Camel Racing

I didn't post yesterday because I promised I wouldn't if I didn't have anything to say. I know.  I know,  As you look over some of the previous posts, there are probably several that fall in that category.

Anyway, today was different.

I started the day watching the Brad Pitt movie, Moneyball.  Now those of you who know me, know that I'm NOT a baseball fan.  Watching that game is like watching paint dry.  Both Ben and Frankie played, and Ben continued through high school.  I couldn't wait til he was driving so that he could drive himself to the practices and games.

Furthermore, I'm not a Brad Pitt fan, but the reviews of Moneyball were intriguing, so I figured, what the heck.  Well, it was so much better than I expected. It was more about the process of playing the game instead of the game itself.  I highly recommend it.

I watched the movie while lounging in bed, and finally got up at about noon.

Rows and rows of huge SUVs a few of which were driven just outside of the track, keeping pace with the camels

There has been a camel festival happening for two weeks, ending today.  The teacher who told me about Paradise Park, mentioned this, too.  I tried to find it on Tuesday, on my way home from Abu Dhabi, with no luck.  Today I found it with no problem.  I was armed with a map and Peter, so I was good to go.

When I walked out of the door, I noticed that we were having a bit of a sand storm. The sky was cloudy with dust.  The route to the camel festival took me through mountains of sand dunes on either side of the road, lasting most of the hour it took me to get there.  The further I got into the desert, the stronger the winds and the gusts of sand whipping through the air.  The sane dunes looked like they were smoking on top, but it was just the clouds of sand moving across them.

Traditional Cane Dancing

Camel racing is a big deal in the country as they're doing all that they can to preserve their heritage and the camels are very much a part of it.  There will be another festival in April that I will definitely plan to attend because I missed the beauty contest.  Yes.  The camel beauty contest.  That had to be a hoot.

Meanwhile, today's event had lots of folks - expats and nationals, in spite of the wind.  There were nationals at the entrance welcoming us and guiding us inside. The entrance was a tent with red carpet leading the way into a larger tent with hundreds of seats, the first two rows of which were red velvet high back chairs, something dignitaries might sit in.  They were available to all, so there were ex-pats sitting in them.  On the left, separated by an aisle and a little ways off, were scores and scores of nationals.

Drummers

It was supposed to begin at 2:00, but they were just thinking about starting at 3:00. We definitely operate on Arab time here.  There was traditional music playing on a boom box, entertaining the crowd while we waited.  Then an elderly statesman-like national seated on the side of the tent where the sound system was, officially welcomed us to the event and he shared what would be happening today.

This was followed by the traditional cane dance that the Emirate men performed, along with the traditional "whip you hair" dance the women do.  The Emirate women always have their hair covered, so it's a big deal when it's not.  Of course, the guys' heads are covered all the time, too.

You can't see it, but this camera is wrapped in plastic to protect it from the dust

You can't see it in either the pictures or the videos, but the men's arms are linked as they dance.  It was very interesting to see young and old men dancing.  The boys learn this dance at the young age, as I've seen them do it at my school.

Gittin' Down . . . Arabian Style!

Finally, if time permits, check out this .pdf file that show the pageantry of the festival.  It's written in Arabic, but the pictures tell the story.  Enjoy!

file:///Users/fayesharpe/Desktop/sheikh-sultan-bin-zayed-al-nahyan-camel%20Festival%20copy.pdf