Camel competition

Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage says initial preparations for Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival expected to be finished by end of week.


ABU DHABI - The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) putting its final touches for the ‘Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival 2008’ as part of its efforts to promote local folklore through cultural events in Abu Dhabi.

The festival, which will take place during the first week of April (2nd-5th) in Zayed City in the Western Province, includes a rare ‘camel beauty contest’, singing shows, display of UAE handcrafts, and other activities.

The event, held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, is dedicated to special shows for ‘Asayel’ (pedigree) and ‘Majahim’ (dark-skinned).


Mazrouei said the ‘Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival 2008’ aims to help in preserving the UAE’s national folklore and ensuring that it will pass to future generations, as purebred camels had and will continue to play an important part in traditional Arab life.

The camels would be divided into age groups and owners can participate with more than one camel as long as they prove the ownership of those camels. The participating camels are required to be of a purebred origin and free of any contagious disease or serious defects.

Source: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=25030

Race camels are characterized by small heads and ears; alert eyes; fine and supple neck that is joined low down to the trunk, long and fine shoulders; very deep chest with well sprung ribs right to the back and terminating not far from pelvic bone, straight and fairly close forelegs; straight and well spaced hindlegs; well muscled quarters; mediumfeet; fine and supple skin, and easy and tireless pace. Race camels are also used in the police force in many countries (Wilson, 1984; Wardeh, 1989a) examples are:

The Mehari or Mehri: The Mehari is a thoroughbred race camel that descended from the Murrah camels in the Sultanate of Oman. They are beautiful, light colored and very famous race camels in the Sahara. The colonial French troops formed the Meharist corp. They used the Mehari camels for riding troop and divided them into three categories according to height at withers. Camels that were 190-200 cm high were used by officers, while those of 185 cm high, were used by ranks and files. Any other camels with less but with a minimum of 180 cm were used as pack animals(Wilson, 1984).

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A cute camel sign:

Latest news:
"ABU DHABI – More than ten thousand camels have been registered to take part at Abu Dhabi’s Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival 2008 which will be held from April 2nd to the 10th, said Sheikh Mohammed Bin Beti Al Hamed, Representative of Abu Dhabi Ruler in the Western Province and the head of the High Committee of the festival. "

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How its written the word "Mehari or Mehri" in arabic because i can't find any picture on my search page :blind:

The Regbi: A breed type of the Mehari that is finely built, with a light colored coat and about 200 cm high at the withers, found in the extremesouth of Ain Safra south of Algeria and the extreme north of east of Mauritania and north west of Mali. J. Camel Science. 2004, 1:1-7

The Touareg or Al Tarqi:They are breed types of the Mehari that are raised by the Touareg tribes in the Sahara. They are also called ldrar and AL Azwad camels.

Al Anafi: Are characterized by long legs; slender and light body; short back; small, long head; smallnarrow, upright ears; large, sharp eyes; fine, thin skin; and white color. They are bred by Juhayneya, AL Refaa, Kenana, Shukreya and Kawahla tribes east of Atbara river in eastern Sudan. AL Anafi camels are race and ride camelswhich are famous for speed (7-12 km/h),especially for the first 10 km.

Al Bishari: Are bred by Bisharian, AL Omara and Hendiwenda of the Beja tribe in Kassala and the Red Sea regions. They are very famous for their racing ability and won many prizes in Saudi Arabia (Wardeh, 1989a).

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Training Process of Racing :-Camel training programs for racing purposes differ depending on the region and environment. Camels begin training when they are approximately 13 months old until they reach the age of 3 and begin racing. For the purpose of this site, Gulf region training techniques will be focused on.


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A curious camel about racing:

Latest news:​

Camels ready for the contest:


"The Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival 2008 kicked off Wednesday in Abu Dhabi’s Western Province, in what is regarded as the biggest camel show in history.

The event attracted the participation of over 15,000 camels from all over the Arab Gulf, according to official sources.

....Al Amiri added that a special care was taken in selecting the contest’s judging panel, who were appointed in total confidentiality after meeting the right criteria, noting that members of panel were deliberately chosen from different nationalities and origins and that they enjoyed much respect in their field.

...continues until the 10th April. "


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A pedigree camel with a very proper cover for her back: