Seasons

At midsummer, daytime in Shra on average lasts 11.7 Earth hours, 2/3 of the full day. At midwinter this is just 5.9 Earth hours, 1/3 of the full day. Summer heat and winter cold make sure that both sapients and wildlife stay mostly inside and underground during these seasons. The times of activity are spring and autumn, each lasting only about 1/6 of the year. During these two periods all life hurries to make the best of the mild temperatures, then bunkers down again. Summer and winter are called 'low' seasons, spring and autumn 'high'. While temperatures outside swing wildly, in caves and the cellars of dugout houses the temperature is almost constant, ranging between +10 and +20 degrees centigrade throughout the year instead of the -40 to +65 outside.

Settlements and infrastructure

Almost all of the surface of Shra is wilderness. Humans and other sapients huddle together in small settlements. Invariably these are situated near valuable resources: oases, mines. A few standalone forts in strategic locations house small garrisons. All settlements have walls to guard them against bandits.
There are no paved roads in Shra and only a handful of dirt tracks. Building and maintenance would cost too much, faced with the temperature extremes and dust storms that sweep the region all the time. Also, because Shra is relatively flat, there is not much need for them. There are no permanent rivers and certainly no canals; there is not even enough water to fill small ditches.

Architecture

The people of Shra build their houses as much under as above ground. The surface offers light that makes plants grow and lets people use their eyesight. But the underground softens temperature extremes and shields against dust storms. Often the distinction between above ground and under ground is very blurred.
Above ground, settlements appear like the igherman of Earth. They rise above the surrounding landscape, are encircled by walls for defense and internally have narrow, winding streets. This construction also ensures shade when the sun shines fiercely. Many have domed roofs to shield against the sun in summer and retain some warmth in in winter. The walls of expensive buildings are made of 'dry' stone, constructed of tight-fitting blocks like the Inca used on Earth. There is no soft sedimentary rock like limestone or sandstone on Shra. Instead major constructions are built with hard rocks like basalt, granite, gneiss and schist. The majority of buildings are not so grand. They use rammed earth, cob or mudbrick, which are easy to work and last long in the aridity of Shra. However these too are expensive due to the scarcity of some materials. Shra walls use no cement or lime, little clay and much fiber. Wood, also rare, is sometimes used for poles, beams or upper floors, never for walls or ground floors.

Water and food

Both water and food are scarce in Shra. Animals are a major source of proteins, but hunters have a hard time catching them. Fishing is nearly non-existent, except at large oases. Agriculture is very limited too. Horticulture is practiced more widely, again at oases. Settlements that have a steady supply of water practice irrigation to spread beyond the immediate water source, though their fields remain tiny compared to the vast land area of Shra.

Hygiene

Because water is so scarce, it is used almost exclusively for drinking and watering plants. It is sometimes used (and many times re-used) for washing, seldom for cooking. Humans mostly wash using "tasabun", 'dry soap', if it is available and use various herbs as perfumes. Another tactic is to rub the skin with oil and then rub or scrape it off together with the dirt, like the Romans did on Earth. Surre have an easier time at cleaning with their tough skins. They often can simply clean themselves with sand. When their skin gets old and scarred, it usually is time to shed it. Older surre do not molt so often and must work harder to keep clean.
Cleaning after defecation is another difficulty without water. People preferably wipe their bottom with a leaf of the agrhsh plant, which has a rough surface that is both good for cleaning and uncomfortable for the skin.

Clothing

The people of Shra generally dress according to season: many layers in winter, few in summer. In winter, Surre wear thick woolen tunics, coats and overcoats, covering themselves so much that humans call them 'fluffballs'. In the heat of summer they simply go naked. Youngsters may wear 'ropes', flimsy clothes designed not to hide but to accentuate their features. Humans dress more soberly. They favor Arab style black voluminous robes. These prevent sweat from evaporating too quickly in heat, yet also insulate against cold.
Many clothes are made from camel or goat wool, some of leather. Finer materials such as cotton, linen and silk are unknown. The Shra alternative is fiber from yarql bushes, one the few which grow sizable leaves. Hair from longhair lemmings is used to weave soft and warm dresses, plus ropes.
Clothing types overlap somewhat with the clothing of Earth desert peoples. In Shra the basic garments are often a loose shirt combined with pants, sometimes a tunic. These can be topped with a robe like a burnous or kaftan. On the feet sandals are worn in high temperatures, shoes or leather boots when its cooler and thick furred boots when it is cold. Both men and women show off their wealth by decorating their clothes with beautiful patterns, or studding them with jewels.
In Shra both men and women wear a tagelmust, a long piece of cloth that resembles both a veil and a turban. Unlike the Earth Tuareg tagelmust, blue is not a dominant color. Colors, patterns and style of wearing denote where a person is from and sometimes even caste. Especially among the elite subtle differences in arrangement and gestures of adjustment of the tagelmust signal emotions. This acts as a replacement of the movement of facial muscles, which are hidden under the tagelmust. Indoors, the tagelmust is always worn loose, revealing the face. Covering one's face indoors is considered rude.

Genders, marriage, children

Most societies in Shra are neither patriarchal nor matriarchal; there is substantial gender equality. The warfare among the oases is mostly the business of men, though women make equally competent camel archers. However war and trade are secondary to growing food, in which both sexes play an equal part. Female careers are hampered by child care, which is aggravated by lack of birth control. Yet in summer and winter, when everyone bunkers down in the houses, women wield much power.
In Shra there is a long standing tradition of marriage out of love. However this is mostly a romantic ideal. Many people try to marry upwards to better their social and economic station. Few succeed, as the upper classes prefer to marry among themselves. However marriage to relatives of the first and second degree is strictly forbidden.
In theory husbands and wives choose each other, but in practice some arranged marriages do occur. A marriage needs consent of both partners, so an arranged bride or bridegroom can refuse. They may be coerced into marriage through pressure from their families. Two people can legally marry when both are 21 Shra-years (15½ Earth-years) or older.
Marriage in Shra is polygamous. People can have multiple spouses, though few do because of the financial burden. This rule applies to both husbands and wives. Married couples, triples or other multiples are legally required to care for each other and all of their children. They can divorce only with mutual consent, though some buy off spouses who are not welcome anymore. In case of a divorce the children always stay with the woman.
If marriage is not attainable, both women and men can become concubines instead. The master in the relation has an obligation to care for his/her concubines and their children, though the latter do not share in the inheritance when he/she dies. Therefore concubinage in Shra is little better than slavery. Indeed, many slaves are used for sexual services, without the legal status of a concubine. People can be married and have concubines at the same time, though this is rare because the partner tends to object heavily.
Women who engage in fornication or adultery are required to support their bastard children. The same holds true for men who father children with their concubines or slaves. Partners tend to take a very dim view of this, discouraging such behavior in any but the most lustful people. Masters guard their concubines and slaves, often castrating make slaves into eunuchs, to prevent bastards that are not their own.

Inheritance

In Shra families, when one of a married couple dies, the other inherits all possessions. In the rare cases where the deceased has multiple spouses, each inherits an equal share. For inheritance further down the line, a partial ultimogeniture is the norm. When both parents have perished, their children inherit semi-equally, each getting a share and the youngest three shares. When there are too many children and the land gets too fragmented, some sell their share to others and seek another trade, or try to marry into another family. This reshuffeling of land is not always a peaceful process; sometimes people are killed for their wealth.
There is no minimum age for inheritance or possession of wealth. In fact, the ultimogeniture system often bequeaths substantial sums to small children. However, these are not allowed to use it until they reach marriage-age. Until then, the wealth is administered by an elder sibling or another member of the family. These are required to do their best in keeping or even increasing the legacy, though sometimes use it for their own gain or just squander it.

Travel

Trade, war and to a lesser degree family business forces the people of Shra to sometimes leave their shelters and go abroad. Most of this is done with pack animals, especially camels. Travelers rarely go alone because of the many dangers along the road, like dust storms, predators and bandits. Instead they travel in caravans, ranging from small to large. Camel caravans ride as hard as they can from one oasis to another. When fully loaded, they walk at a speed of 5 kilometers per Earth-hour, making 30 kilometers per Shra-day, equivalent to some 40 kilometers per Earth-day. Camels can carry roughly 30% of their body weight during a day trek. Companies of lightly loaded riders go 50% faster; the record is 10 Shra-hours from Neftan to Tuiga, equivalent to 10.5 kilometers per Earth-hour.
The reg of the Nzgh in the southeast is in many places very smooth. Possibly inspired by local duwr, the peoples of the villages there have developed 'wind wagons'. These are light wheeled vehicles with lateen yarql sails on them. Harnessing the power of the wind, these wagons can cover large distances with minimal effort. In places they have replaced camels as the primary means of transport. Wind wagons can go very fast, up to three times the speed of a sprinting camel. However this is considered reckless for normal travel. Only wagons steered by the local people can go fast, because navigating among the many obstacles requires excellent knowledge of the terrain. Every upper season these people engage in races, for both fun and prestige, in which they accelerate to the aforementioned reckless speeds.
The Shra concept of hospitality is different from those found on Earth. The urge of the people of Shra to show off is far less. A traveler who is stranded at a settlement during a low season can call on the hospitality of the community. He or she will be housed, fed, clothed and protected somewhere, for the entire season. However this is not generosity. The guest must pay with money, goods or labor. If unwilling or unable, he or she will be enslaved.

Arts and entertainment

In the high seasons humans and surre are very busy growing crops, trading, traveling and everything else that can and needs to be done while the going is good. In the low seasons they are confined to their houses and seek entertainment to drive away boredom.
The most popular phenomenon is iqishtinim, a kind of interactive storytelling with music and dance. The stories can be about anything: love stories, heroic tales, pastiches, drama, religious parables and more. Central is the iqishtr, the main storyteller, who sometimes rhymes, sometimes sings and sometimes just talks. He or she can follow well known storylines, improvise, or a combination of both. Preferably the iqishtr is accompanied by others: actors, musicians, dancers. The public too, may be tempted to join and fill guest roles.
Next to the highly interactive and communal iqishtinim there are a number of solo arts: writing, painting, sculpting. The solo artists produce lasting works that are traded or visited by art lovers.
There is a distinction between 'folk' art and 'high' art. The former is accessible to and loved by the common; the latter intricate and many-layered, appreciated by the shwu-saturated elite. High art is often interwoven with politics, used to increase prestige or subtly insult opponents. Therefore the life of a high artist is a dangerous one, as he/she may be caught in a feud between rival families.

Festivals

Each settlement has its own specific festivals, but all of them celebrate Spring Rush and Autumn Rush, the two equinoxes, when temperatures are at their mildest and life at its peak. Almost all other local festivals are in the spring and autumn. They are brief, intense affairs that last no longer than a day and night, or the other way around. Parades, music and dance, religious ceremonies, feasting and drinking are all crammed into one full day during which no-one sleeps.
In contrast, summer and winter festivals like the solstices are long, drawn out affairs where people visit relatives, tell tales, play music and exchange gifts.