It must have been SO messy! If you think about it, they traveled by foot and my guess is that showers and baths were not readily available in the middle of the dessert. Not to mention getting a deep tan from getting baked in the sun. But as you said, our folklore paints him white, and apparently recently showered.

I once went to mass to see a priest friend of mine. During his sermon he spoke about a battle between the Jews and I-can't-remember-who, where every time Abraham raised his arms the Jews did well. When he dropped his arms, the Jews took hits. Since Abraham was too old, two young men helped him keep his arms up. This is where my priest friend pointed out that people didn't bathe as often back then. They were also in the middle of the desert, so you can imagine that it was hot! So, my friend said, you can only imagine what Abraham smelled like! It was hard to keep from laughing.

I never thought of that... and only points out how sanitized our perceptions are.... which begs the question: is "sanitized" automatically white?