UAE | Heritage and Culture

Al Dhafra camel festival ends on a shrill note

After ten exciting days of camel auctions and beauty competition, the Al Dhafra Camel Festival ended yesterday on a high note, in the Western Region.

  • By Eman Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
  • Published: 23:34 January 1, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • 18-month-old Oliver Wilson in close encounter with a two-day old Majahim camel. She's seen here with her father Ian.
  • Image Credit: hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News
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Abu Dhabi: After ten exciting days of camel auctions and beauty competition, the Al Dhafra Camel Festival ended yesterday on a high note, in the Western Region.

Winners in the 44 camel beauty contest labs were honoured and given their top prizes that included Range Rover car for first position, Toyota Station and Toyota Pick-Up for second and third position respectively, as well as cash prizes worth Dh40 million for the remaining six positions.

The second edition festival was held under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and was organised by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach).

Shaikh Hazaa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan honoured some of the first winners in the contest that witnessed stiff competition among more than 24,000 camels, drawn from participating countries in the GCC.

After the award ceremony, camel owners dismantled their tents and camps around the festival location near Madinat Zayed camel race truck, ready for their journey back home.

The event also witnessed more than 1,100 women competing in the handicrafts categories. "The judging committee worked hard to select the winning items, as all the products were of very high quality," said Mahra Khalaf Al Mazroui, the director of administration affairs at Western Region Development Counsel.

The competition aimed at portraying the local culture and how it has been passed down to the current generation.

Winners in this category were awarded a total cash prize of Dh111,000. In the poetry feat, the first position was taken by Saudi poet Tha'ali Gzay Aal Otabi. More than 400 poets from 11 Arab countries took part in the competition.

Second placed winner was Emirati Mubarak Talib Al Mansouri. Sultan Al Amimi director of the competition and poetry academy, said: "It was not easy for the judging committee to choose winners as the competition was very stiff."

Another Saudi poet Sultan Muhsen Al Dusari clinched the third position.

The competition brought to life an ancient form of poetry where artists used creative words to describe camels' beauty and their origin. In the date packaging competition, more than 700 participants took part, in the event that was organised to encourage farmers to improve the quality of their dates production.

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