Camel Beauty Pageant

I had thought that all camels were good-looking. But, it turns out some are more beautiful than others. So it was, we went to a Camel Beauty Pageant. This was held as part of the Al Dhafra Festival about 2 hours south of Abu Dhabi out in the desert near the town of Liwa.

Al Wathba Camel Race - Final Stretch

Our first Bedouin festival, the Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival at Al Wathba a couple of weeks earlier had also featured racing and competitions of the ‘big four’ of Bedouin culture; camels, falcons, Salukis (dogs) and Arabian horses. In addition, it featured singing, dancing and hundreds of camels in individual and group displays of virtuoso riding. All set in a relatively compact site, close to Abu Dhabi.

We’d attended the camel racing there, where camels race around an 8 km oval, sand track encouraged by their owners, driving SUVs on the concentric roadways. The camels ran silently but the approaching sound of their owners was deafening!

Another site featured stunt riders passing on a track between the grandstand and the stage highlighted by a jumbotron; offstage, camels and their riders sat patiently waiting their turn. In the stands, we were served coffee and pastries as we sat holding our cameras – it was very civilized: but, no Camel Beauty Pageant.

The Al Dhafra Festival is spread out over several square miles and it was tricky to find the pageant site, but we made it just before the finals. The contest was held in front of a large grandstand and we took our seats in the centre section; the camels were being led around gated compounds in the infield. The section to our right was filled with boys and youths, jammed up against the retaining fence at the front of the grandstand.

As the winners were announced, the whole right section rose as one, screaming and throwing their keffiyehs (headscarves) in the air, then they scrambled to get onto the field as security held them back until they could open the gate. I asked a guide what they were so excited about. “Their camel just won,” he said. “All of them?” It’s a Bedouin family affair…

Al Dhafra - Camel Beauties

It seemed the most beautiful camels were large, dark brown, females. They towered over the youths as they tied headscarves around their necks and adorned them with jewel-encrusted necklaces & humplaces (my word for a necklace around the hump). The most prized animals are worth $2 to $3 million (£1.5 to £2M).

Bargaining at the Souk

Each festival incorporates a large souk (market) of spices, incense, Emirati garments and local delicacies, staffed by women, most wearing their mask-like burkas, not seen in the city. These  souks preserve traditional crafts and promote locally made goods. After the excitement of the beauty contest we visited the souk to buy incense as Christmas gifts.

As we entered the souk, Sheikh Mansour, Abu Dhabi’s Deputy Prime Minister and a key sponsor of the Al Dhafra Festival (and Manchester City FC) was touring the stalls with his entourage, his rock star persona reflected in the excitement of the vendors.

As we left, I noticed a mobile gas station parked in the sand, just off the road. Despite being just a large truck, it was clearly a gas station by the long line of cars leading up to it!

Al Wathba - Waiting to Ride