Bedouins celebrate nomadic past racing horses in the Negev desert

Israel's Arab minority population gather regularly to share their love of the sport

Men try to control a rearing horse after a weekly horse-racing competition at a field near the Bedouin village of Abu Tlal in southern Israeli near Beersheva on March 4, 2022. - The stretch of dirt next to a highway that weaves through southern Israel's Negev desert does not immediately appear like a suitable place to host weekly horse racing. But the Bedouins who gather there at sunrise most Fridays told AFP it suits them just fine, and that they have been meeting at the venue for several years to enjoy a hobby they describe as a central part of their culture. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

The stretch of dirt alongside a motorway in the Negev desert is an unlikely setting for a weekly race meeting

Racegoers celebrate with the winning jockey

The Bedouins who gather at the site at sunrise most Fridays say the location suits them just fine

They have been meeting at the venue for several years to enjoy a hobby they describe as a central part of their culture

There's no grandstand or fence and spectators simply line up behind plastic tubing tied to posts

A jockey celebrates a race victory

People of all ages congregate, from a range of communities, coming together over a shared love of horse racing

As with other Arab countries and populations, horse racing has been an important part of Bedouin heritage for centuries

The more than 260,000 Bedouins in Israel are part of an Arab minority who make up about a fifth of the population

A man leads a horse before the race

Spectators watch from behind makeshift rails

Racing in the desert is thirsty work for the horses

A jockey celebrates as he crosses the finish line

A horse and a few spectators on a hillock overlooking the racetrack

For years, Bedouins have congregated in Israel's Negev desert, on a stretch of motorway, to enjoy a spot of horse racing.

They gather at sunset for the no-frills affair ― there's no grandstand or fence and spectators simply line up behind some plastic tubing tied to posts.

It's a meeting place for them to not only share a hobby, but also to revel in the nostalgia of their nomadic heritage.

There are more than 260,000 Bedouins in Israel, part of the country's Arab minority who make up about a fifth of the country's 9.3 million population.

Partly nomadic, the Bedouin have been increasingly urbanised over recent years, but just as with other Arab countries and populations, horse racing has been an important part of their heritage for centuries.

In the Negev, they're mostly left to themselves, to enjoy the revelry at these legal events, except when Israeli authorities try to shut them down over safety concerns, according to a police representative.

"We don't forbid these races," said Zivan Freidin, a police spokesman for the Negev. "We only have a problem with when they constitute a public disorder or endanger people, because they sometimes take place close to roads."

Bedouins have been found to have "positive feelings" towards Israel's Lahav Forest in the Negev desert region, despite tensions in the country and the fact the popular leisure area is managed by Jewish-controlled state institutions.

This is according to a rare study by the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev from 2021 of Bedouin leisure practices that explored the effect shared social spaces could have on relations between the Jewish majority and minority groups. It focused on Bedouin use of an Israeli forest, not specifically horse racing.

"Sport brings together Arabs and Jews," Zakaria Shamroukh, an owner and trainer at the track, told AFP. "They all come to the track and they like it, and they become avid followers and cheer for the horses."