Princess Sultana's Circle

and swiftly return to the camp. He would
remain to greet the desert travelers.
    An hour later, my sisters
and I were able to laugh about the event. That is, everyone except
Dunia. She was still weeping in terror, even though we were now
sitting safely inside our own spacious tent, protected by our own
men. Dunia’s maid placed one cool cloth after another on the
forehead of her terrified mistress, but nothing brought our sister
relief. She was convinced that she had narrowly escaped being
seized by these men and forced to live out the rest of her life as
an unwilling Bedouin wife.
    Although it seems strange
to us, there are still a few tribes in Arabia who have not
capitulated to the urban life. And, it is a fact that these desert
Arabs have been known to become offended to the point of violence
when their offers to buy desirable females are refused. Who can say
for certain that these nomads would not have reverted to past
customs and simply stolen one of us?
    In 1979, an American woman
whom Sara knows well had narrowly escaped such a fate. While on a
day trip into the desert, this woman, Janet, and her boyfriend,
Bill, an American employed by Asad to run one of his many
businesses, had come across a Bedouin encampment. Bill, who had
lived in Arabia for some time, was fluent in Arabic. When the
couple was invited to join the tribe for tea, Bill had been pleased
at the rare opportunity to show Janet an authentic Bedouin
camp.
    But from the start, this
encounter with the Bedouins was unsettling. The tribesmen were
captivated by this American woman. Janet was a beautiful woman,
with ivory skin, green eyes, and wavy, waist-length red hair, and
these Bedouin had never seen such a bewitching display of feminine
beauty!
    Following the second cup of
tea, the Bedouin chief grew bold and asked Bill the full price he
had paid for his woman. In jest, Bill replied that his woman was
very costly—a one-hundred camel woman, as a matter of fact. The
Bedouin chief shook his head solemnly as he stared at the
red-haired beauty. This woman would prove to be very costly indeed!
The chief then clapped his hands together and agreed, yes, he would
sacrifice the very financial future of his tribe to possess this
irresistible temptress. Yes, he, too, would pay one hundred camels
for her. Even more. The chief’s intense piercing eyes showed that
he must have this woman!
    To Bill’s growing
consternation, the chieftain then called for his men to begin
gathering one hundred prime camels from his huge herd. When Bill
gently rebuffed the generous offer, the amount was increased, once,
then twice. When the Chief finally understood that the woman was
not for sale to him, for any number of camels, he quickly moved
from a moment of gracious hospitality to a state of offended rage.
Were the Bedouin not worthy of such a woman? This was an
insult!
    The situation deteriorated
rapidly, and the frightened couple only barely escaped the incensed
mob. They ran to their vehicle and drove away at a high speed, but
they were chased for a short distance by Bedouins on camels. Who
knows what might have happened had they not had a fast vehicle that
eventually left the horde of aggrieved and irate Bedouin behind in
the dust?
    After greeting the Bedouin,
Asad had invited them to our camp for tea. He reported that the men
who had so frightened us were members of a Bedouin tribe on a
hunting party.
    We were now waiting for
these men to leave so that we could rejoin our husbands. Soon after
the aroma of the evening meal began to tease our growling stomachs,
we heard the men’s loud farewells. After eliciting a promise from
our husbands that we would soon visit their camp, the Bedouin men
finally left.
    Greatly relieved at their
departure, I was the first to step through the drawn gap in our
tent curtain. My sisters and the other women followed me in the
rush from the tent.
    Everyone was hungry, so we
quickly arranged ourselves in a circle around carpets covered in
large white linen cloths that would serve as our table. Although it
is the custom in Saudi Arabia for men to eat first, and for women
to wait and eat the remains of the meal, it is a custom we do not
observe. When the party consists of our family only, all take their
meals together. Even the arrogant Ali often eats meals with his
wives and children. Therefore, we were all seated cross-legged when
our servants brought water jugs for rinsing our hands.
    My mouth watered in
anticipation of the feast that I