Sons of the Desert II (Jordan, Petra)

In the shopping streets of Petra , a young man smokes a cigarette in front of his shop. His dark keffiyeh and direct gaze contrast with the pink plush toys and souvenirs hanging behind him. A seemingly innocuous scene, in a setting that has become familiar to visitors.

But this valley has not always been a tourist site . It is historically occupied by the B'doul Bedouin , a tribe settled for generations in the heart of the Petra mountains. They lived there for a long time in the Nabataean caves, cultivated the terraced lands, guided the first archaeologists, and passed on a detailed knowledge of the desert and the stones.

After Petra was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, the Jordanian authorities moved the inhabitants outside the archaeological perimeter, to the village of Umm Sayhoun , built to rehouse them. In exchange: they were forbidden to live in the caves, but were allowed to maintain local commerce , through the sale of souvenirs, horseback rides or tea serving. A fragile economy, based on folklore and the passage of tourists.

This look, between pride and resilience , also says something else: that of a people who no longer own the valley , but continue to symbolically inhabit it. Guardians without title deeds, they remind us that heritage is not just a setting , but also a living memory , sometimes relegated to the background of the tourist narrative.