Taking part in a retreat journey

The Sinai is a place outside anything that we find at all familiar; at the same time, its spirituality is at the heart of our culture. To make a journey there is to travel at once beyond our conventional reality and at the same time, inside ourselves.

The nomad’s way of life, a constant journey, has evolved with great sensitivity to adapt to and nurture the ecology in which they live. If we travel with them and are ready to listen, we can learn from this ancient wisdom.

In the city-dwelling West we have no direct connection with the land and our minds are too busy for contemplation and self-exploration. The Sinai desert has an an ancient power to develop the spiritual dimension of our lives. A desert retreat journey allows time and space for each person to be alone, safely looked after by the Bedouin in their desert home and then later to meet around the fire: the makhad, the meeting place.

The vision of the Makhad Trust is that if we can recognise, support and share the wisdom of nomadic people, particularly in the way in which they relate to their environment, we can not only help them but develop our own spirituality, our own insight and wisdom.

Each retreat journey will begin with orientation and an exploration of the immediate desert area, followed by some days of retreat in a sheltered position chosen by you and then a trek across the desert, with camels or on foot.

By joining in a desert retreat journey you will have taken part in in a uniquely valuable cultural exchange and supported the Bedouin in their ancient tradition of hospitality to travellers in the desert.

For an up-to-date list of forthcoming journeys, current information about the Makhad Trust, the latest newsletter and a booking form for journeys, please visit www.makhad.info.

If you would like more information, please let us know and we will be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

Jebel Matamir
Aduda dune