the deep end

Pombal was at his most touching with his little car which he loved devotedly. I remember him washing it by moonlight very patiently
Lawrence Durrell, Justine

So who are the Mahra, these nomads in the desert with their rock-spiced milk, short stature and delicate features? Where did they come from, why did they settle down in the desert and how do they compare to the other tribes found in Dhofar? Above all, why are they and all the other endemic social groups in this southern state so different from those found further north? Dhofar is a land of many secrets, but such questions will throw you into the deepest of ends.

You will come across two commonly used all-encompassing terms for the tribes in Dhofar: the Jebbali and the Mahra. Ask around and you might get varying explanations for each. What is obvious, though, is that the term Jebbali comes from the Arabic jebel, for mountain. And the Mahra are commonly associated with the Bedouin of the desert, and most would point to their origins in Yemen. Dig deeper, though, and you will find it a lot muddier than that.

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