The life of a Bedouin
Their ancestors tamed the camel a long time ago, which made it much easier for them to survive in the desert. But the Bedouins cannot claim for themselves to be the true masters of the desert. Without the oases that allow them to live, they would not be able to survive their travels across dangerous dunes.
The solution for survival in the desert was adopted by the only people who live there - Bedouins. They owe their success to an extraordinary partnership - more than three thousand years ago, their ancestors tamed a one-humped camel. It is almost as well adapted to the desert as the Arabian oryx, because it can travel for fifty days without water.
For long journeys through the desert, the camels in the hump carry their own food supplies in the form of energy-rich fats. Although only a few Bedouins are true nomads, many still graze their camels in the desert. But to find enough food for their animals - they have to be on the move.
The best camel riders
Salif ben Hamad Alhibi grew up as a true desert nomad. He follows clues such as distant clouds, which could lead him and his tribesmen to fresh pastures. Salif wants his son Khazar to learn Bedouin skills, and the most important is riding a camel.
A father and son are heading to an annual festival where they will compete with the best camel riders in the country. The journey will take them through the harshest landscapes in the world, but travel is a part of their lives. Bedouins have roamed all over Arabia for thousands of years - from the great sand dunes of the south, to the rocky wilderness of the north.
Bedouin family
They have always been skilled hunters. For hundreds of years, they engraved messages for other travelers and instructions on how to find the best pastures or herds of wildlife. Thus the ancient Bedouin skills were passed on to a new generation.
Under the clear desert sky, the temperature drops enough for a campfire. Storytelling is an ancient Bedouin tradition. It is, after all, the country in which the collection of stories "A Thousand and One Nights" was created.
Draining of Arabia
In some parts of Arabia, the rocks tell an even more interesting story. Drawings made thousands of years ago show rich pastures full of animals. On them are lions and ostriches that no longer roam the Arabian soil.
At the end of the last ice age, ten thousand years ago, Arabia was green, but since then it has become drier. The drying up of Arabia also affected the disappearance of some civilizations.
Secrets of the ruins of the Nabatean kingdom
In Madain Salih in Saudi Arabia and Petra in Jordan are the remarkable ruins of the Nabataean Empire. Their civilization was built on a trade in precious matter extracted from a desert plant. The Nabataeans discovered that wood, when cut, gives a strong-smelling resin. When their empire was at its peak, it was more valuable than gold.
When ignited, the resin creates an intoxicating scent - the sweet aroma of incense. Its smoke is a strong antidepressant. Maybe that's why everyone, from ancient Egypt to early Christianity, was fascinated by ordinary resin. It has maintained its popularity throughout Arabia to this day.
Towards the endless sea of dunes
The Nabataean kingdom flourished thanks to the incense trade. However, as the desert became drier, the trade routes shifted, and the Empire began to decline.
The Bedouin strategy of constant movement became the only way to survive. The stone desert of northern Arabia is constantly dying of heat and winds.
This is how the sand that the wind brings to the south is created, creating an endless sea of dunes, known to the Arabs as Rub el Kali, and to Western explorers simply as Empty Space.
Because it is as big as France, it is also the largest sandy area in the world. Some dunes can be up to 150 kilometers long.