Contesting Identities in South Sinai

In this book, Goodman examines the emergence and articulation of Bedouin identity in the Aqaba region of South Sinai alongside patterns of economic and social change, locating the source of both within the changing landscape of South Sinai’s tourist towns. Based on fieldwork centered in the town of Dahab, he provides a bottom-up view of the transformative effects of recent economic development on the Bedouin both as individuals and as a group. By combining history with social science theory, Goodman explains the unintended consequences of tourism including the rejection of Egyptian identity, socioeconomic conflict, and the persistence of economic practices often considered “traditional.”