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COUNTLESS VISITORS CAPTIVATED BY BAIT AL SHAAR OR HOUSE OF HAIR
A unique form of housing - the bait al shaar - or house of hair used by the Bedouins is capturing the interest of countless visitors to the Shindagha heritage sites every evening at the Arabian Bedouin Life encampment designed by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing
(DTCM).
Bedouin women are engaged in producing the tent on site starting with making thread out of sheep/goat hair and then weaving the thread into fabric before finally sewing the sheets of fabric into a tent.
“Bait al shaar is woven from the hair of domesticated goat and sheep and can be seen in its various stages of production from hair to the finished tent at the Heritage Village,” said DTCM Director Operations and Marketing, Mohammed Khamis bin
Hareb.
He noted that Bedouin women meticulously make thread from goat hair and this thread is then woven into strips of unfinished cloth. “In the old days, it took two women a couple of hours of work everyday for around eight to ten months to weave one strip about seven meters long and thirteen to fifteen such strips were needed to make one tent big enough to accommodate a family of about five people,” said Mr. bin
Hareb.
Once the strips are woven, they are sewn together with thread made from black goat hair. The natural color of the animal hair is retained with scattered strands of sheep's wool, which gives the tent a blackish-brown semblance.
Once the strips are sewn together, they are raised using tent poles with ropes to keep the sides upright. The roof of the tent is designed in such a manner that it does not get blown away in storms that are frequent in the desert.
The bait al shaar provides shade from the hot sun and shields on chilly winter nights in the desert. “Even though the color black is known to absorb heat, it is still a good ten to fifteen degrees cooler inside the tent than outside,” commented Mr. bin
Hareb.
During monsoon, the knitting thread expands on getting wet, closing the holes in the stitches and stopping seepage. The fibre of goat hair is naturally oily, which also helps in repelling rainwater.
The size of the tent generally depends on the status of its owner, or on the size of his family. Ten furnishings are mostly simple, consisting of carpets and mattresses spread on the floor, with pillows.
For functionality and endurance the bait al shaar is still the most popular form of housing among the Bedouin.
"For tourists as well as residents who are interested in learning more about the past, gaining new knowledge and awareness and a more authentic and enriching experience, a trip to the Shindagha Heritage Village is a must," concluded Mr. bin
Hareb.
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