By Nora Al-Nuaimi

RIYADH — A Saudi Bedouin has lived captive of his fondness of the desert between its rugged terrain and cruel weather. He resisted all changes and maintained his Bedouin lifestyle. Daring exceptional and complicated circumstances, he remained connected to the desert despite the economic boom that changed life for all residents of the Kingdom.

He is Saudi photographer Fahd Al-Osseimi, 43, who recorded the famous video that Arab media picked up, turning it into a piece of art circulated globally. Al Arabiya.net also aired the video recently.

Al-Osseimi resigned from work in the public sector driven by nostalgia to the old days which took him back to his grandparents’ and parents’ homes, thus returning to the vast the desert and its sands that bear the smell of the good land with all its serenity.

He has for decades chosen the life of the desert and rejected life in the city. He set his tents north of Riyadh in Sudair.

A spontaneous Osseimi told Al-Arabiya English: “I love the desert and life in the Arabian tent away from the city’s fuss. I’ve chosen to settle between the sands and camels of the desert.”

He added: “I’ve loved photography since I was a child. After cellular phones became common, I was keen on owning devices with cameras that can accurately document these beautiful moments in the desert.”

He said he posted his works online, attracting both Arabs and foreigners, especially those who love the desert and nature, to visit this area and get to know more about the life here.

Fahd, who did not expect the video he took to circulate as much and to attract so many people from across the world, said the desert has magic around it and this legacy that carries plenty of significances is what attracted people.

He also noted that tourists from different areas in Saudi Arabia come to enjoy the warmth of the desert and the life in the Arabian tent to take a break from the city and enjoy the mesmerizing scenery.

Fahd’s gatherings with his children, friends and tribe members sum up his sense of belonging to the place and highlight his adherence to the traditions and Bedouin habits that are derived from the past. — Al-Arabiya English