These are the nomadic people of Egypt, and in the desert they still retain the spirit of independence, the courage, and the restlessness of their ancestors. “As in the time of Herodotus the tent of the Bedouin is still his home. Where it is pitched is a matter of indifference to him, if only the pegs which secure it be firmly driven in the ground, if it shelters his wife and child from the sun and the chilly night air, and if pasturage and a spring be within reach.” —Baedecker