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two friends, forty takes, one adventure across continents
January 23rd by adrianna
Dear May,
When I first moved here they told me if I ever knocked down a camel while driving, I could expect to pay more blood money than if I killed a human being.
That’s how seriously they take their camels around these parts.
Intrigued, I made the journey to the city of Al Ain, 2 hours away from Dubai — home to one of the finest camel souks (markets) around here.
It wasn’t the easiest place to find. We drove about desperately lost for quite some time before stumbling upon a patch of desert with more camels than usual. Men dressed in traditional garb greeted us, and upon further conversation I realized they were mostly from Afghanistan and from the tribal parts of northern Pakistan.
And they knew their camels.
There are several sections, each for a different purpose: camels for milking, camels for eating, camels for racing, were appropriately segregated. And in the middle of it all, camels for riding (and photo ops), for a small fee.
They taught us how to tell the difference between one type of camel from the next, and what to look out for when buying a camel.
I briefly contemplated a career change when I found out you easily win up to two or three million dirhams (more than half a million US dollars) if you won one of these weekly races. Camel-racing is an ancient sport, and people’s passion for it hasn’t waned, not even by a bit. Every Friday in the winter, camel races are held at courses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi like the big one at Nad Al Sheba, and they’re really quite a spectacle. Because child camel jockeys caused such a human rights furore a few years ago, they now use… camel jockey robots, shaped like small children, controlled by their owners accompanying them some distance away in their cars, armed with remote controls. (More on the camel races when I go to one, in a few weeks!)
For now, window shopping around Al Ain’s camel souk is camel enough for me.
Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Music
Washboard Rhythm Kings – Pepper Steak
Posted in al-ain, camels, dubai, uae, video.