Responsible tourism in Jordan

Petra was constructed in the 3rd century BC and is believed to have been the capital city and trading hub of the Nabataean Kingdom. The Nabataeans were one of several Bedouin tribes that lived and wandered around the Arabian Desert and who settled in cave dwellings in this magnificent city, carved into the sandstone rocks and cliff faces of the slope of Jabal Al-Madbah.

In 1985, the Bedouin were resettled from their ancient home as part of the process to have it designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These Bedouin are known as Bidoul, Al B’doul or Petra Bedouin and they now live in six communities in the region, the largest being Wadi Musa. All are very dependent on tourism, however, and even though you may feel frustrated by the fact that many people are touting for business, do please remember that you are in a privileged position to be able to explore their heritage.

There are some Bedouin who feel they are now losing their way of life, their agricultural practices and their traditions in exchange for providing tourism ‘entertainment’. Some 150 Bedouin refused to move from the site at the time of the resettlements and more are moving back now that tourism has taken a serious dent. Bedouin culture and skills were thankfully also recognised by UNESCO, added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2005. This has led to multi generational workshops to facilitate the transfer of knowledge on subjects such as the poetry of Nabatean people – an ancient Bedouin tribe – and the intricacies of coffee ceremonies, helping ancient traditions survive.

You will also meet many Bedouin people while travelling in Wadi Rum, Jordan’s most famous desert region. Before tourism kicked off, their livelihoods revolved around goat herding. There are actually seven tribal groups here, the largest being the Zalabia tribe, most of whom live in Rum village and, working as a cooperative, are largely responsible for desert tours and camping activities. You may also meet members of the Zweideh tribe, based in the villages of Disi in the north of Wadi Rum, although they are still active farmers as they have more water resources on their side of the desert.

What you can do
Please don’t take photographs of Bedouin people without permission. Just ask – it’s the easiest thing to do.

Buy local products if you can and remember that these people aren’t simply guides who have been brought in to do a job. Have a look at this lovely film by Al Jazeera about the lives of Bedouin who are maintaining their cave lifestyles.

Do take time to camp out with the Bedouin and experience their world at sunset and sunrise, listen to their stories, share their unique coffee and food such as goats’ meat or milk, jameed which is similar to yoghurt, and abud, which is bread baked on a fire. Hospitality is at the core of Bedouin philosophy, something that emanates from their ancestral knowledge of how hard it is to survive in this terrain. So anyone who visits is to be well looked after.

Oh, and never put your coffee cup on the ground. It suggests you have something important to discuss with your host. Unless, of course, you do.

Working animals have long been part of life in Jordan, with the Bedouin, traditionally desert nomads, having used camels for transportation and milk for generations. With the growth of tourism, camels are now being used for desert adventures or carrying tourists around Petra. Donkeys are also used, although there is careful licensing in place, monitoring who can actually bring animals inside Petra for this purpose.

The US based animal welfare organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has raised awareness of cruelty towards both camels and donkeys at Petra, with some handlers beating them hard, giving them overly heavy loads to carry and leaving them undernourished or starved of water. You can see their video on the link above more details.

PETA successfully lobbied the Jordanian government to introduce electric motorised vehicles to transport tourists around Petra, replacing animals, but mules and donkeys must still make the arduous trek up the Monastery steps many times a day. Although we do not promote a ban of working animals in Petra, we do agree with PETA that current working conditions are unacceptable, and animal welfare regulations must be established and rigorously enforced in order to safeguard the wellbeing of animals.

This is the philosophy of SPANA, another animal welfare organisation on the ground. It has been in existence since 1989, specialises in protecting working animals, and treats almost 4,000 of them in Jordan each year. Such animals are seen as hardy, working ones, so SPANA works tirelessly to re-educate local people and, in particular, young people, as to how they can treat the animals with greater care. They run a veterinary clinic at Wadi Al Seer as well as clinics that travel out to remote communities. They also distribute nosebands and head collars to give extra creature comforts. Their education work is vital in changing the mindset so that in the future animals are not mistreated in this way.

Dr Ghazi Mustafa, SPANA’s Jordan director and vet, says: “Animals in Jordan suffer from a variety of different problems; mostly ill-treatment due to ignorance. Educating owners and the younger generation is the key to changing the future for animals in Jordan to ensure they are treated with kindness and well looked after.”

What you can do
If you see an animal being mistreated always say no to your guide, tell your tour operator and video or photograph it if possible. You can then share that information with SPANA. Please do also donate to SPANA which does incredible work at a local level.