In the Footsteps of the Camel: A Portrait of the Bedouins of Eastern Saudi Arabia in Mid Century

In the Footsteps of the Camel: A Portrait of the Bedouins of Eastern Saudi Arabia in Mid Century by Nicholson, Eleanor. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780905743356.

In February 1950. Eleanor Nicholson resigned from her job in Hollywood and flew to join her husband, Russ, who worked for the Arabian American Oil Company ARAMCO in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. They determined to gain acquaintance at first hand with the ancient traditions of Arabia. Soon after the birth of their daughters, they began to venture out from the safety of the expatriate communitys transplanted America to encounter the rigours and dangers of the true desert. In those days the desert was the exclusive realm of the Bedouin.This book is the unique story of an American familys encounter with the Bedouin tribes of the Eastern Province, who gradually warmed to their approach and offered friendship and hospitality in return. It is an extraordinary description of an encounter between two cultures at a moment of history that has no parallel.The many fascinating photographs taken by Eleanor Nicholson were spontaneously permitted by their subjects because she was a woman and constitute a remarkable historical record of the seminal days of modern Saudi Arabia and a way of life that has all but vanished.