Arriving at Camel Festival 2008

Yesterday M, the kids, and I went to the UAE Camel Festival in Madinat Zayed near Liwa, about two hours southwest of metropolitan Abu Dhabi. I absolutely loved the entire day, including the drive, because we saw what I've been longing to see more of: the desert. (More on the desert two posts down from this one.)

As we got further into the remote western region of Abu Dhabi, there were fewer and fewer signs in English. Once at the festival, I asked a police officer for information about the contest and he replied in French.

Above is the side road to the festival, wherein thousands of camels from the Arabian Gulf are competing for significant prizes of cash and cars, etc.

Everyone but us seemed to have a Land Cruiser and everyone but us seemed in need of getting somewhere in record time. Above is a fair display of the driving mentality on this road: if someone isn't going fast enough you go around him - a philosophy almost every driver seemed to be employing at the same time!

Good thing M was driving, as I tend to get excited when all the cars around me are about to plow into my car.

The above picture was typical of what we saw out our car windows before we parked: camels coming and going from the competition arena. If you click on the picture above you will see that despite the heat and the strong sun, the man leading these camels is smiling, his white teeth bright against his tanned skin.

Camel owners say each camel has his own look, his own face, like people. Most owners also seem to have great love for their camels, whose incredible hardiness and wide feet have taken many people across the desert before cars were available. I enjoyed watching the animals and their owners together.

Spread over the vast open land on either side of the makeshift road, as far as the eye could see, there were groups of camels and bedouin-style tents set up for their owners for this nine-day Camel Festival.

It was a feast for the eyes. Many camels were decked out in specially-made, sparkly bands around their humps and backs; some groups of camels wore their country's flag on their backs; many had thick hair on their humps but were otherwise shaved. Some were dark, like those above, and others were sand-colored.

Lunch Gulf Style

By the time we arrived at the Camel Festival Saturday at 12:30 p.m., the morning contests had ended. Most traditional activities in the Gulf follow this schedule: they begin early and close for the hottest part of the day - between 1 and 4 p.m. - and resume when the weather cools and people come out for the evening.

We toured the souq (above), a series of tents selling coffee pots, incense, etc., set up for the weeklong Camel Festival.

As we passed the tent above, the ladies inside said hello in Arabic and invited us in to their tent, even M and our boys. Though we'd only been outside a few minutes, the shade of the tent was a welcome respite from the hot sun.

The ladies inside - four sisters and their aunt who I believe were from Qatar -served us Arabic coffee, which is lighter than American coffee and has cardomom, saffron and cloves in it. Next we were given water and then a hot, sweet drink that looked like tea. Soon a man pulled up in a truck and gave the ladies two covered platters of cooked poultry on big beds of rice.

"Come," one of the ladies said, gesturing at the platters. She began pulling the meat off the bones of what I believe was goat and leaving it on the rice for us. She and her sisters began to eat. When I reached for some food with my left hand, she stopped me and pointed at my right hand. I regretted that I'd forgotten that many Arabs consider the left hand unclean and only use their right hand for eating.

Though I felt awkward eating with only my weak right hand, even spilling some of the rice on my lap, I noticed our hostesses never dropped a bit of food on their clothes. They were completely covered but for their hands and their striking brown eyes. They lifted their veils just enough to bring the meat and balls of rice they'd formed with their hands to their mouths.

Again I was impressed by the hospitality and graciousness of these Gulf ladies.

Camel Beauty Contest

Upon our return to Madinat Zayed and the Camel Festival, we entered the viewing area to see that it was already crowded - and men only. We sat in the next viewing area that was less crowded.

Above is the area where the camels were being judged. Yet again, I wish I spoke Arabic as the entire event was in that language. We could only guess what was being said and why the men in the audience clapped at certain points.

From the initial group of about 25 camels, about 15 were eliminated. The remaining 10 or so were brought closer to the viewing stand. At this point everyone came to the fence for a better look at the finalists. According to the newspapers the camels were classified by age and gender and type; they were then judged on the beauty of their face, the length of their necks, their muscle tone, and the silkiness of their hair.

Each camel had an Arabic number written on the side of its neck. In this contest, I liked number 6 the best; he or she had a particularly pretty face and fine proportions, in my unprofessional opinion. Unfortunately she was sent out before the final round.

When the winner was announced the viewers cheered and clapped most enthusiastically.

On our way out of the festival, we spotted this camel being hoisted into a farm truck.