The present village of Rum was initially the gathering place for Bedouins who came to fetch spring water. It was the only long-lasting spring in a several hundred-kilometre area. Today the region has changed greatly: rock, sand, but also concrete cohabit. Pastoral activities and nomadic trade gave way to international tourism some thirty years ago. Bedouins have settled down, 4x4s are now replacing camels. Some, like Nasser (left) and Brahim continue to pass down what remains of the nomadic spirit, the heavy silence of the desert and their link with the anthracite, ivory and carmine-coloured stone cathedrals. Lined up on the rock, the Bedouin’s’ mobile phones can access a network in this exact spot (and only here, I checked!). They are waiting for a call from the host cooperative to take tourists looking for a desert experience on the back of a camel.