.

“Back in the day, the Bedouin didn’t care about money. He had his goats, and that was all he needed. But now, he has to think about how to keep up with modern-day life and how to pay for his children’s school and university tuition.

“Now when you call on someone and tell them you’re coming over, he’ll tell you he’s busy or ask you if you want something. It’s no longer out of love.

“Then I wish I never called to begin with because now he thinks I want something from him. I want nothing other than his good health and well-being.”

The southern Jordanian economy is challenged, with comparatively less services when compared to the capital, which houses more than 35 percent of the country’s population.

Therefore, tourism is not only a revolutionary factor but also one of the last surviving economic lifelines — a volatile one, regularly influenced by the turbulent political developments in the region.


Israeli military hits Hamas member in southern Syria

Updated 9 sec ago
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Israeli military hits Hamas member in southern Syria

  • Israel and Syria have recently engaged in direct talks to calm tensions
CAIRO: The Israeli military said on Sunday that it struck a member of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Syria’s Mazraat Beit Jin, days after Israel carried out its first airstrikes in the country in nearly a month.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the strike.
Israel said on Tuesday it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles toward Israel for the first time under the country’s new leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa accountable.
Damascus in response said reports of the shelling were unverified, reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party.
A little known group named “Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades,” an apparent reference to Hamas’ military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024, reportedly claimed responsibility for the shelling. Reuters, however, could not independently verify the claim.
Israel and Syria have recently engaged in direct talks to calm tensions, marking a significant development in ties between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decade.

Why were so many Thai farmers among the hostages held by Hamas?

Updated 08 June 2025
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Why were so many Thai farmers among the hostages held by Hamas?

  • Before the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, Israel had 30,000 Thai laborers, primarily working on farms
  • 31 Thais were taken hostages. Thailand’s foreign ministry has said 46 Thais have been killed during the war

BANGKOK: Israel says it has retrieved the body of a 35-year-old Thai hostage who was abducted into Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.

Nattapong Pinta was among 31 Thais taken by the Hamas militant group. Thailand’s foreign ministry in a statement Saturday confirmed that Pinta, the last Thai hostage in Gaza, was confirmed dead. It said the bodies of two others have yet to be retrieved.

The ministry has said 46 Thais have been killed during the war. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas. They were among tens of thousands of Thai workers in Israel. Here’s a look at what they were doing.

Why are there so many Thais in Israel?

Israel once relied heavily on Palestinian workers, but it started bringing in large numbers of migrant workers after the 1987-93 Palestinian revolt, known as the first Intifada.

Most came from Thailand, and Thais remain the largest group of foreign agricultural laborers in Israel today, earning considerably more than they can at home.

Thailand and Israel implemented a bilateral agreement a decade ago to ease the way for workers in the agriculture sector.

Israel has come under criticism for the conditions under which the Thai farm laborers work. A Human Rights Watch report in 2015 said they often were housed in makeshift and inadequate accommodation and “were paid salaries significantly below the legal minimum wage, forced to work long hours in excess of the legal maximum, subjected to unsafe working conditions and denied their right to change employers.”

A watchdog group found more recently that most were still paid below the legal minimum wage.

How many Thai nationals work in Israel?

There were about 30,000 Thai workers, primarily working on farms, in Israel prior to the attack by Hamas.

In the wake of the attack, some 7,000 returned home, primarily on government evacuation flights, but higher wages than those available at home have continued to attract new arrivals.

The Thai ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya, recently said there are now more than 38,000 Thai workers in the country.

What happened after some left?

Faced with a labor shortage in the wake of the exodus, Israel’s Agriculture Ministry announced incentives to try to attract foreign workers back to evacuated areas.

Among other things, it offered to extend work visas and to pay bonuses of about $500 a month.

Thailand’s Labor Ministry granted 3,966 Thai workers permission to work in Israel in 2024, keeping Israel in the top four destinations for Thais working abroad last year.

Thai migrant workers generally come from poorer regions of the country, especially the northeast, and even before the bonuses, the jobs in Israel paid many times what they could make at home.


Israel backs an anti-Hamas armed group known for looting aid in Gaza. Here’s what we know

Updated 08 June 2025
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Israel backs an anti-Hamas armed group known for looting aid in Gaza. Here’s what we know

IJERUSALEM: Israel is supporting armed groups of Palestinians in Gaza in what it says is a move to counter Hamas. But officials from the UN and aid organizations say the military is allowing them to loot food and other supplies from their trucks.
One self-styled militia, which calls itself the Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, says it is guarding newly created, Israeli-backed food distribution centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting UN trucks.
Gaza’s armed groups have ties to powerful clans or extended families and often operate as criminal gangs. Aid workers allege Israel’s backing of the groups is part of a wider effort to control all aid operations in the strip.
Israel denies allowing looters to operate in areas it controls.
Here’s what we know about anti-Hamas armed groups in Gaza:
Who are these groups?
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a social media video Thursday that Israel had “activated” clans in Gaza to oppose Hamas.
He didn’t elaborate how Israel is supporting them or what role Israel wants them to play. Netanyahu’s comments were in response to a political opponent accusing him of arming “crime families” in Gaza.
Clans, tribes and extended families have strong influence in Gaza, where their leaders often help mediate disputes. Some have long been armed to protect their group’s interests, and some have morphed into gangs involved in smuggling drugs or running protection rackets.
After seizing power in 2007, Hamas clamped down on Gaza’s gangs — sometimes with brute force and sometimes by steering perks their way.
But with Hamas’ weakening power after 20 months of war with Israel, gangs have regained freedom to act. The leadership of a number of clans — including the clan from which the Abu Shabab group’s members hail — have issued statements denouncing looting and cooperation with Israel.
 

Israeli security forces detain a man during an attempt by right-wing protesters to block aid trucks from entering Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing on May 21, 2025. (AFP/File)

A self-proclaimed ‘nationalist force’
Besides the Abu Shabab group, it is not known how many armed groups Israel is supporting.
The Abu Shabab group went public in early May, declaring itself a “nationalist force.” It said it was protecting aid, including around the food distribution hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a mainly American private contractor that Israel intends to replace the UN-led aid network. Aid workers and Palestinians who know the group estimate it has several hundred fighters.
The Abu Shabab group’s media office told The Associated Press it was collaborating with GHF “to ensure that the food and medicine reaches its beneficiaries.” It said it was not involved in distribution, but that its fighters secured the surroundings of distribution centers run by GHF inside military-controlled zones in the Rafah area.
A spokesperson with GHF said it had “no collaboration” with Abu Shabab.
“We do have local Palestinian workers we are very proud of, but none is armed, and they do not belong to Abu Shabab’s organization,” the spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group’s rules.
Before the war, Yasser Abu Shabab was involved in smuggling cigarettes and drugs from Egypt and Israel into Gaza through crossings and tunnels, according to two members of his extended family, one of whom was once part of his group. Hamas arrested Abu Shabab but freed him from prison along with most other inmates when the war began in October 2023, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Abu Shabab’s media office said he was summoned by police before the war but wasn’t officially accused or tried. It also said claims the group was involved in attacking aid trucks were “exaggerated,” saying its fighters “took the minimum amount of food and water necessary.”
Aid workers say it is notorious for looting
The head of the association in Gaza that provides trucks and drivers for aid groups said their members’ vehicles have been attacked many times by Abu Shabab’s fighters.
Nahed Sheheiber said the group has been active in Israeli-controlled eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, targeting trucks as they enter Gaza from the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel. Troops nearby “did nothing” to stop attacks, he said.
Sheheiber said that when Hamas policemen have tried to confront gangs or guard truck convoys, they were attacked by Israeli troops.
One driver, Issam Abu Awda, told the AP he was attacked by Abu Shabab fighters last July. The fighters stopped his truck, blindfolded and handcuffed him and his assistant, then loaded the supplies off the vehicle, he said. Abu Awda said nearby Israeli troops didn’t intervene.
These kinds of attacks are still happening and highlight “a disturbing pattern,” according to Jonathan Whittall, from the UN humanitarian coordinator, OCHA.
“Those who have blocked and violently ransacked aid trucks seem to have been protected” by Israeli forces, said Whittall, head of OCHA’s office for the occupied Palestinian territories. And, he added, they have now become the “protectors of the goods being distributed through Israel’s new militarized hubs,” referring to the GHF-run sites.
The Israeli military did not reply when asked for comment on allegations it has allowed armed groups to loot trucks. But the Israeli prime minister’s office called the accusations “fake news,” saying, “Israel didn’t allow looters to operate in Israeli controlled areas.”
Israel often accuses Hamas of stealing from trucks.
What does all this have to do with aid?
Muhammad Shehada, a political analyst from Gaza who is a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said he doesn’t believe Israel’s support for armed groups is aimed at directly fighting Hamas. So far there has been no attempt to deploy the groups against the militants.
Instead, he said, Israel is using the gangs and the looting to present GHF “as the only alternative to provide food to Palestinians,” since its supplies get in while the UN’s don’t.
Israel wants the GHF to replace the UN-led aid system because it claims Hamas has been siphoning off large amounts of supplies. The UN denies that significant amounts have been taken by Hamas. Israel has also said it aims to move all Palestinians in Gaza to a “sterile zone” in the south, around the food hubs, while it fights Hamas elsewhere.
The UN and aid groups have rejected that as using food as a tool for forced displacement. The Abu Shabab group has issued videos online urging Palestinians to move to tent camps in Rafah.
Israel barred all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for 2 ½ months , pending the start of GHF – a blockade that has brought the population to the brink of famine. GHF started distributing food boxes on May 26 at three hubs guarded by private contractors inside Israeli military zones.
Israel has let in some trucks of aid for the UN to distribute. But the UN says it has been able to get little of it into the hands of Palestinians because of Israeli military restrictions, including requiring its trucks to use roads where looters are known to operate.
“It’s Israel’s way of telling the UN, if you want to try to bring aid into Gaza, good luck with this,” said Shehada. “We will force you to go through a road where everything you brought will be looted.”
 


US-backed Gaza group suspends aid for a day over threats, Hamas vows to protect UN aid

Updated 08 June 2025
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US-backed Gaza group suspends aid for a day over threats, Hamas vows to protect UN aid

  • The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said later on Saturday that GHF operation has "utterly failed on all levels" and that Hamas was ready to help secure aid deliveries by a separate long-running U.N-led humanitarian operation

JERUSALEM/CAIRO: A controversial humanitarian organization backed by the United States and Israel did not distribute any food aid on Saturday, accusing Hamas of making threats that "made it impossible" to operate in the enclave, which the Palestinian militants denied.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which uses private U.S. security and logistics firms to operate, said it was adapting operations to overcome the unspecified threats. It later said in a Facebook post that two sites would reopen on Sunday.
A Hamas official told Reuters he had no knowledge of such "alleged threats."
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said later on Saturday that GHF operation has "utterly failed on all levels" and that Hamas was ready to help secure aid deliveries by a separate long-running U.N-led humanitarian operation. Hamas also called on all Palestinians to protect humanitarian convoys.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Hamas source says to deploy snipers to protect U.N. aid convoys

• US-backed aid group says to resume distribution on Sunday

• Nattapong Pinta among 251 abducted by Hamas in October 2023

• 55 Palestinians killed in latest Israeli airstrikes -Gaza medics

Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the U.N.-led operations, which the militants deny.
A Hamas source said the group's armed wing would deploy some snipers from Sunday near routes used by the U.N.-led aid operation to prevent armed gangs looting food shipments. The U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel allowed limited U.N.-led operations to resume on May 19 after an 11-week blockade in the enclave of 2.3 million people, where experts have warned a famine looms. The U.N. has described the aid allowed into Gaza as "drop in the ocean."
Israel and the U.S. are urging the U.N. to work through the GHF, but the U.N. has refused, questioning its neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement. The GHF began operations in Gaza on May 26 and said on Friday so far it has distributed nearly 9 million meals.
While the GHF has said there have been no incidents at its so-called secure distribution sites, Palestinians seeking aid have described disorder and access routes to the sites have been beset by chaos and deadly violence.
Dozens of Palestinians were killed near GHF sites between Sunday and Tuesday, Gaza health authorities said. Israel has said it is investigating the Monday and Tuesday incidents, but said it was not to blame for Sunday's violence.

HOSPITAL FUEL LOW
The GHF did not give out aid on Wednesday as it pressed Israel to boost civilian safety beyond its sites, then on Friday it paused some aid distribution "due to excessive crowding."
The Israeli military said on Saturday that 350 trucks of humanitarian aid belonging to the U.N. and other international relief groups were transferred this week via the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.
Israel makes the U.N. offload aid on the Palestinian side of the crossing, where it then has to be picked by the U.N. and aid groups in Gaza. The U.N. has accused Israel of regularly denying access requests and complained that its aid convoys have been looted by unidentified armed men and hungry civilians.
Israel has in recent weeks expanded its offensive across the Gaza Strip as U.S., Qatari and Egyptian-led efforts to secure another ceasefire have faltered. Medics in Gaza said 55 people were killed in Israeli strikes across the enclave on Saturday.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Saturday that Gaza's hospitals only had fuel for three more days and that Israel was denying access for international relief agencies to areas where fuel storages designated for hospitals are located.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli military or COGAT, the Israeli defence agency that coordinates humanitarian matters with the Palestinians.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had uncovered "an underground tunnel route, including a command and control center from which senior Hamas commanders" operated beneath the European Hospital compound in southern Gaza.
The war erupted after Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Israel's single deadliest day.
Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and flattened much of the coastal enclave.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday the Israeli military had retrieved the body of a Thai agricultural worker held in Gaza since the October 2023 attack. Nattapong Pinta's body was held by the Mujahedeen Brigades militant group, and recovered from Rafah in southern Gaza, Katz said.

 


Thousands protest in Tel Aviv for release of Gaza hostages

Updated 07 June 2025
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Thousands protest in Tel Aviv for release of Gaza hostages

  • The crowd gathered at the so-called Hostages Square chanting “The people choose the hostages!“
  • Earlier on Saturday, Hamas released a photograph of one of the remaining hostages, Matan Zangauker, appearing to be in poor health

TEL AVIV: Thousands of people demonstrated Saturday night in Tel Aviv to demand the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and a ceasefire after 20 months of war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

The crowd gathered at the so-called Hostages Square chanting “The people choose the hostages!” and demanding “a comprehensive deal” for their return, according to a statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamas released a photograph of one of the remaining hostages, Matan Zangauker, appearing to be in poor health, with a warning that he would not survive.

His mother, Einav Zangauker, speaking at the protest in Tel Aviv, said “I can no longer bear this nightmare. The angel of death, Netanyahu, continues to sacrifice the hostages,” AFPTV footage showed, referring to the Israeli prime minister.

Noam Katz, the daughter of hostage Lior Rudaeff, who has been declared dead but whose body is still in the Gaza Strip, called for an immediate halt to the fighting.

“Do not send more soldiers to risk their lives to bring back our fathers. Bring them back through an agreement. Stop the war!” she declared to the crowd at the square, the Families Forum said.

On Friday, the Israeli army announced the death of four soldiers in the Gaza Strip and said it lacked 10,000 troops to meet its needs in the Palestinian territory.

Negotiations aimed at ending the fighting, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States have remained unsuccessful so far.

Tal Kupershtein, father of Bar Kupershtein, who was abducted at the age of 21, demanded that his son “come home now!“

“I call on the prime minister to accept an agreement for the return of all the hostages.”

Of the 251 people abducted on October 7, 2023, 55 are still held in the Gaza Strip, at least 31 of whom are dead, according to Israeli authorities.