The Daughters of Petra
The following is a collage of portraits I took of several of the young Bedoul girls who call Petra home. I am always delighted to be in the company of these young ladies who are generally very inquisitive, candid, strong of mind and body, and who possess a wonderful sense of humor and of themselves. Most are proficient in english which they learn in the local school. In fact, in 1998, the student with the highest score on the college entrance exams in the entire district of Ma'an was, Selwa Mohammed, a girl from the Bedoul village outside of Petra. She is now a sophomore at the university in Amman. I have enjoyed watching these girls as they grow from year to year and am eager to see the women they turn out to be.
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Fatima, Age 13 (1997)
Fara, Age 10 (1997)
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Badria
Age 4 (1994)
Age 8 (1998)
Age 6 (1996)
In this picture, Badria is playing with a swizzle stick with mylar streamers I got at the Movenpick Hotel. I gave her  the stick and she immediately climbed on top of a wall and held it up to a light and began twirled it around and made it sparkle!
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(l-r) Firuz, Age 9; Suhiya, Age 9; and Ethari, Age 3 (1995)
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Huda, Age 6 (1994)
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Iman (1998)
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During wedding celebrations, the bridal tent is always full of young girls dressed up in their prettiest dresses and watching the bride with wide, admiring eyes. There is a lot of singing and drum playing, and many of the women and girls dance their traditional dances for the bride.
Unless otherwise indicated, all photos, illustrations and text on this site are Copyright © 1999,  Leigh-Ann Bedal.
  Last updated: February 2000
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