ACROSS THE DESERT WITH SHE-IB 71 



December 13 we rose at 7.30 under the impression 

 that She-ib's caravan would take advantage of the cool 

 morning to travel, but three hours later we were still 

 drinking tea inside the comfortable semicircle of the 

 merchant's zariba. Beduin hospitality is always generous, 

 but these people overwhelmed us with kindness. That 

 morning they sent us a basket of nuts, followed by glasses 

 of bitter tea. Hassanein went across to their encamp- 

 ment to thank them and they insisted on his staying. 

 I joined them later, and the best red blanket was spread 

 for me beside She-ib. It is an erroneous impression in 

 Europe that the veiled women of the East are ill-treated 

 and over-worked. The Koran devotes half the third sura 

 to man's behaviour towards women. Ask the Syrian 

 woman if she would lose her veil, and she will reply, 

 "Not till the men are better educated," but the Beduin 

 woman only hides her face before strange men. With 

 her o\Mi tribe she mingles freely, and the work is evenly 

 shared. Often with the caravan I tried to hold a tent 

 pole or knock in a peg and I was promptly told, "This 

 is man's work. Do not tire yourself, Sitt Khadija." 

 Many times when old She-ib saw me resting at midday 

 he would say, "The Sitt Khadija is weary. Let us wait 

 a little longer." On the other hand, the Moslem woman 

 is expected to do all the work within the tent. She 

 should cook her menfolk's meal and wash the dishes 

 afterwards. Luckily, by this time our food was so reduced 

 that I lost no prestige by my inability to cook more than 

 damper bread, heavy and unleavened. 



Tea-drinking is a ceremony which may last anything 

 from one hour to three. If one wishes to travel fast it 

 can only be allowed at night, but the Mojabras had no 

 desire to hurry, so we lingered over the glasses while 

 their two servants and our blacks cooked relays of tea 

 on hot ashes. They fill half the tea-pot with sugar, 



