The Arab tent in Algeria

With the invitation of Professor Khader bin Turki, general director of the National bureau of Culture and Information part of the Ministry of Culture in the Algeria within the framework of the Algeria the capital of Arabic culture in 2007, Ali Abdullah Khalifa participated in the Conference of Arabic tent held from April 26 until May 3. The Theme of the Conference (the tent.. a Space of noble values and co-existence). I have presented in this conference working papers on the following points:

• the tent. . History, tradition and values.
•the intangible forms of expression in the Bedouin community: popular poetry, way of life, myths, stories, parables, drollery.
• The traditional industries and crafts related to the tent and popular games.
• The ways of celebration and rituals of religious and social events in the Bedouin community.
• The symbolic expression of the Bedouin life through poetry, novel and short story.
• The experience of the cultural festivals and Bedouin arts in the Arab countries.
• A research project about the theme of the tent involving all the Arab countries.
• The Pioneers of studies and research on nomadic Arab culture, bibliography and the definition of works and great figures. Ali Abdullah Khalifa Participated with a lengthy oral intervention entitled (inhabited by our tent) in which he explained the change in the meaning of the concept and the role of the tent in the contemporary societies of the Gulf along with the development of the industry of tents and its entrance in the world of commerce. He said that the tent is still alive inside of ourselves and for some people it is revived by every day nostalgia for simplicity, in the yards of palaces, in the corners of villas of affluent people ,in the courtyard of houses of some middle class people and at the door house of some modest people. The tents are installed with different sizes ,forms and different qualities, but not that simple tent, which role was to accommodate, but a tent with transparent windows and fussy sides, conditioned and illuminated with electric headlamps, and equipped depending on the level of its owner and the purpose of all this is hosting or night chat and Swank and spend time. during The tent seasons, it is installed on large areas of major hotels in the holy month of Ramadan as outside café for smoking and hookah, and staying up.the tent also has a political and social role during the electoral campaigns and is given the name the candidate who has install it and becomes the center of his electoral campaign, and the tent of our times is manifestation of joy in festivals and national and popular ceremonies. The role of tent as a shelter as it used be has ended, and have multiple and diversified functions in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula in our time.