Baraka-Gardens: Mountain and Desert Garden Retreats

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About Baraka-Gardens

Sh. Musa M., Z. Matrahazi, Sh. Musa A.

Baraka-Gardens has been founded by the local sheikhs of the Jabaleya Bedouin tribe – Sheikh Mousa Awad Abu Mudarwash and Sheikh Mousa Mohamed Abu el Heim – and Zoltan Matrahazi, a freelancer based in the UK. He was involved in a number of local projects, including two EU funded initiatives, and still spends much of the year living with the Jabaleya. Operations are arranged through the Mountain Tours Office (Maktab Rahalat Gabaleya), a tourist company run by the sheikhs and registered with Egyptian authorities since 1987. The aim of the initiative is to bring work to garden owners and encourage people to further the upkeep of their gardens, while at the same time providing quiet retreats for those who want to experience the slow pace of life of the Bedouin and the silence and magic of the mountains and the desert. Whether you call it ecotourism, responsible or sustainable tourism, green travel or cultural holiday, these are concepts which are not alien to Bedouins, as they have always lived close to nature and are famous for their hospitality.

Community Leaders

Community and Business Leadership

Sheikh Mousa Abu Mudarwash and Sheikh Mousa Abu el Heim are respected leaders of the community, and they deal with traditional tribal issues while running a modern business. They maintain a rotating system of guides and cameleers to ensure the whole community benefits from hikes and treks, and now, through Baraka-Gardens, want to support the garden owners and sustain a traditional way of life, one that can adapt to new challenges ahead. Apart from bringing direct benefit to garden owners through visitors, Baraka-Gardens will help restore and improve gardens so more people can earn a living from what they know and love most: the mountains and the desert. The vision of the sheikhs is a network of small eco-lodges; gardens which are equipped to accommodate the needs of eco-tourism, retreats for people who want to get away from the pressures of modern life, organic farming as in the past, cultural exchange – a simple yet meaningful life.

Garden Owners

Gardens for generations to come

All the families in the tribe own gardens in the mountains, as all high-mountains Bedouins lived out there only one generation ago. They lived a simple but beautiful life and were self sufficient – they had enough surplus to exchange it for the few things they couldn’t produce themselves. In the last few decades, however, more and more people have abandoned their gardens, partially or sometimes all together. Still, there are many keen gardeners who look after their gardens with loving care and spend long times out in the mountains and desert – and they are looking forward to welcome you as their guest.

Camels and Community Participation

Working with camels, as in the past

Operating in the mountains needs a lot of energy, as food, firewood, equipment and sometimes water has to be carried up by camels. But this is actually a good thing as it provides jobs for more people. Most Bedouin tribes have a tribal rotating system – called el Dor – to ensure a just distribution of benefits. According to Jabaleya tribal laws cameleers and guides are provided from this rotating system, but to ensure you get the best services, on top we have our own trained and certified guides – your host –, who will make sure everything is up to the standard you expect.

Your Host-Guide:

Your Host-Guide will always be close enough to you in case you need anything, but will stay away at a comfortable distance when you need privacy. They will guide you if you want to go for a walk, they are good cooks and will provide you with nutritious and healthy cuisine, inform you about Bedouin life and culture, the environment and medicinal herbs, and make sure that you are spending a wonderful and relaxing holiday. They are officially registered as Bedouin Guides with relevant authorities, speak English well and have all recently undertaken a UK accredited course in Outdoor First Aid Incident Management.
National Database of Accredited Qualifications L/500/4376 [ www.reactfirst.co.uk]

Host: Sayid Musa el Hashash

Sayid Musa el Hashash
Sayid is a popular guide with vast experience all over Sinai, but prefers to work in his home country, the high mountains. He is a busy young man, as apart from looking after his family, he works a lot in his family garden in Wadi Zawatiin. His mother, Amriya, is the only woman who stays extended periods of time in the mountains, and you will probably meet her as well.

Host: Jebeli Salim Abu Sana

Jebeli Salim Abu Sana
Jebeli is a relaxed, easy going young man. He too used to work in every corner of the Sinai, but these days devotes his life to his family and prefers to stay at home in one of the quite settlements around St. Katherine. He also works as a muezzin at the local mosque.

The Gardens - El Freish: The Base Camp - Abu Tuweita - Wadi el Arbain - El Ehded I. - El Ehded II. - El Helwa Garden - Wadi Mathar - Wadi Shaq - Sid Daud - Wadi Zawatin I. - Wadi Zawatin II. - Wadi Zawatin III.

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