Life & Style | Travel
An authentic taste of Arabia
With more than 24,000 animals on show, Al Dhafra Camel Festival showcased Emirati traditions and a simpler way of life.
- By Eman Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
- Published: 23:47 January 9, 2009
- The Al Dhafra Festival allows people to enjoy a bevy of beautiful beasts.
- Image Credit: Ravindranath/Gulf News
The ten-day Al Dhafra Festival, which came to a conclusion at New Year, was enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors from all over the GCC and further afield.
One such visitor, Lee Roberts, an Australian who has worked in Abu Dhabi airport for a year told Gulf News: “It's amazing to see all of these genuine traditions still alive and kicking in Emirati culture'' Roberts was visiting the Western Region for the first time and thinks “Such events will help keep the culture alive''.
His wife Bridget added: “I liked the camel beauty contest a lot — you don't get that anywhere else''.
She also added that she felt the event should be promoted more and that she would like to see more general information on offer.
The couple promised to come back next year to get to know Emirati culture better.
Hamza Ali, an Indian living in Abu Dhabi for 16 years, came with his family to the festival. Ali, who was busy taking lots of snaps of the event, said “We came to see the native culture of the UAE; we are curious to know how life was before the oil was discovered and modern cities were build, we want to feel the original Bedouin culture'' he said.
Beauty and the beasts
Most of all, Ali and his family wanted to see the camels taking part in the beauty contest.
“I never imagined how beautiful camels could be until I came here. They are judged on everything from their heads, neck, general shape and size'' he added.
Ali. his wife Rashida and their two children Mohammed Hamd and Mohammed Owis, are planning to visit similar events in the region.
Nora Dransfeld from England has been living in UAE for four years but she had: “never witnessed such an impressive local event that brings so many kinds of people together''.
Another Brit, John Highmore from England, who has been in UAE for eighteen months, could not hide his excitement watching the camel auction.
“It's amazing to watch unbroken traditions and its fantastic to be part of such an event that reminds you of the hard way of life people used to endure in the desert; it's easy to forget that you are living in a city as you see this authentic Arabian culture,'' he said.
Highmore and his fiancée witnessed a thirsty one-day-old camel reaching for his mother taking part in the beauty contest “I have never seen that before'' he said.
“I would bring my parents to this event; every resident in the UAE has to come and see this rich traditions,'' he added.
For 2009
The Western Region is known for its traditional festivals and although the Al Dhafra Camel Festival has ended, there are several other events that reflect traditional Bedouin culture, including camel racing and falconry competitions.
There is also the Liwa dates festival in August, and the Desert challenge - which is known as Tall Mureeb (The horrifying hell) which will start January 15, 2009. In addition, the area is great for camping, especially at this time of the year as the temperature is pleasant.
Western region
The Western Region covers a staggering 60.000 square kilometres, which equates to 71 per cent of the total land mass of the UAE.
The area includes seven main cities with the administration centre of the region being Madinat Zayed (about 200 kilometres away from Abu Dhabi) which is named after late Shaikh Zyed.
The cities are: Liwa, Ghayathi, Mirfa, Ruwais, Sila and the two islands Sir Bani Yas and Dalma.
About the festival
Held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and organised by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), the Dhafra Festival was held in Madinet Zayed in Abu Dhabi from December 23, 2008 to January 1, 2009, in a large expanse of desert in the Western Region.
The Mazayina Camels Competition attracted more than 2000 camel owners, who participated in the different competition categories with more than 24,000 camels on show.
Prizes in various competitions mounted to approximately Dh40 million (US $11 million).
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