Monday, April 17, 2023

Book Review: Married to a Bedouin By Marguerite van Geldermalsen

 

This story is about a New Zealand-born nurse who marries Mohammad Abdallah, a Bedouin souvenir-seller from Petra in Jordan. In 1978 Marguerite and her friend travel to the Middle East where they meet Mohammad. She marries Mohammad and starts living with him in an old cave on a hill side. She becomes a nurse for the locals, learns Arabic, converts to Islam and gives birth to three children.

The author believes that she married a ‘wonderful man, who started his day by praying that God would be pleased with him, and that his parents would be pleased with him, and then went off to his work with a flick of his mendeel and a joyful step, while I did what I felt like without a care in the world’ (p.33).

Marguerite admits that her marriage was much larger than just marrying an individual. Describing her own wedding the she mentions her brother in-laws who work for road companies.  She also mentions a Chinese company building a road along Wadi Araba from the bottom of the Dead Sea, where a potash industry was being established, to the port of Aqaba’ (p.56). Mohammad and his wife also visit New Zealand. Marguerite’s parents also visit Petra.

As I was reading the book I kept thinking about the whereabouts of the couple until I discovered that unfortunately Mohammad passed away in February 2002. This is a very interesting read about a lady who shares her own life experiences. I really enjoyed reading this book!

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