Camps and movements of the Bedouin

We shall now follow the different groups composing a ruba' through their annual cycle of movements, and inspect the structure of their camps at 502 Views of Society and Man different stages of the cycle. The area concerned extends over about 250 sq km, and is roughly rectangular in shape. A range of hills running almost diagonally from the southwestern corner of the rectangle to the northeast divides the area into two parts, of roughly equal size. \Vhile the western half consists of flat, cultivable loess land, similar in its characteristics to the rest of the Beersheba Plain, the eastern half is predominantly hilly country which, during the spring, provides excellent pasture, but lends itself to patch cultivation only in some narrow valleys. As one advances eastward in this area, the ground becomes gradually more and more rugged, stony and desolate, and is cut across by deep ravines. It continues to bear the same character till it reaches the perpendicular cliffs dropping a sheer 1,000 feet to the shores of the Dead Sea. While the western plain can boast three perennial deep wells, the eastern part is devoid of any permanent water sources, and the only water available is that stored in rock pools and privately owned cisterns filled by the rains. The eastern reaches of the hilly area lie outside the official limits of the reservation, but are still frequented by the Zullam herds, as the difficult terrain makes supervision by the Military Administration impracticable.