However, many of the villages are blessed with good water and fertile soil.
Summer is the season for weddings and the associated tradition of horse riding.
The ground is sprayed with water in early morning to help keep the dust down during the afternoon festivities. A good sibeeb can attract rider groups and fanatics from tens and even hundreds of miles away. The Sibeeb riders and most of the observers are men. Some women gather on the sides to watch the riders, as well as to encourage them with old songs about valor, bravery, tribal pride, and horsemanship. The songs are so beautifully moving that some enchanted riders show off their skills on the side by making their horses dance to the cheer leaders' tunes.