This is the maharama, or women's quarters, where female guests may be recieved. A brightly decorated curtain, or qata, divides it from the smaller men's section of the tent. The maharama is never seen by any man except the owner of the tent. Here are stored food, cooking utensils and spindles, together with the camel litters in which women ride.

In traditional Bedouin society, women played a central role. Women were full partners in the household economy - they participated among other things, in caring for flocks of goats and sheep, raising crops and weaving. Making the tent itself - from the spinning of the goat hair to the sewing together of the fabric strips, even erecting it - was women's work, and a skilled job.