| Married to a Bedouin |  | Author: Marguerite Van Geldermalsen
Publisher: Virago Press Ltd
Category: Book
Buy Used: $39.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 4305314
Media: Paperback
Pages: 288
ISBN: 1844082202
EAN: 9781844082209
ASIN: 1844082202
Publication Date: February 5, 2009 (In 168 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: British edition, Virago paperback. Cover clean and bright, no folds, creases or wear. Spine tilted. Pages unmarked, no tanning, no tears, highlighting, underlining, notes or dogears. B-28
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Honestly, I had higher expectations December 31, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've only heard rave reviews of this book and was strongly encouraged to read it since I would be spending an extended period in Jordan. I think my expectations were too great. I had hoped to learn more about Bedouin traditions and culture and how a Westerner became a part of the society. I'm not a scholar of the Middle East, Arab, or Bedouin historty/tradition, but there was little information that was new for me. I found the book to be poorly organized, lacking of structure, and repetitive. Except for a few "chapters" when the author truly opened up to the reader, I felt as if I were reading a list of items from a day planner. From the anecdotes, it's clear Ms. Van Geldermalsen (Umm Salwa wa Umm Raami) led a rich life and experienced much that most of us will never know. I simply wish she had a better editor.
 Wonderful July 29, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Having been to Jordan several times and hoping to go back (I am totally in love with the country) I picked up this book at the airport for an in-flight reading.
I thought it would be just another account of a western person whining about the ''wrongs'' of Muslim life but I was so pleasantly surprised that I couldn't put this book down.
Margaruite's story is a matter of fact account and no preaching. She writes it as she experienced it and offers us facts which we can then make into whatever we want. She offers no criticism of the lifestyle nor does she compare it to the western lifestyle as many of the similar accounts are written nowadays. She also isn't a ''hippie gone native'' as she says many people used to see her as.:)) She simply fell in love with a man and adapted to live her life in his culture. You will enjoy the funny details, and I especially liked her account of the trip back to New Zealand with her Bedouin Husband.
I admire her story, not just for the story itself but for the way it was written.
Although I have been to Petra several times, after having read this book I went again to experience it in a totally different way, not stopping to admire the ancient Nabataean city but the people who live there and around at the moment. And the experience was unforgettable. We do tend to forget observing the people when doing the ''touristy'' thing at the historical sites. And ashamed, I must admit that the first couple of times around I was annoyed by the ''Bedouins'' trying to get me to buy the ''ancient'' items - but this time around I had a wonderful experience enjoying their spirit.
I don't want to give away too much.
Read the book. You will not regret it!
Hope it will get you to plan your next holiday to Jordan!
A Petra pleasure March 16, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
If you want to understand Arab culture no better place than to start here. You get a two for one. Petra is one of the great places on the globe and the people there are very special. Marguerite writes a cogent and charming account of her life from New Zealand to Jordan and her family in Petra.
 Married to a Bedouin February 17, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Read this book right after touring Petra. It enhanced my feelings and memories if the place immensely. Well written. It gives a very good sense of what life was like in a Petra cave and being married to a very creative Bedouin man and his very large extended clan. Recommended highly, although I'm not sure how much I would have comprehended without having been there myself.
Marrying for Love and A Sense of Humor -- Not Material Things December 2, 2006
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This New Zealand-born woman with her Dutch ancestry talks about how she wasn't brave or didn't do anything extraordinary: she merely fell in love with a wonderful, decent, funny, charming and intelligent guy -- who happened to be Bedouin and live in a cave in Petra. I met them in the teahouse across from the amphitheater in the spring of 1989 when Salwa was a little girl and the boys were toddlers. Marg and Mo became our lifeline there and secured one of the new government houses in Umm Sehun for us to rent -- with a hot shower and all. We returned in the fall for three more months, learning so much from Marguerite: how to weave a tent from goat hair, to make margluba in one pot and attend a wedding. Each year for the next 10 years (until 2000), we remet and rekindled our friendship, having incredible fun with my own bint (daughter). Now, reading her book, I cherish each page, understanding even more about their special lives and what it means to be part of a Beduoin family.
It is a book that is so pertinent today in understanding another culture and how our American government is clueless about that part of the world and the vastly different outlook, superstitions, meanings, approach to everyday living that the local people have. Bravo Marguerite.
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