Depending on the age of the village when the last occupant left, but more importantly because the people occupying it had traditional values; theft or putting it rather more euphemistically ‘ borrowed on a permanent basis’ other than in very rare instances, did not exist.
Two observations with this statement: tribal custom means that any of the community uses items that are not of a personal nature and is often misunderstood as theft by outsiders. Modernity brings its own problems.
As a consequence, all sorts of stuff can be found, old storage containers (1950’s ammunition boxes – very popular on the Jebel) pots, bottles, clothes and even the odd suitcase. Don’t get me wrong, there was not a cornucopia full and overflowing, just that old or unusable items just got left and were never touched by anyone else.
A small anecdotal story from my time in Jeddah – I was wandering around an open-air market and saw a stall which was obviously a footwear sellers, but covered in dust (lots !) so I asked about it. The answer was – He died a year or so back & none of the family have claimed the items……. nothing had been touched !
P.S
I made the mistake of editing this post in the ‘new editor’ it took all the paragraphs away !!!!!!
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