Most Viewed Keyword Bedouins

A chronicle of Gertrude Bell's life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire in the Near and Middle East at the dawn of the twentieth century. Her knowledge of the tribal leaders is used by the British to establish the Kingdoms of Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The documentary chronicles the journey and climbs of a group of young French people on the cliffs rising above Wadi Rum, in the desert south of Jordan, guided by two very athletic local Bedouins. The climbers set out to discover new, isolated places, fueled by a spirit of adventure. These places were little known, at least as climbing areas in 1988.

Abed al-Aziz from the Judean Desert is suspected of turning his tribe over to the Israeli Secret Service; Aql al-Atrash from the Negev wants to be cleared of a charge of murder; Sa’ed from the Egyptian village of Fanara is accused of committing adultery – the lives of these three people now depend on the ordeal of the Bisha. The Bisha is a test to detect the truth and it stands at the forefront of the Bedouin legal system, the haq al-orfi (the law of knowledge).During this test, all the accused lick a piece of white-hot metal. A burnt tongue is proof that they are lying; a clean tongue will serve as incontrovertible evidence that the suspects are blameless.