Married to a Bedouin Paperback – July 14, 2010

This is a must read for anyone going to visit Petra. An amazing story of love and adaptation. You'll understand it better as you walk through the narrows of Petra and see the handsome young Bedouins riding through the canyon on their powerful little ponies. They seem to know how to enjoy life. The author tells the story so well as one who was both a part of the community and an outsider at the same time.We hired the author's sister-in-law as our guide for one of our two days in Petra. She was excellent. We enjoyed meeting one of her sons who guided us on the back entry into Petra. Well worth the longer hike as you see areas that many tourist don't get to see.

Much of the book I would shake my head and wonder WHY a woman so young would have be traveling in the middle east alone/with another young woman when it would be culturally inappropriate/insensitive. Or wondering WHY a young woman would think it ok to spend the night with a muslim man in a culture that absolutely frowns upon such things and makes assumptions about westerners. Or wondering WHY a a woman would give up living in a first world nation to live in a cave with no running water/electric etc. At the end I was somewhat sad to read how the bedouins had been "resettled" and moved into modern housing and the way of life she saw had disappeared in that region. Worth the read if you are curious to take a rare peek inside...

I found out about this book while I was vacationing in Jordan & was blessed to be able to visit Petra. Our tour guide mentioned Marguerite & we found her selling her books, as well as jewelry, etc, in Petra. She is such a sweet person & courageous. Her book, which I not only purchased an autographed copy, but I also purchased on kindle, is fantastic. I gave the autographed one to my daughter. She writes the book in a simple, factual manner. It is almost like a documentary on National Geographic except you can feel the love that she has for Mohammad & their commuity. It traces her slow but eventual love for the people & their customs. She doesn't go in to many sad things that happened except near the end of the book. She tries to keep it light & entertaining & you can feel yourself in her place, living her life. She wrote with her heart & although she speaks through Mohammad's illness & death quickly, you still catch the poignant pain that she is feeling. Walk a mile in her shoes. That's what I did by reading it, although it was....only a mile. Thanks Marguerite. Your love is amazing to have done what you did & Mohammad's was true also, as he tried to "westernize" some of your surroundings, in order to make you comfortable & feel loved. I am sorry for you loss of him, but remember, his love will always remain with you.

Regardless of the cultural value of this book, and the amazing story she tells, the fact is that her writing is weak, disorganized, and clunky. There is no ignoring this. I honestly can't remember ever reading a book with such unclear and awkward writing...Having said that, this book is worth reading for those interested in Petra, Jordan's Bedouins, and quirky memoirs. I read this book before visiting Petra, and I'm glad I did; it really enriched my experience there. The color photos included in the book are wonderful and insightful, too.If you are going to visit Petra, I would suggest that you read this book. If you've been to Petra and loved it, I would suggest that you read this book. If you enjoy stories and memoirs of love found in unlikely places, or cross cultural confusion and fun, you'll probably enjoy this book.However, just brace yourself for disorganized and unclear storytelling, and jumbled syntax. If you can wade through these shortcomings and be patient with her, you'll enjoy this book and her unique story.

I had heard about this book before visiting Petra, but some of the Amazon reviews deterred me from buying it. Several people said it was not well written. However, after visiting Petra, and seeing Ms. Van Geldermalsen in her shop there (October, 2019) I decided to order it when I got home. I very much enjoyed the book, and was glad I didn't read it until after visiting Petra, because you can visualize the place, having been there. I disagree with the reviews that say it is not well written. I think people wanted her to explain her feelings about accepting a lifestyle so different from ours, because it is so difficult to understand, or even imagine. In other words, we would have liked a viewpoint that identified with ours more. But I think she was so integrated into the lifestyle, and loved it and loved her husband so much, that she is unable to explain it to those of us with a different world view. For me, this is a very cool case of reading a book and it being connected with the current time, i.e. it seemed so foreign and long ago, but then there she was (or her son, many days) right there in Petra.

We recently returned from a trip to Jordan and Egypt. Petra was fascinating. Our guide explained the ruins as we walked the length of the valley. As we checked out some of the vendors, I came across Marguerite's booth. She was selling her silver jewelry and her book. It was crowded and I didn't want to carry anything extra so I decided to look for her book when I got home. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her story as her life unfolded. Very interesting to learn what life was like for the locals before they were relocated. She describes the area were we walked and saw the locals with donkeys and selling their wares which made her book so much more enjoyable having been there.