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Desert survival: finding water

The Bedouin knew every detail of wells across the country. the desert is a tough place to live. for generations, people survived through the uses sweltering summers by managing to eke out limited and hidden food, water and shelter.

the Bedouin developed the ability to read subtle clues about where water might be. basically the new where the water wells and springs are. the Bedouin would dig until they hit water and the well would be named after the man who did the job. they sometimes dug the well twice because they failed to hit the water the first time.

the well in alhebab area dried out about 1974 but is still named bin belaisha after the man who dug it. in dire straits, the Bedouin would drain a camels body of its water because camels can drink about 100 liters of water in only eight minutes. that a reason why the water is lost.

the Bedouin were also acclimatized to the desert heat and able to withstand greater dehydration than most. the head of emergency at abudhabi's alnoor hospital, says most people can only survive 24 hours without water. mr mcconnell says the rule of thumb is three days but depending on the availability of shade and daytime temperature.