The Mountain People

The Mountain People (images)
South Sinai Governorate:Egypt:2010

The traditional way of life for the Jebeliya tribe is becoming extinct. They are nomadic Bedouins living and moving from place to place in the Sinai Desert. In recent years there has been a mass influx of tourists, and the attraction of profits in tourism has enveloped the area. There has also been an increasing of government control and checkpoints making it harder to move. Almost all of the Jebeliya tribe have ceased their traditional nomadic existence, opting instead to move into housing and sell goods and services to tourists who pass through in droves.
The Jebeliya Tribe are descendants of approximately 600 Roman soldiers sent to guard St Catherine’sMonastery on Mt Sinai. Over the years they married local women till eventually they converted to Islam.The Jebeliya however still have a strong relationship with the Christian Monastery. They are the onlyBedouin tribe allowed to work alongside the priests behind the monastery walls even though they are Islamic.