Thousands of camels will be fluttering their long eyelashes and swaying their giant humps in the Al Dhafrah Festival to celebrate Bedouin culture. As much as $40 million (AED) and 143 trucks will be given away.
Thousands of camels from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other countries have entered the beauty contest, where camels are assessed on strict criteria including the curvature of their ears, the size of their nose relative to the rest of the face and the fullness of hump.
The Al Dhafrah festival is organised by the Abu Dhabi authority for Culture and Heritage as a way of preserving the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) love of camels. Camels are always part of the culture of Bedouin life and revered as a measure of wealth. They have long been seen as central to the heritage of the Gulf.
There are two very distinct forms of camel worlds in UAE,: The racing animal and the animal that enters the beauty competition. Both bring huge money and prestige to owner.
Camels are known as the "ship of desert" and have always been the main measurement of wealth, along with horses and falcons.
