Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development
Vol. 6, Iss. 1 (2011), Pp. 91–112
Urban Nomads of Petra: An Alternative Interpretation
of the Bedoul Bedouin‟s Relationship with History and
Space
Layan Fuleihan
Department of Anthropology
Columbia University, New York, NY
lsf2114@columbia.edu
Abstract
Jordan‟s efforts to become a stronger state in the global community have
frequently conflicted with the Bedouin population‟s desire to continue its semi-
nomadic and pastoral tradition. The Bedoul, who claim ancestral heritage to the
ancient city of Petra, face a complex conflict with the urbanizing state. This paper
offers an alternative evaluation of the relationship between the state and semi-
nomadic communities by reexamining historical trends and the Bedoul Bedouin
condition through a multi-dimensional analytic, which is inspired by the concept of
the global city as defined by Saskia Sassen. By referring to this analytical lens as the
“global city aesthetic,” I intend to make use of the analytical method that allowed
for the global city to be defined, to make room for the reality of contradictions, and
finally, to be sensitive to the imagery and dynamics inspired by the concept of the
global city. Furthermore, I hope to demonstrate the ability of this alternative
approach to transcend the limitations of historiographical approaches that
emphasize divergent over synthetic trends, and thereby to reevaluate conflicts to
create space for reconciliation. This analytical method also transcends the temporal
hierarchy that overvalues the present and devalues the past by considering
historical realities in an assessment of contemporary conditions. Finally, an
application to the issue of desertification illustrates the analytic‟s versatility and
relevance to a variety of issues.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Elif Alp for her invaluable encouragement and support
and Chie Sakikabara PhD, for her edits, comments, and suggestions throughout the
writing process. Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to Prof. Saskia Sassen
for designing a curriculum that, with a combination of theoretical readings and
engaged discussions of applications, inspired this research.
Keywords: Bedouin, Petra, desertification, nomadism, Jordan.
.
92 Consilience
1. Introduction
Directly translated as “desert dweller,” the term “Bedouin” describes an
individual who practices pastoral nomadism in the semi-arid terrain of the Middle
East. Historically, the Bedouins comprised the majority of the region‟s population;
however, due to urbanization and development of the Jordanian state, an increase in
large-scale agricultural activity and changing cultural and economic norms, there are
currently very few communities that identify as semi-nomadic. Although
government attempts to impose sedentism have been much more respectful and
beneficent when compared to similar programs in other countries, especially Israel
(Berman-Kishony, 2008), the cultural and societal losses and the destructive potential
of this forced transition cannot be ignored.
The situation of the Bedoul Bedouins is much more complex than that of
other tribes. Claiming to be the descendents of the Nabataeans,1 they inhabited the
ruins and remains of the ancient Nabataean city of Petra until it was listed as a World
Heritage Site in 1985. To preserve the archeological site and because historical
inquiries have proved the Bedouin‟s ancestral claims to be false, Jordan, with the
help of UNESCO, forcibly resettled the Bedoul to the nearby village of Um Sayhun
(University of Arkansas, 2010; Ronay, 2002). Due to overpopulation, inadequate
resources, and a desire to reclaim cultural identity, the Bedoul have slowly started to
return to Petra in violation of governmental ordinances (Ma'ayeh, 2010).
The Bedoul understand themselves as “urban nomads:” as both nomadic
Bedouins and Petra-dwelling urbanites. Although this position is not problematic
for them, it seems paradoxical by definition. In reaction, one might dismiss their
romanticized cultural history and claims of ancestry as a result of historical
ignorance, yet the strength of Bedouin attachment to the space is so strong that the
danger of this solution poses an immediate and urgent threat of cultural destruction.
By reexamining the Bedoul Bedouin condition with a multi-dimensional
approach that is inspired by and based upon the concept of the global city, I hope to
challenge perspectives that characterize the relationship between the state and semi-
nomadic communities as mutually exclusive. Using the proposed analytical
framework, this paper explores alternative ways to understand this dichotomy in
order to resolve the contradiction inherent in the Bedoul Bedouin‟s claim to Petra. I
argue that much of the problem arises from a temporal hierarchy that overvalues the
present and devalues the past. The proposed analytical framework, known as the
“global city aesthetic,” seeks to revalue the past by reconsidering the effect of history
on contemporary realities. This revaluation will involve a redefinition of the
categories “sedentary” and “nomadic” by reconsidering their historical meanings as
well as a reconsideration of the Bedouin identity, taking into account Petra‟s urban
legacy. Firstly, I will clearly define the direct effect of temporal hierarchies on the
Bedoul and identify how this complicates or obscures their relationship to the state.
Then, I will define the global city aesthetic and its analytical utility and then apply the
analytical framework to redefine the historical perception of Petra and the categories
1
The Nabataeans (previously nomadic tribe) founded Petra about 2000 years ago. They
developed into a strong, sedentary empire known for their economic success in frankincense trade
and fine pottery. Petra was their main urban center.
Consilience Fuleihan: Urban Nomads
of sedentism and nomadism. Finally, I will return to the Bedoul with these historical
reevaluations to resolve the contradiction created by their position as “urban
nomads.” Finally, the appendix offers a more specific application of the global city
aesthetic to contemporary struggles with desertification in Jordan to show the
analytic‟s flexibility and relevance to multiple issues.
This test of the global city aesthetic as an analytical lens aims to not only
shed light on the Bedoul condition, but also to demonstrate the need to consider
abstract and multidimensional aspects of the conflicts created by globalization.
Especially in the field of sustainable development, this interdisciplinary outlook is
absolutely essential because it makes room for an approach that considers all
possible consequences of proposed policy, regardless of when or how these
consequences are felt. Furthermore, planning for the future requires us to give value
to time beyond the present. An analytical framework that equips us to transcend
temporal hierarchies can enable this reevaluation. This article, specifically concerning
the Bedoul, will define such an analytical framework through its application to the
current conditions of the relationship between the Bedoul, Petra, and the state of
Jordan. Such a demonstration hopes to not only provide an alternative perspective
of these relationships but to also define a new method of analysis that can be used in
other areas of sustainable development.
2. The Bedoul Bedouin: Refugees of History
The website of the late King Hussein observes that “Jordan is a land steeped
in history,” a characterization, which hints at the source of internal conflict Jordan
now faces. The desire to become a strong and urbanized economic contender in the
new globalization paradigm is countered by the nation‟s self-definition, which
depends upon its rich historical past. Continuing through the text on King Hussein‟s
website under the subtitle “Keys of a Nation,” one can see how strong and central
this historical national consciousness actually is:
It [Jordan] has been home to some of mankind's earliest settlements and
villages, and relics of many of the world's great civilizations can still be seen
today. As the crossroads of the Middle East, the lands of Jordan and
Palestine have served as a strategic nexus connecting Asia, Africa and
Europe. Thus, since the dawn of civilization, Jordan's geography has given it
an important role to play as a conduit for trade and communications,
connecting east and west, north and south. Jordan continues to play this role
today... (A Living Tribute to the Legacy of King Hussein I, 2010)
Effortlessly and seamlessly, ancient Jordan is thus linked to the contemporary
nation, maintaining a static and constant identity both internally and in relation to the
external world. The perspective offered by the official governmental website
demonstrates both a strong feeling of nostalgia for the past as well as historical
foundations for national pride.
Logically, one might expect that this very same reverence extends to the
Bedouin people, the remaining semi-nomadic pastoralists who, as it is generally
understood, are the last to maintain the traditional lifestyle of ancient Jordan. It is
94 Consilience
certainly true that they are celebrated. Petra is Jordan‟s most advertised and cherished
tourist site, and the Jordanian historical discourse includes the Bedouin as their
ancestors and founders even though this has been proven false. Visitors to Petra are
encouraged to not only enjoy the archeological aspects of the site, but to also get a
feel for the Bedouin way of life in surrounding areas. By participating in one of the
visits offered by Petra Nights Tours, a tourist can “spend some time in Wadi Rum,
Dana, Wadi Arava, where some of them [Bedouin] still live the traditional way… ride
a camel, hike with a Bedouin guide or spend a night camping with a Bedouin meal”
("Jordan Special Interest Tours," 2010).
In this way, the Bedouin are simultaneously admired and relegated to part of
the archeological exhibit. Like the ruins of Petra, they are historical remnants and
are not considered as participants in the modern world. Rather than considering the
Bedouin as part of the contemporary Jordanian population, the tourist industry
considers them a nostalgic demonstration of history.
The Bedouin make up a very small proportion of the contemporary
Jordanian population: according to the U.S. Department of State, 70% of the
Jordanian population is urban, and less than 6% remain nomadic. Despite the small
size of the nomadic population, however, Jordan‟s developmental goals seem to be
in urgent conflict with the Bedouin way of life. Nomadism is established as a
contradiction to urban development; historically, there have always been tensions
between the two lifestyles in which the sedentary state seeks to control the mobile
pastoralists (Shoup, 1984). Consequently, as Jordan has developed stronger urban
centers and more modern infrastructure, Bedouins have been marginalized (Burnett,
1999) (Bocco, 1994). Most obviously, as borders, highways, and conscious spatial
reordering occurred throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, these boundaries
obstructed traditional pastoral travel patterns and fragmented available land. This
also forced the Bedouins to give up rotating cereal cultivation in favor of fruit and
vegetable gardens: a combination of this land fragmentation and new ownership
policy as well as Jordan‟s development of mining economies are blamed for the
involuntary shift from semi-nomadic pastoralism to sedentary agriculture (Khairy,
1984).
Along with these indirect pressures, Jordan has implemented programs to
explicitly encourage sedentarization (Berman-Kishony, 2008). Such programs are
generally understood to be inspired by the perception of the traditional Bedouin as a
threat to the general appearance of Jordan‟s development. Generally, nomadic
pastoralism is perceived as incongruent with modern development (Walls, 1980);
however, it is also plausible that in the current political context characterizing the
Middle East, Jordan is especially averse to the image created by mobile communities
because of their similarities to refugee populations. Ostensibly, both are temporary,
transitional human settlements that have no designated place in the organization of
the nation and, as living evidence of policy failures and conflict, can affect the
nation‟s international relationships as well. (Zolberg, 2006). Therefore, it is highly
likely that Jordan‟s policy approach to the Bedouin is informed by such fear and
disapproval of the international communities towards the refugee.
Perhaps in response to this international attitude, or to make the transition to
sedentarism more appealing and thus reduce conflict, Jordan has also created
programs to bring the benefits of urbanity to Bedouin communities, providing
greater access to education, healthcare centers, and even computers (Trombly, 200).
Consilience Fuleihan: Urban Nomads
As a result, Bedouins have become increasingly reliant on the state for their health
and well-being. According to typical discourse and conversation concerning
distributive justice, Jordan‟s imposed urban resources are generally understood as
necessary to ensure that development does not marginalize sections of the
population, for with greater development comes greater responsibility to ensure that
all have access to basic needs (Walls, 1980).
This method of imposing change has allowed the government to characterize
the transition from a nomadic to a sedentary lifestyle as a responsible and beneficial
change, even one that is welcomed by the Bedouins themselves (Madeley, 1986).
Misrepresenting Bedouin attitudes, Jordan describes forced sedentarization as a
positive and welcomed policy. To enhance this positive portrayal, Jordan also seeks
to establish the traditional Bedouin lifestyle as backwards and therefore,
incompatible with modern society. Logically, an outdated mode of living should be
abandoned in order to achieve a higher quality of life.
Similarly, the website of the Jordanian Embassy, which is directed at an
American audience with western developmental ideals, characterizes these changes as
beneficial and well-received:
“The Bedoul Bedouin today are in transition from a pastoral existence where
most of them lived in the rooms they call „caves‟ carved by the Nabataeans
two thousand years ago,” Ronay stated. They farmed in very small plots of
land and herded their livestock.. Today, she adds, these Bedouins are
“adjusting to „modern‟ life which now includes running water, electricity,
mass media and cell phones as well as a greatly expanded diet and better
health care in their village of Um Sayhun initially built by the Jordanian
government for this tribe. (Embassy of Jordan (Washington, D.C.))
From this description, sedentarization is defined as a form of aid and as a beneficial
change for the community.
Unfortunately, these benefits also have consequences. While increased
education and health care is of course beneficial to any community, such
introductions to the Bedouin are accompanied by decreased access to traditional
sources of food, namely milk and meat, which depend on a pastoral nomadic
lifestyle. This decreased access has been shown to be harmful to the health of
Bedouin children. In his study of the nutrition and health of Bedouin preschool
children, Ibrahim M.D. Khatib and Ibrahim Elmadfa concluded that the lack of
access to milk and meat has forced urbanized Bedouin to rely on powdered milk,
creating lactose-intolerance and calcium deficiency in the population‟s youth.
Furthermore, he found that urbanization indirectly requires Bedouin to spend money
on other household goods besides food, such as appliances, toys, and entertainment
products, if they intend to participate in sedentary lifestyle and culture. These
expenditures limit their ability to afford the fresh produce from which urban
communities benefit. Consequently, the sedentary Bedouin communities
increasingly experience health problems arising from malnutrition and vitamin
deficiency. Khatib and Elmadfa predict that this situation will only worsen with
further urbanization. As illness and poor health deteriorates, Bedouins increasingly
rely on urban institutions to provide access to healthcare, yet with this increased
participation in sedentary consumptive practice, health and well-being continues to
decline. Although increased healthcare seems beneficial, the resulting sedentarization
is actually quite destructive.
96 Consilience
In effect, the tourism industry and governmental initiatives have defined the
remaining Bedouin population as a community that refuses to participate in modern
society. In the eyes of the state, the Bedouin not only reject Jordan‟s national goals,
but also refuse the positive changes globalization and urbanization can bring by
asserting their nomadic lifestyle. They seem to be completely outside the
mainstream Jordanian social and national consciousness because they do not share
the same desires or values. Essentially, they are leftovers of a past historical era.
Combining both the negative connotations of a mobile lifestyle and the
attitudes and approaches of the sedentary nation towards such communities, I
characterize the condition of the Bedouin as “refugees of history.” The space in
which the Bedouin traditionally practiced pastoral nomadic lifestyles is no longer
available, leaving the community stranded and estranged much like current refugees
of conflicts and nations. Yet, this space is located historically rather than
geographically; therefore, attempts to resolve this conflict must necessarily be of an
unorthodox nature. Regarding the condition of the Bedoul, I offer the “global city
aesthetic” as an alternative way of understanding Petra as both a historical and
contemporary presence in hopes of overcoming the obstacle created by relegating an
entire community to a past era. Using this analytical framework that reconsiders the
importance of historical trends in contemporary perspectives, the Bedoul‟s claims to
Petra can be seen as legitimate and worthy of consideration.
3. The Global City Aesthetic
The “global city aesthetic” is based on Saskia Sassen‟s definition of the global
city. Noting some of the limitations of traditional approaches to understanding
globalization, Sassen characterized global cities as “command points in the
organization of the world economy, key locations and marketplaces for the leading
industries of the current period, and major sites of production including the
production of innovations for these industries.” (Sassen 2006, p. 9). These cities are
also characterized as “nodes” in emerging global networks and are therefore,
constantly in contact with other global cities and influenced by other geographic
areas. This new definition is intended to consider what was neglected in the
traditional discourse surrounding globalization: that the territorialization of capital
and spatial attachment of services as information technologies make physical
distance irrelevant and location arbitrary. A focus on the imagery of networks and
nodes resolves this contradiction by taking a multi-scalar and multidisciplinary
approach. The global city includes “multiple dimensions” (Sassen 2006, p. 11) in its
analysis of globalization and consequently produces alternative solutions to the most
pressing issues of the contemporary world that are intensified by globalization, such
as environmental destruction, growing wealth disparity, and violent conflict.
This analytical method that looks for links, networks, and the coexistence of
contradicting trends is essentially what the “global city aesthetic” is intended to
invoke. The image of the global city as dynamic, connected, constantly oscillating,
producing and receiving, and most importantly, illuminating the simultaneous
processes of spatial attachment and detachment is quite singular and unique. It thus
provides a framework for an analysis that can consider both specific and general
processes and trends without the hindrance of contradiction. If this image and
Consilience Fuleihan: Urban Nomads
pattern-based approach is applied in other situations, perhaps a similar result will
occur.
An analysis of the urban metropolis of Petra that includes both its historical
and contemporary presence, focuses on its connectivity with other centers and other
populations, and includes seemingly unrelated pastoral and agricultural transitions
makes use of this global city aesthetic. Furthermore, since this alternative historical
analysis intends to shed light on contemporary issues that are partially derived from
Jordan‟s emergence as a more powerful state in a globalizing world, the global city
aesthetic is relevant in that it connects Jordan‟s developmental trajectory to ongoing
global processes. Through its application to Petra, the obstacle created by temporal
hierarchies can be overcome, allowing the Bedouin lifestyle a space within the image
of a modern and global community without classification as a backwards, nostalgic
tradition. However, in order to apply the global city aesthetic to Petra, Petra must
first be established as a global city in its own right.
3.1 Petra: A Global City
Due to its historical urban strength and its consistency with Sassen‟s
definition, Petra can be considered a global city in its own context. Inhabited by the
Nabataeans until about 300 AD, Petra was a major site of both frankincense and
pottery production (Richard, 2003, p. 437). Strategically located on one of the major
paths of the over-land frankincense trade route that connected the Arabian Peninsula
with Damascus and eventually, with markets in Europe and North Africa (Smith,
2005), Petra‟s economic success was rapid. Combined with the agricultural and
infrastructural innovations of the Nabataeans, Petra soon became a flourishing
metropolis characterized by wealth and cultural fusion. (Politis, 2007). It experienced
its peak in economic activity, wealth, and trade interactions under the reign of Aretas
IV in the century after 100 AD. At that point in time, the Nabataeans had trade
connections with the Greek empire and possibly even India.2 With this position, the
Nabataeans also regulated economic activity in the surrounding regions and had
significant influence over a large geographic area in the realm of cultural
development and intellectual exchange (Politis, 2007, p. 339). Like Sassen‟s global
city, Petra had far reaching international influences as well as accessed and sustained
multiple networks.
Most archeological and historical discourses, focusing on these very
impressive characteristics, depict Petra as uniquely urban and as an anomaly in its
surrounding environment with scattered, nomadic tribes (Falconner, 1995). Yet this
portrayal of the ultimate “bustling metropolis” might be inaccurate. Much of our
understanding of daily life in Petra comes from secondary accounts that were
primarily concerned with the novelty of urbanization and economic production,
which possibly colored the depiction of the city to express this preoccupation
(Falconner, 1995). More importantly, the general archeological approach tends to
focus on the household as the main unit of societal structure. The consequence of
2
This high economic activity as well the existence of far-reaching international connections is
proven by both historical texts and the discovery of large amounts of coins from impressively
varied origins that date from that period.
98 Consilience
this focus is an emphasis on urban development and a de-emphasis on rural or
alternative lifestyles (Falconner, 1995).
Studies that attempt to overcome these preoccupations show that Petra was, in
fact, much more complex than simply a cosmopolitan and urban center with far-
reaching trade connections. Besides the fact that the Nabataeans had a nomadic
heritage, and according to recent studies, never truly lost some of the consciousness
of mobility that accompanies such a lifestyle (Levy, 1999), it is also true that much of
Petra‟s organization and structure relied on scattered rural settlements, smaller
villages, and nomadic and semi-nomadic communities (Politis, 2007).
To understand the mutual dependency between Petra and pastoral communities,
it is necessary to reexamine the historical definitions of sedentarism and nomadism.
Using the global city aesthetic as the mode of analysis, the next section will
emphasize interdependence rather than opposition, thereby escaping the conflict
created by these binary terms. After this redefinition, the Bedoul condition can be
revaluated and reconsidered in a way that allows solutions to arise from the
contradiction of their claims to Petra.
3.2 Sedentism and Nomadism in History
It is generally assumed that urbanization is a phenomenon that results from
an agricultural surplus (Falconner, 2007; Berelov, 2006). As surplus accumulates and
wealth grows, a movement from rural lifestyles to the urban center increases, which
also increases the diversification of skills and enhances the power of the center itself.
Furthermore, higher population density requires more complex land ownership plans
and politicized social organization. As the diversity of economic output increases, it
attracts further migration, speeding up and intensifying the urbanization process. In
the specific case of Jordan, a study of general trends shows that an intensification of
cereal production is accompanied by greater investment in irrigation, greater need for
farming and domesticated animals, and consequently, the build up of permanent
settlements around a spring or a well to maintain this high level of production.
Likewise, abatement in agricultural activity traditionally suggests a decline in
urbanization (Khairy, 1984).
However, there are some contradictions inherent in this simple model that
complicate our understanding of the relationship between the urban and the rural,
especially when considering the nature of commerce in the Middle East. First of all,
the more mobile pastoral lifestyle allows for a greater flexibility of travel and
consequently, a greater mobility of goods and commerce. Furthermore, mobile
pastoralism created and sustained international networks that are usually associated
with the urban sites (Smith, 2005; Richard, 2003). Since the commerce that allowed
urban centers to develop depended on the strength of nomadic communities, this
challenges the assumed correlation between sedentarization and increased
commerce. Also, Jordanian agriculturalism was not necessarily a sedentary activity
and therefore did not necessarily lead to permanent settlements; in fact, such a
development might have harmed agricultural output. The dryland climate forced
crop rotation and the constant movement to new lands; this was complemented by
the grazing and herding tradition, creating a mobile agricultural economy. The
Consilience Fuleihan: Urban Nomads
assumed evolutionary relationship between agriculture and urban settlements, then,
does not apply in this case (LaBianca, 2006).
The result is an unclear relationship between agricultural and urban activities
and the image of a multi-leveled sedentarism that incorporates both urban and
nomadic communities: “Because sedentarism may occur on many levels of intensity
which can include seasonal occupations of different durations, the material culture
repertoire of sites may often conflate attributes normally associated with sedentary
groups, with those normally associated with migratory groups.” (Berelov, 2006, p.
137). This complex relationship and its ambiguous archeological remains defy the
characterization of urbanization that focuses on agricultural development and
necessitates the consideration of other possible forces to explain the transition and
relationship between the two livelihoods. Just as the contradiction of simultaneous
spatial attachment and increased mobility of capital was resolved to define the global
city, perhaps the contradiction of simultaneous nomadism and sedentarism can be
explained through a similarly multidisciplinary approach.
Ølystein S. LaBianca, in his paper "Tells, Empires, and Civilizations:
Investigating Historical Landscapes in the Ancient Near East," shows how the
constant oscillation between sedentarism and pastoralism can be derived from both
internal and external cultural and political conditions. Internal conditions, he claims,
are “little traditions,” or rather “innovations by local populations that enhance their
survival.” Specifically, these are historically informed abilities and approaches of a
community such as local-level water management, mixed agropastoralism, fluid
homeland territories, residential flexibility (knowledge of different forms of shelter),
hospitality, honor and shame. External conditions are also historically informed and
include the pressure and influence from empires and civilizations that introduce
“normative principles and behaviors propagated by literate elites that reach specific
localities.” In the case of Jordan, this seems to be a highly likely cause, given the
frequency and diversity of foreign contact and invasion.
Considering these political and cultural conditions also has implications for
the way archeological evidence is interpreted. The shift between abatement and
intensification is so frequent that it further supports the idea that conditions of
sedentarism and nomadism were not totalized or mutually exclusive; there must have
been overlaps in the transition. This assumes a general coexistence between pastoral
and urban lifestyles, challenging the conceived idea that they are opposite reactions
to opposite economic conditions. In Jordan, this is supported by archaeological
evidence that shows a close material relationship between sedentary centers and
nomadic outposts, as well as a highly interrelated spatiality between the two types of
archeological remains that previously confused or obscured the understanding of the
development of civilization in the region (Politis, 2007). The relationship between
the two, therefore, must have been mutually beneficial, especially since agricultural
production as well as commercial trade required mobility while material production
required immobility.
In this way, regarding sedentarism and nomadism through a multidisciplinary
lens makes the relationships between seemingly opposite ways of life legible.
Furthermore, sedentarism and nomadism are not, in this context, in opposition; in
reality they work together in the same system. Therefore, rather than its typical
characterization as an exception or as an impressively urban center in a non-urban
100 Consilience
environment, Petra is better understood as a node within a system that incorporates
urban and non-urban experiences across space and time..
If the cycle between sedentary and nomadic lifestyles is redefined as multi-
layered with many overlaps, the Jordanian government can be considered as an
“external condition” that is imposing new behavioral expectations on the Bedouin.
One might accept that this is simply a part of this cycle, citing the many historical
transitions between nomadism and sedentarism. Adaptation to a new age should be
expected of all peoples; perhaps the irrelevance of nomadism should be accepted
rather than contested. However, the effect of governmental pressure, as already
demonstrated, is more permanent and destructive than what LaBianca described in
his study. This is not a situation in which changing political climates create an
environment in which nomadic communities voluntarily settle, indirectly suppressing
mobility. Rather, it is a situation in which the political power directly imposes
sedentarization, destroying nomadism entirely and effectively ending the cycle.
These direct efforts of the state obviously derive from the conceived idea
that sedentarism and nomadism are in opposition, which was challenged in the
previous section. Despite the historical legacy of a mutually-beneficial relationship
between nomadism and sedentarism, a new self-awareness of the nation‟s
developmental status and efforts to direct development along a certain path
characterize the governmental attitude towards internal affairs. Consequently, the
unique relationship between mobile and sedentary communities present throughout
Jordanian history is replaced by the developmental standards of the rest of the
international community where nomadism is rare if not entirely absent. Therefore,
attempts to destroy the cycle between nomadism and sedentarism are due in part to a
change in the way the nation evaluates itself as well as an increasing internalization of
the expectations of the rest of the world.
Although increased international awareness is an inevitable result of
globalization that cannot and should not be limited as the global community
attempts to improve the quality of life of all communities, there is no need to reject
the unique internal developmental patterns that have worked consistently for more
than a thousand years. Just as the Bedoul are experiencing a loss of cultural
identification and feel that their traditional self-awareness is threatened, perhaps
Jordan, on a national scale, is experiencing the same trauma subconsciously. It is
even more urgent, therefore, to find a way to resolve the contradiction between the
contemporary and traditional standards of development.
This can be achieved by integrating the two new reinterpretations made
possible by the analytical framework of the global city aesthetic: Petra as a global city,
and sedentarism and nomadism as mutually beneficial and dependent lifestyles.
Their combination will hopefully allow a new understanding of the issue that creates
a space within Jordan‟s conception of development for the Bedoul Bedouin to
maintain the integrity of their cultural identity.
4. The Bedoul as Urban Nomads
If one accepts that, due to the interdependence of sedentarism and
nomadism, the Bedouin lifestyle is informed by the myth of Petra as a global city, it
can be shown that, perhaps, the Bedouin existence and a developed Jordanian state
Consilience Fuleihan: Urban Nomads
are not incompatible. To demonstrate this effect, a comparison between the
historical inhabitants of Petra, the Nabataeans, and the Bedoul of the present is
necessary. Establishing that there is a relationship between the two groups even
though it might not be biological can help us better understand the importance of
Petra to Bedoul cultural identity.
Some similarities between the two groups are quite obvious: both the
Nabataeans and the Bedoul arrived at Petra from nomadic backgrounds, so it is
possible that the reaction towards the area was similar. Although the Nabataeans
founded the city while the Bedouins did no building of their own, both used the site
for shelter in similar ways: living in a combination of caves and tents around the
region (Shoup, 1985). The Bedoul also experienced a similar change in lifestyle,
transitioning from an agricultural and pastoral subsistence to a commercial
engagement with the tourist trade, drawn by the potential for almost a doubling of
daily income (Shoup, 1985). This could, perhaps, explain the spatial attachment to
Petra, and it could even imply economic motives for claiming ancestral heritage.
However, applying the alternative understanding of the transition between
sedentarism and nomadism as described earlier, it becomes clear that the cause of the
Bedoul‟s shift in livelihood was not entirely due to the draw of profit; rather, there
were both external and internal reasons why they settled into the sedentary lifestyle.
Specifically, one can find in the “little traditions” of general Bedouin culture a
discourse informed by urbanity: specifically, the strong tradition of hospitality and
welcoming of the guest. In fact, the concept of the household pervades much of
Bedouin culture and tradition even though this contradicts the conceived
understanding of nomadic existence (Racy, 1996).
Furthermore, the Bedoul who live in Petra have capitalized on the tourist trade
because of the increased amount of foreign visitors. Just as the Nabataeans inhabited
Petra because of its strategic placement on the frankincense trade route, the Bedoul
inevitably experience a huge amount of traffic and exposure that created a market for
“exotic,” cultural goods. Even though they resist the traditional lifestyle of urbanity,
their attachment to Petra has connected them to a global network of cultural
exchange that produces the sensation of mobility on an abstract level.
One significant difference that has grave implications for the relationship
between the Bedouins and the Nabataeans is the nature of what is actually traded.
Unlike the Nabataeans, whose main exports were pottery and frankincense, the
goods of the Bedoul are more experiential in nature; essentially, the Bedoul sell
themselves as cultural exhibits (Shrycock, 2004). As a result, the Bedouin appropriate
exactly what Susan Stewart calls the “double function” of the souvenir: “to
authenticate a past or otherwise remote experience, and at the same time discredit
the present” (Shrycock, 1996). In essence, the Bedoul make legible and profitable
another network to which Petra has given them access: the network of history.
This role of the Bedouin as symbolic or representative is further supported by
their general conception as refugees, which was explored in earlier sections. Their
“camp,” or inhabitance of Petra, has an effect similar to the refugee camp that is
both spatially and symbolically significant as well as the source for the production of
urbanity. As Michel Aiger shows, “the camp creates opportunities for encounters,
exchanges, and re-workings of identity among all who live there. In this sense, the
humanitarian device of the camps produces cities, „de la ville,‟ if one considers the
city from the point of view of its essential complexity” (Aiger, 2002, p. 322). Aiger
102 Consilience
demonstrates how the camp not only creates a community that maintains the
memory and myths of its origins, but also can give meaning to what was a deserted
place before. This is essentially what the presence of the Bedoul in Petra has done.
How can one escape refugee status? The gesture of accepting this
characterization of the Bedouin at least partially overcomes the marginalizing effect
of history by not only legitimizing the urgency of their predicament but also by
characterizing the conflict as a typical byproduct of globalization processes. Hence
the situation is commonly understood as a modern problem the international
community is used to confronting and is thus possible to be resolved. However, as
refugees, they still are defined as external to society and as an unwanted, surplus
population. Essentially, the refugee status does nothing to resolve the contradiction
embodied by the Bedoul: simultaneous identification as nomads and as inhabitants
of an urban site. They are self-proclaimed “urban nomads.”
Returning to the “global city aesthetic” and the demonstration of its effect on
historical interpretation, it is clear that the Bedoul, by physically and symbolically
reasserting Petra‟s position as a node in an international network that directs and
produces an economic flow, do not resist national urbanization and development
desires. By demonstrating the dynamics of globalization as defined by Saskia Sassen:
“the formation of global markets, the intensifying of transnational and translocal
networks, and the geographic redeployment of a growing range of economic and
financial operations” (Sassen 2002, p. 380), they are engaging in the new
globalization paradigm. Furthermore, the Bedoul‟s position in Petra gives them
multi-dimensional access since they are both connected to the global community and
to historical communities through their evocation of the Petra myth. In this way,
they demonstrate the contradiction that required the creation of the term “global
city:” a simultaneous devaluation of physical distance and valuation of physical and
spatial location with the added dimension of time.
Petra therefore maintains its urbanity and international reach even after its
abandonment through the mythology of its cultural image. This significance of the
myth, while at first might seem contrary in a modern context informed by scientific
and factual understanding of truth, is not alien to the current condition at all: “One
easily supportable „truth‟ is that modern society is as myth-bound and mystical as any
that has preceded it” (Rees, 2002, 16). For this reason, it is reasonable to accept
mythology as well as economic and political influences as what shapes the conditions
and trajectories of current communities.
Urban nomadism, when examined through the “global city aesthetic,” is much
more compatible with Jordan‟s development goals than previously perceived because
it locates the Bedoul within this mythology and consciousness of an urban paradigm.
Urban nomadism is the lifestyle that embraces both a traditional and historical
cultural practice and the contemporary standards of developed communities. Hence,
the Bedoul Bedouin, in claiming attachment to Petra while maintaining identification
as pastoral nomads, are in fact resolving the opposing forces of international
globalization and historical and cultural nostalgia. This not only allows the Bedoul to
share a common national identity with the rest of contemporary Jordan, but also
allows the state to find a place in the globalized international community without
compromising its cultural heritage.
Consilience Fuleihan: Urban Nomads
5. Conclusion
André Wink states that the most urgent issue concerning contemporary
nomadic societies is an exploration of “post-nomadism,” which sweepingly
encompasses “all those cultural practices and traditions that are found among
pastoral nomads which became part of the sedentary world... Post-nomadism itself
can only be understood as a corollary of transition that reflects the condition of a
whole range of societies over many centuries which were without fixed parameters
and boundaries” (Khazanov, 2007, p. 295). Yet with the forces of globalization,
technological communications seem to have increased our mobility rather than
emphasize the sedentary tradition. It is only recently that the terms “perpetual
tourist,” or “global citizen,” or “third-culture kid” have become part of our
vernacular. In a sense, we are becoming increasingly nomadic as we create faster
communications and broader networks, and physical space becomes less relevant to
our society and economy. In a way, the Bedouin are a step ahead of us; they have
already embraced the abstract reality of globalization. At the very least, we can
acknowledge that their predicament is not so different from our own.
Communities are no longer necessarily defined by physical location nor by
cultural homogeneity. Instead, they are vague, abstract, intangible categorizations
that are constantly changing, expanding, shrinking, splitting, and combining. How
does one legitimize an identity based on imagined and abstract connections? The
global city aesthetic is an analytical framework that provides for a multidimensional
reality. By considering both fact and myth as sources of truth and accepting the
direct influence of history on the conditions of the present, it creates a justifiable
space for the abstract in the perception of our current world. Thus the forces that
are partially responsible for shaping contemporary conditions escape evaluation and
control by virtue of the unreality becoming real, recognizable, and approachable. As
a reifying tool, the global city aesthetic is perhaps the lens through which we must
view both others and ourselves to adjust to the constantly changing globalized
environment in which we live.
104 Consilience
Appendix - An Application: Desertification
The benefits of the alternative analysis provided by the global city aesthetic can
be further demonstrated by an application to specific issues in which tensions
between urban and nomadic lifestyles are more obvious, such as the problem of
desertification in Jordan. This environmental issue has long blamed pastoral
agriculture and nomadic practices as its cause, but with this reanalysis, it is evident
that this perspective is oversimplified and reductive, which obstructs effective
solutions. Considering historical trends in a different way, a solution that allows the
continuation of nomadic practices can be discovered.
Desertification is defined as “reduction or loss of biological or economic
productivity of ecosystems resulting from climatic variations, land uses, and a
combination of processes” (Warner, 2009, p. 9). Jordan‟s semi-arid and arid regions
are expanding, and the threat to the available fertile land and biodiversity is palpable.
In 2006, the Minister of Agriculture estimated that desertification causes a loss of
about 30,000 donums of fertile land each year (Wardam 2006).
Reports from the UN and pressure from the UN Conference on
Desertification has pressured Jordan to take action to contain desertification
(Thomas, 1994, p. 28-36). Jordan is very cooperative, possibly partially as a result of
the general conversation that associates developed countries with environmental
responsibility. As previously demonstrated, much of Jordan‟s policy decisions could
potentially be derived from an attempt to fit international conceptions and standards
of development. As stated in an article from the Star Newspaper in January 2010:
The global trend towards the green economy was reiterated by the recent
financial crisis which underscored the need to invest in a green economy that
is based on sustainable resource management. Several countries in Europe as
well as the United States have injected vast financial resources in the green
sectors of the economy ... Jordan may be a small market in size, but it has
adequate human resources that can, with some additional education and
systematic training provide great services to the region in sectors of green
economy. It is important that some of the brightest students in Jordan be
encouraged to study energy, water, environment, recycling and
environmentally friendly engineering and management of natural resources.
(Wardam, 2010)
In this case, such a reaction to global trends can hardly be deplored. Jordan‟s
environmental awareness has increased dramatically over the past decade. Jordan
not only has made many more environmental reports accessible and public, but is
also investing much more of its budget in environmental programs. In 2009, Jordan
announced its investment in a 4.3 million (unit) program that would address climate
change adaptation, as well as increasing investment in renewable energy (Wardam,
2010).
The government is very much aware that this is an urgent problem and is
therefore, anxious to contain the problem both for the sake of the environment as
well as to maintain an image of fertility and wealth sustained throughout history.
Returning to King Hussein‟s website:
Perhaps an even greater threat to Jordanian fauna and flora is the loss of
Consilience Fuleihan: Urban Nomads
habitat. Historically, Jordan used to be renowned for its forests and verdant
vegetation. Numerous verses of the Bible refer to the “land of milk and
honey,” yet today Jordan‟s forests are much reduced in area.
(A Living Tribute to the Legacy of King Hussein I, 2010)
Similar to the historical implications of resolving the situation of the Bedouin,
desertification is also an issue that engages history while maintaining relevance to
larger global concerns.
Further complicating the situation is the explanation for desertification. In
general, desertification is understood to be an anthropogenic phenomenon caused by
overgrazing, overcultivation, and deforestation (Thomas, 1994, p. 67). In the
memorandum report prepared for USAID/Amman, desertification, defined as
“Range degradation, erosion and inefficient resource allocation in livestock
subsector,” (Richards, 1993, p.6) was directly blamed on Bedouin pastoral activity.
The report also warned against potential conflict arising from policy efforts to
preserve the steppe lands by enforcing and restricting land ownership. This is not
surprising: since the general view is that nomadic activities have a destructive impact
on sedentary agricultural endeavors (Khazanov, 2007), nomads in the general
international community are a popular scapegoat beyond Jordan as well.
Furthermore, UNCOD often supported and encouraged sedentarization as a
potential solution.
This uncontested correlation between Bedouin practices and land degradation
is once again informed by traditional historical perspectives that blame the
abandonment of settlements, including Petra, on desertification, therefore
oversimplifying the issue and obscuring possible solutions. While it is logical and
probable that much of the motivation to abandon settlements was derived from the
consequences of desertification, blaming desertification on the poor practices of the
people themselves is a dangerous assumption.
Firstly, the impact of nomadic communities on sedentary civilizations is not
very well studied; usually academics are more concerned with the influence of
sedentary civilization on nomadic lifestyles (Khazanov, 2007). Hence, it is more of an
assumption rather than a studied and proven statement that nomadic practices are
threatening to sedentary subsistence and well-being. More importantly, blaming
desertification entirely on nomadic activity obscures the dangers land degradation
poses to the Bedouin communities themselves. Besides acting as another force that
limits mobility and threatens livelihood practices, nomadic communities are
especially vulnerable economically to the increase of arid lands. Since nomadic
pastoralists rely directly and completely on environmental conditions for subsistence,
desertification has direct negative economic impacts and can spark a poverty cycle
from which the only escape is sedentarization. Increasing fodder prices (Wardam
2006) and decreased access to fertile grazing lands, for example, are financially
disastrous for nomadic agriculturalism. Desertification, therefore, acts almost in
accordance with sedentarization agendas of the government by limiting mobility and
creating an economic climate that does not accommodate a space for nomadic
pastoralism. As a result, desertification is a natural sedentarization policy.
Therefore, blaming the Bedouin for desertification is reductive, manipulative, and
dangerous. Challenging this general assumption, a recent study of environmental
impacts on Jordan‟s soil shows that in fact, soil erosion was probably due to the
106 Consilience
frequency of extreme climate events and droughts (Schmidt, 2006). The study also
suggests that this historical precedence should be considered in light of the future
threat of global warming, implying that such a narrow perspective has a dangerous
effect on the efficiency of current policy initiatives (Schmidt, 2006). Clearly, both the
issue and the solution must be redefined.
The global city aesthetic can be applied to this problem in order to escape such
a narrow view. This would require a conscious awareness of the “myths” that inform
motives of both parties. William E. Rees describes the modern myth of expansion as
the dominant logic behind the approach to environmental problems and locates it as
one of the obstacles for achieving sustainability. He calls for a new cultural myth as
part of the solution, one that does not see expansion as the only end to human
development. Perhaps, the combination of the myth of Petra, which includes a
cycling, oscillating, and unconventional urban relationship to the land, with the
modern myth, can provide the new outlook Rees proposes.
David S.G. Thomas and Nicholas J. Middleton offer a new definition of
desertification that is more flexible: they reinterpret desertification as both a process
of change and a descriptive state. They also define it as a “total social phenomenon,
total in its potential direct and indirect effects on everyone and total in that people
are involved in all its stages, not just as cause and victim” (Thomas, 1994, p. 11).
Such a definition, which considers desertification as a process, not a consequence, of
changing social conditions not only allows for more varied solution-based
approaches but also renders the social aspect of these solutions as immediately
relevant, increasing the potential for success.
A more flexible solution that might act in accordance with this definition
would be an environmental policy that retains the beneficial aspects of the traditional
and historical agricultural practices while adapting them to current conditions. This
would require an alternative understanding of the patterns of desertification and
agropastoralism throughout history that takes into consideration the duration of
nomadic lifestyles. How can a system that survived for so long and through so many
different eras suddenly become destructive? In fact, traditional Bedouin agro-
pastoralism seems to actually benefit the environment. Since this was the primary
mode of agriculture until recently, it is safe to assume that pastoralism shaped the
current composition of the land, plant growth, and soil composition. Furthermore,
studies show grazing has a positive effect on plant biodiversity and that local species
have adapted to pastoral activity, while imposed methods of combating
desertification, such as afforestation, have a negative effect on species diversity
(Alrababah, 2007). In order to combat desertification as a direct result of
agropastoralism, a more successful approach would be to encourage practices that
were historically traditional. In Israel, such a proposal has already been developed in
the form of a four model approach: protection from grazing, grazing rotation (which
would require some sort of pastoral mobility), planting trees in eroded areas, and
revegetation of degraded areas.
This cooperative approach is necessary since, as shown in Satterthwaite's
article “Adapting to Climate Change in Urban Areas: The possibilities and
constraints in low- and middle-income nations,” a one-sided approach to
sustainability projects in less developed nations are doomed to failure. “If they do
not consider and engage the more vulnerable communities, resilience will not be
guaranteed nor can general well-being be supported. All climate change efforts must
Consilience Fuleihan: Urban Nomads
be multi-scalar, and must be grounded in both the national and local systems of
governance” (Sattertwhaite, 2007, p. 63-65). For Jordan, this includes the Bedouin
communities.
Jordan‟s hopes for development cannot be founded on inequality: its future
must include all of its communities. The current approach is to eliminate the
diversity of the community by encouraging assimilation and sedentarization; yet, as
shown, this only causes conflict, poor health, and inefficient management of larger-
scale issues. An alternative approach that evokes the global city aesthetic will help
Jordan speed up the development process so that it can interact with other nations at
the level it desires. Furthermore, it will allow the reconciliation of seemingly-
disparate world views that could destroy efforts to create a sustainable and equitable
future. If the government would understand that its goals are not in opposition with
those of the Bedouins and that a sustainable, developed state is part of the
imagination of both groups, it would be possible to implement cooperative and
much more successful measures to combat environmental crises. This would allow
policy makers to move beyond the ostensible contradiction between urban and
Bedouin communities and focus on solutions rather than conflicts.
108 Consilience
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