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It's true that most women would kill for a camel's
eyelashes, but other than that, they're hardly the most
attractive creatures on the planet, are they? Still,
we're all awaiting the results of next week's Abu Dhabi
based camel beauty pagent with bated breath.
 More
than 10,000 camels from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar
and Saudi Arabia will strut their humpy stuff next Wednesday,
before a panel of expert judges. One can only assume
what it takes to become a camel expert - let alone an
expert with an extra expertise in the area of beauty.
Personally, I've sat upon a camel all but once and found
the whole thing rather uninspiring. It pretty much involved
us plodding round in a circle as my friends and I looked
at each other in a confused fashion, wondering as to
the point of this added "adventurous bonus"
in our desert tour.
But still, the delights of camel riding aside, the
event, apparently, is part of a camel festival, which
aims to celebrate and preserve the region's cultural
heritage. Fair enough.
Did we mention that the lucky owners, whose camels
are deemed gorgeous enough, will be awarded a not-so-shoddy
total of Dhs 35 million in prize money, as well as 100
cars?
Yes, that's right. Cars.
Perhaps it's just me, but there's something kind of
"off" about the whole car part. Not only are
these participating camels required to be of purebred
origin and free from any contagious diseases, but their
proud owners are competing to win an opposing mode of
transport. It's kind of like cheering your kid on in
a school sports race, and then taking his mate out to
dinner. So much for the camel being the "ship of
the desert". Perhaps that's only true these days
if you still don't have a shiny, four-wheeled alternative?
"Preserving the rich heritage of the UAE and passing
it on to future generations constitutes one of the most
important missions which people of the UAE wish to undertake,
by connecting our culturally rich past with our aspired
bright and prosperous future," festival organizer
Mohammed al-Mazrouei said earlier this week.
It's all very noble and well-meaning, but surely adding
to the region's ever expanding traffic jams by introducing
100 new motors, slightly contradicts his mission to
re-connect us all with the past. Should he not just
give away more camels instead? Maybe give EVERYONE a
camel and make us give up cars together? Who needs them
anyway - they just put us all in more of a rush to make
the places we can't seem to reach as quickly as we used
to. And why are we all in such a rush anyway?
This camel contest is making me think a little too
much. Perhaps I'm being irrational. All I know, is that
if I were the winning camel at the beauty pagent next
Wednesday - no matter how lustrous my newly mascara-clad
eyelashes looked in the light of a setting desert sun
- I'd still be pretty miffed at watching my owner speed
off in a car.
Posted: 03 April 2008
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