Camel owners from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE took part in a beauty pageant and competition organized last month here at Om Rugaibah in Al-Dahnaa Desert, some 150 kilometers south west of Hafr Al-Baten and 300 kilometers north of Riyadh. The challenge was to find the best looking camel in Arabia.
A record number of people from every Gulf countries attended the camel festival transforming a 10-kilometer long strip of desert into a temporary city bustling with crowds and activity.
This colorful and lively event was organized for the fifth time under the auspices of Prince Mishaal ibn Abdul Aziz who distributed prizes to the owners of the winning camels last week.
Thousand of excited people watched this lively affair that meets yearly especially for promoting the camel breeders of the Arabian Peninsula and reviving the age old traditions of taming and training camels.
Ships of the desert “cat-walked” their way into the hearts of thousands of spectators before a panel of judges who evaluated them for their dignified gait; original Arabian bloodlines; whole physique; response to the slightest direction of the drivers and overall comeliness.
The camel pageant contest starts at 6:30 a.m. and lasts until 11 a.m. everyday with a colorful procession of decorated camels in a ring with their owners while specialized judges evaluate the entrants. The kind of mouth, how long and strong is the neck, the hump, big lips, and the beauty of the hair are among the criteria applied to determine the best looking camel.
“It is very difficult for those uninitiated in camel matters to describe some special terms that describe certain characteristics of camels,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Turky, an owner of camels. “The colors we know are not used to describe their color,” he explained.
“Black camels are labeled Majahim while white camels are called Maghatir,” he pointed out.
Camel owners take good care of their precious creatures. “They are scrubbed and shampooed every day,” said Metle Al-Otaiby who enters the contest every year. Pick up cars were seen laden with loads of fresh fodder and tanks of water.
A lot of camel breeders are making a roaring trade on this occasion with prices of camels reaching fabulous heights. “Some good camels fetch prices ranging from SR100,000 to SR200,000 a head,” said Nawwaf Al-Mutairy, a camel breeder at the festival.
Other contestants from the UAE criticized the role of media for their failure to cover such a big festival of the most precious animal of Arabia. “We only know of this festival through our friends whose main areas of interest are confined to camels,” Salmeen Al-Mansoori said.
Abdul Aziz Al-Mutairy has called upon authorities to invest in this promising festival and transform it into an international one. “Presenting your culture is just one way of interacting with others,” he said.
Several governmental sectors took part in the show to provide service to the large number of people attending the festival and these include Ministry of Municipality, Police, Civil Defense, Ministry of Islamic Affairs .
