"You arrive in a village, and in this calm environment, you begin to hear an echo."-- Yannick NoahThe writings of various ethnographers and anthropologists aim to inform and educate the reader by making them aware and understand unexplored cultures. The value of such a work is directly related to the author's familiarity with the culture. For example, a person with intimate knowledge of a situation has different ideas, but also different prejudices than an outsider. Elizabeth Fernea’s work “The Sheik’s Guests” is a combination of these two perspectives. It documents her immersion in the society and culture of El Nahra, a village in Iraq, during the first two years of her marriage to Bob, an anthropologist. Her honest and frank account offers a fascinating insight into the lives of the men and women living in the village and the relationship that Elizabeth, affectionately called Beeja by the village residents, has with them. Elizabeth begins her journey with apprehension, but without excitement. She takes many of her Western ideas with her to El Nahra, but quickly discovers that to be accepted, she must adhere to local customs. The practice of purdah, or seclusion of women, is one she struggles with immediately and often. Her preconceived notions regarding the wearing of the veil and the isolation of women seem to show that she saw this practice as removing women from society. Upon arrival, she realizes that as the only woman without an abayah, she is a curiosity and reluctantly changes her stance on the garment, thinking, “Well, it seemed I had capitulated; After all, I was going to wear this subservient garment. I discovered that my principles were not as strong...... middle of paper ...... women are a crucial part of this society and are integral to maintaining it. Despite her early hesitations and preconceived ideas about the status of women within this society, Elizabeth learns that each member has their place within the social hierarchy. Even though Elizabeth, or Beeja, failed to change the society of El Nahra as she thought she would, she earned a place within it and gained the respect of the women and men of the society. Works Cited Fernea, Elizabeth. Guests of the Sheikh: an ethnography of an Iraqi village. New York: Anchor Books, 1969. Joseph, Suad, “Gender and Relationality Among Arab Families in Lebanon,” Feminist Studies 19:3 (1993): 465-486. Pierce, Leslie. The Imperial Harem: Women and Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire. London: Oxford University Press, 1993. The Holy Quran, Al-Ahzab 33:53.