ARAB NEWS Sunday, August 12, 2018 3 Lightweight, electric-powered robots are fixed to the camels’ backs Spotlight before the race. BACK DROP The camel is known as the “ship of the desert” for its strength, endurance and ability. Camels have traditionally been a feature of life in the Arabian Gulf countries, but camel festivals are also held in India, Mongolia and Australia. Early inhabitants of the Arabian desert relied on camels for milk, meat, leather, transport and for battle. The Crown Prince Camel Festival will feature sport, cultural and entertainment activities alongside camel races. Below: Owners use remote-controlled robots to guide their camels. Ziyad Alarfaj SPORTING TRIUMPH And they’re off! Crown Prince Camel Festival starts in Taif Saudi Arabia has added a new camel festival to its diary — the largest in the region for its size and prize money camel heritage in Saudi, Arab and Countries started to organize and distance they can travel: Mafarid, festival prepared a 10-kilometer Mohammed Al-Sulami Taif Islamic culture. With that in mind, support these competitions with Haqqa, Laqaya, Jatha’a, Thanaya, camel race track, consisting of Mohammed Chebaro London it will feature sport, cultural and financial prizes.” Heil, Zamoul and Soudaniyat. seven paved tracks, three dedicated The first warm-ups of the entertainment activities alongside Saturday’s warm-up rounds started Races start with the entrance of to camel owners and one for media, inaugural Crown Prince educational workshops for camel amid great interest on the part the camels to the yard, where the with an outside barrier preventing Camel Festival started in Taif owners and visitors interested of owners and organizers. robots are mounted on their individuals from entering the field. in the early hours of Saturday, in camel sports. Robots were mounted backs. Next, camels are moved The manager of the camel field with thousands of camels on “Camel racing is a culture on the backs of camels to the numbering and regis- in Taif, Nawaf al-Qurashi, said a two-kilometer, high-tech we have inherited from our and controlled tration site and then trans- that the old site was developed track. But that was just a ancestors,” Hussein bin remotely by owners, ferred to another location, in a short period of time. The field start: Under the patronage Saud, a camel owner, told who followed their where they are brought to was completely illuminated by of Crown Prince Mohammed Arab News. “We used to camels on a route the starting platform by the the latest types of lighting and bin Salman, more than 10,000 participate in small regional determined by the organizers. divided according to the types of camels will be thrown in the competitions, sometimes organizing committee. Musa Abdullah, one of camels involved. ring over the next 42 days in without financial prizes, just The electric-powered the workers on the starting “This festival offers an oppor- the hopes of winning millions for tribal and regional reputation. robot, which weighs about platform, explained that camels tunity for all lovers of camel racing in prize money for special However, over the years, these three kilograms and costs about are arranged in rows without any to participate,” said Mohammed breed, good looks and speed. competitions became popular in SR2,000, can work for several hours. escorts. Then the starting gate is Al-Marri, an owner from the the Gulf countries and the compe- The race categories classify camels lifted remotely and the race begins. Eastern Province. Business leaders, politicians and tition became more enthusiastic. according to their age, sex and The organizing committee of the “The equipment that we have seen camel enthusiasts from the Gulf since our arrival in Taif gives a strong states and other Arab countries will indication that this festival will be head to one of the Middle East’s A GUIDE TO CAMEL RACING RACE DISTANCES the largest in the Middle East.” largest displays of the finest camels A race is generally between 25 to 30 registered entrants. Trainers And then there is the benefit to the in Saudi Arabia and the world. It is and owners decide distances and determine how races will be 4 km 10 km region’s economy. On the side of the handicapped. The trainers decide the distance and the class in Minimum race Maximum considered the strongest of its kind which a particular camel races, based on breed, age and sex. distance for race distance camel field, there were a lot of fodder in the region in terms of size and younger camels. for older animals. sellers, especially farmers who value of the prizes, with SR45 million grow alfalfa, as well as sheep sellers, ($12 million) on offer. restaurateurs and other vendors. It is also the largest camel race Mirghani Ahmed, an alfalfa in terms of the number of rounds, A gift of God seller, was reaping the gains. “The A camel is seen as a gift of God, or ‘Ata Allah’ in Arabic. 160km with a total of 781, including 308 Scientists believe that ancestors of the modern camel The distance a camel can walk influx of camels to this region has first warm-up rounds, 20 production lived in North America at least 40 million years ago, in the desert without water. increased the demand for fodder, wandering across the Alaskan land bridge to Asia and Camels can survive with little runs, two camel marathon rounds, eventually Africa. In Asia, two groups separated to or no food and water for up to so we harvest the crop of farms and become the two chief types of camel known today as 278 second warm-up rounds and seven days, losing a quarter of bring it to the camel field to sell it,” the dromedary, which is the Arabian camel, and the their body weight. 173 rounds in the final. This puts the two-humped, shorter-legged Bactrian camel. he said. “We may bring two or three festival firmly on top of the annual loads sometimes because of the fixtures that celebrate Saudi culture, A camel’s running style is divided into five speeds high demand.” sport and the value of its age-old WALK KHABIB SAFIF DALLI RUNNING Mashhud Aman, who works in The slowest A camel A medium High Maximum speed, animal, the camel. speed of walking in speed at speed when camels look a nearby restaurant, is another to In Saudi Arabia today, camels are camel second which a when as if they are benefit. “Camel racing has revived movement gear camel can camels jumping forward. celebrated for their beauty, grace and travel for race This can be the market with the influx of camel speed. Even as the country rapidly 1 2 hours 3 4 maintained for 5 owners and the workers accompa- short spells only modernizes, the animals remain a nying them,” he said. central part of Saudi culture, and The festival will continue for a lucrative one, with camel prices AGES eight days before stopping during reaching hundreds of thousands OF A the Hajj, and then continue until of dollars and even breaking the 1 2 3 4-5 5-6 6 Sept. 21. The key races will take place CAMEL MAFARID HAQQA LAQAYA JATHA’A THANAYA HEIL & ZAMOUL $1 million mark. Baby camel over Two years Three years old Aged between From 5-6 Six years on weekends and include two sets of The festival aims to enhance the 12 months old and over and over 4-5 years years old and over warm-up rounds..