Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.
This is Ouda al-Salam, a Bedouin resident, and his camel, Bahr (his name means "sea" in Arabic — probably because camels are known as ships of the desert). This desert, with its weird rock formations, is where Star Wars, The Martian and other movies were filmed, because it really does look otherworldly.
For most of the year the ground is, well — sand-colored. But in the late winter after the rains, the color green erupts here! (You can see a line of it here behind Salam and the sand.)
When I visited in mid-February, the ground was covered with spiky jointed anabis and tiny, tiny purple flowers used in soap and tea. The Bedouin say the spiky plants can be toxic to camels — they put knitted muzzles on to prevent them from eating them. Desert truffles — a more affordable cousin of the forest truffle — also pop up here after the rain.
See more photos from around the world:
- Greetings from Cairo, where lights and decorations transform the city during Ramadan
- Greetings from Mexico City's iconic boulevard, where a dog on a bike steals the show
- Greetings from Kyiv, where candles are the last option during wartime blackouts
- Greetings from Mumbai, where residents take breathing space where they can find it
- Greetings from Kalk Bay, a South African fishing village where wild seals await scraps
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