arabian10's VirtualTourist Home Page

A Little About Me
My name is Yusuf AL-Juhani, after secondary school i entered the IPA in Jeddah city i got a diploma of Hospital Administration after that i found job in the National Guard Hospital in Jeddah. I commenced work on this hospital on 17 June 2000, i spend five years in that medical city wasnt good experience but i learned alot.

Favorite Things
I like reading specially about different cultures and different societies i also like watching tv and recording programs.

Hobbies and Interests
Reading, Watching Movies.

Favorite Quote
"I always believe in my heart that through sport one day all the people will be together. I always felt that if I were on the political side i could never get the same treatment in Russia or Red China or in Japan or South America. But as I was involved in soccer I had the open door everyplace." Pele

Contact
Email: yjuhani@hotmail.com

Sultans Abdul Aziz and Abdul Hamid II employed photographers to document their dominions. The collection of albums they amassed is known as the Yildiz Collection and was transferred to Istanbul University during the Republic. The University and the Research Center for Islamic Art, History and Culture at Yildiz Palace are currently cataloguing the collection which includes several albums of photographs of the Hijaz. Further research on this collection may shed more light on the early history of photography in the Arabian Peninsula.

In the photo cheetah and its cub, shot by a Ruwala tribesman between Jabal Tubayq and Nafud. Until the coming first of firearms and then motor cars, oryx, gazelle, ibex, ostrich and cheetah were frequently seen in northern of arabian. (Raswan c. 1926)

The Hijaz, a barren land comprising the coastal plain and mountain range of north-west Arabia, presents a forbidding face to the world: drifting sands, eroded wadis, and grim ancient lava flows picked clean by time. The Hijaz is a coastal region located on the western shores along the Red Sea and also includes the Hijaz mountains that relieved by much vegetation.

And yet, more than any other part of Arabia, the Hijaz has been exposed to influences from out side the Peninsula. Once the Message of Islam was revealed to the Prophet in the seventh century AD, the two Holy Cities of Makkah and Madinah became the focus of the Pilgrimage from all over the Islamic world.

The Hijaz was ruled for many centuries by the Sharifs of Makkah, members of a remarkable family which claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad himself. However, from the early centuries of Islam, the dominant Islamic power of the age, whether in Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo or Istanbul, sought to enhance its prestige by claiming more or less nominal authority over the Hijaz, and by protecting and embellishing the Holy Cities.

This photo shows building the Hijaz Railway station at al-Mu'azzam, one of the stops between Tabuk and Mada'in Salih. (Hallajian c. 1908).

Khali or ( Empty Quarter ) covering an area as large as the state of Texas, Rub al Khali or the Empty Quarter, appropriately called for its virtually lifeless terrain of shifting dunes. This largest single body of sand embodies the romantic and mystical images of the Arabian Peninsula.

This is one of the remarkable pictures that are accompanied by a text setting them in their historical context, by William Facey, one of today's outstanding historians of the Arabian Peninsula. His commentary is accompanied by a detailed coverage of the aims, styles and photographic equipment, written by Gillian Grant, formerly archivist of the Middle East Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford. The publication of that work has been made possible with the support of Riyad Bank. In Saudi it is available in Jarir Bookstore.

This photo Negotiating the great dune chain of the Ramlat Bani Ma'arad, in the western Empty Quarter south of Qaryat al-Faw. (Thesiger 1948)

This term, majlis, a bedouin tradition, is derived from the name of the main living area in an Arab dwelling where guests are received. A majlis is a daily meeting presided over by regional rulers. Anyone may come to the majlis - from any walk of life. At this gathering, petitions are presented to the ruler, one by one, covering all sorts of matters such as family problems, money matters, new businesses, land disputes, or even requests for new sheep. This age-old custom offers the common person access straight to the top, where the rulers listen to their people's grievances no matter what they may be.

'al majalis madaris' a Bedouin’s saying which means 'councils are schools'; in these meetings where problems solved and decisive decisions taken by wise men in wartimes and poverty, youth learn like their fathers before them how to grow and keep their hopes through the difficulties.

In the photo: the majlis in tent of Shaykh Harb of the Huwaytat, Jabal Tubayq, north-west of the Arabian Peninsula. (Bell 1914)

In a seemingly lifeless desert the Arabs hunt small prey with their falcons; the Bedouin do so to catch meat for their meals and others for the sport. These quick and agile hunter-birds are extremely successful in hunting their prey.

The skill begins the moment a young bird is taken from its nest. The small bird's eyes are stitched shut when caught. The trainer keeps the sightless bird with him night and day for a month. The falcon becomes attuned to his surroundings, the smells, the sounds, his master's voice. The trainer and only the trainer feeds the bird who trusts his master. A friendship grows out of this unique training.

The stitches on the eye lids are later removed, but the training and companionship continues. The falcon, having always depended on his food from his master, is now made to go hungry for a few days, to prepare for additional training. A long cord is attached to the falcon's leg and he is allowed to fly. The bird's master tempts the bird back to his arm with a piece of raw meat. Eventually the bird learns to return by his master's call alone. Additional training stages include accustoming the bird to leather leg straps and a blinding hood. The hood is removed prior to the hunt. During hunting the falcon flies free ready to kill. Due to the bonding trust the falcon always returns to perch on his master's arm.

A perfect falcon is called HURR in Arabic, meaning 'noble' , 'free' or 'a bird of fine breeding'. It is the equivalent of the English word 'debonair', which comes from falconry. In French, the three words 'de bonne eyre' mean: 'from a good nest', which the English adapted to 'debonair', to describe a fine gentleman.

The high-masted dhow, now diesel powered, is a sea-going vessels. This ancient craft, that has been used in the Arabian and east African coastal trade for over 2000 years, has hardly changed its design at all over the centuries. Even the ancient building methods, used until recent years, were unchanged. Traditionally the dhow is built without nails, and without using mechanized instruments, however modern vessels do have nails and minority of the builders use electric drills. Wood used to build dhows is often imported from India-such as teak, mangrove, and acacia.

There are many different types of dhows that range in length from six feet long, the small inshore fishing vessel, to the larger ocean going vessels. The dhow goes by a variety of names depending on its use-for fishing, cargo or pearl diving for example-'baggola', 'boom', 'sambuk', and 'shuui'.

Once, however, dhows were the warships of these coasts, carrying as many as four hundred men and forty to fifty guns. The last of them seen with the Arab Troops at the little Red Sea port of AL-Wajh City during the Arab Revolt in 1917 against the Turkish Rule.

A horse of timeless beauty, the Arabian grew to its faultless splendor over centuries of carefully controlled breeding practices by the Bedouin tribes. In the 7th century the Arabian horse provided speedy transport during the Islamic conquests and Bedouin raids. However the horse couldn’t endure the long harsh desert journeys like the camel, so instead became status symbol of the wealthy. The distinctive characteristics of the Arabian include a small head, large eyes, flaring nostrils, short sleek back, strong slender legs and great stamina.

The Arabian steed, or horse, had to have speed, as well as intelligence. And, it had to be able to endure hunger and thirst, and not be frightened of the dark. The Bedouins prized it for its speed, strength and endurance, and not so much for its beauty.

The swiftness and the gracefulness has produced an enduring racehorse. Although the Arabians are usually reddish-brown, gray and white ones are highly valued. It is reputed that Prophet Mohammed own 15 mares during his lifetime. In the Quran it is written that every man shall revere his horse.