Gardens of a Sacred Landscape: Bedouin Heritage and Natural History in the High Mountains of Sinai

by Samy Zalat, Francis Gilbert

This beautifully illustrated book describes the unique environment and the natural history of St. Katherine in Sinai from the perspective of its inhabitants—the Gabaliya Bedouin. The Gabaliya live in the high and rugged mountain massif of South Sinai, enclosed within the St. Katherine Protectorate in an area now declared as a World Heritage Site. St. Katherine is one of the world’s most important protected areas for its special historical, cultural, religious, and environmental heritage. It contains Egypt’s highest mountain—Mount Katherine—and one of the world’s most sacred: Mount Sinai. The Gabaliya have a unique history, and their intimate relationship with their harsh environment is equally unique. In the arid landscape within the great Ring Dyke they have created their own orchard agriculture, growing fruit and vegetables in irrigated walled gardens that seem to grow out of the rock on remote wadi floors or on the steep mountainsides themselves. This book introduces—from their own observations—the gardens and the unique culture and heritage of the Gabaliya, the vegetables and fruits they grow, and the mammals, birds, lizards, and insects associated with their gardens and environment in this remarkable landscape. The book is fully illustrated with photographs and watercolor paintings.

Francis Gilbert is associate professor of ecology at Nottingham University. Samy Zalat is professor of biodiversity at Suez Canal University. Together they authored A Walk in Sinai: St. Katherine to Al Galt Al Azraq.

194 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Bernadette · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, but I can't say "I liked it." While I learned some new information and am pleased about that, I found this book to be more frustrating than it was enlightening. It would definitely benefit from better editing.

The book is divided into four sections - The Setting, The Gardens, The Plants, and Wildlife.

I found some information in "The Setting" to be misleading or repetitive. For example, in a map of Bedouin tribes of south Sinai, the Tarabeen tribe is inexplicably absent. While I understand tribal boundaries may be difficult to delineate, the town of Nuweiba is actually split in two parts - Nuweiba Muzayna to the south and Nuweiba Tarabeen to the north so to label the map with Muzayna all the way north to Taba is a big oversight.

"The Gardens" left me with more questions and doubt. A clear enough distinction was not made (throughout the book) between the Gabaliya tribe and other Sinai Bedouin. Sometimes the authors were specific and said "The Gabaliya Bedouin" and other times "The Bedouin", which made me wonder who exactly was being referred to. I also question the authors' English transliteration of the Bedouin Arabic and their consistent use of /g/ instead of /j/ for the Arabic letter ج . Most Bedouin in Sinai pronounce that /j/ and I'm pretty sure the Jabaliya do too.

"The Plants" section was bizarrely heavy on ancient Egyptian history of plants, with some information given on Bedouin heritage. I did appreciate reading about the nutritional and medicinal uses of the plants by the Bedouin, but know these sections could have held more information.

Learning more about the birds in the protected area was a highlight of the "Wildlife" section!

The illustrations are beautiful!