Abu Dhabi Camel Beauty Contest

By Queuebot in Animals & Pets on Jul 30, 2009 at 3:02 pm

They come from Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. They parade in front of the judges, fluttering their enormous eyelashes and rotating their rubbery lips.

The judges know what they are looking for: shiny hair, long legs, a massive head, firm ears, an arched nose, a high back and a large and symmetrical hump.

The winners take home brand-new luxury sport-utility vehicles, but something more: the honor of the family.

Despite being outlawed by Saudi Arabian clerics, the camel pageant in Abu Dhabi is a popular annual event lasting nine days, with feasting at the end.

As the nomadic lifestyle declines on the Arabian Peninsula, with more Arabs living in mansions than in tents, the romance of the camel, which sustained life there for thousands of years, persists.

Photo by Randy Olson for National Geographic

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Marilyn Terrell.

Tags: abu dhabi, beauty contest, camel

Neat stuff from the NeatoShop:

Alex
Jul 30th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Barney Rubble: “People in Dubai don’t understand the value of camels.”

Fred Flintstone: “But those in Abu Dhabi do!”
seekshelter
Jul 30th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
last years winner was disqualified when it was discovered to be a donkey painted camel colors.
Zack
Jul 30th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Gawd. Have you any idea what they do to these poor animals? Even Robert Fisk, the excellent arabist, writes in his ginormous book “The Great War For Civilisation” that he has seen men climbing stairs to sodomize camels. Considering the camel’s height, the arabs could probably be more comfortable with smaller animals like goats – or women.
D Bozko
Jul 30th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
“The winners take home brand-new luxury sport-utility vehicles, but something more: the honor of the family.”

Is that the same “family honor” that allows them to kill their women for any perceived offense?
Kalel
Jul 30th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
How can you turned something as funny as a camel beauty contest, and turn it into a racist rant?
Ashley
Jul 30th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
I think it’s neat. Camel beauty contests would be a good way to judge the best of the breed and use it for further breeding. And Kalel–some people look for an excuse to go on racist rants.
Vonskippy
Jul 30th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
So how come the clerics don’t chop the hands or heads of the participants like they do for every other infraction?
Kalel
Jul 31st, 2009 at 1:05 am
Pardon my grammatical errors above; It’s hard to type from up on my high-horse, lol.
anonymoussss
Jul 31st, 2009 at 8:40 am
I lived in Oman and Dubai… they’re both such beautiful places… especially Oman, wow. I hate camels though =/ but this is pretty funny…

Zack, men all over the world do terrible things to all different kinds of animals.

And everyone else – you can’t judge a people by their laws. Everyone’s laws were fucked up at some point in time. It’s the individual’s thoughts and actions you judge… and, this camel beauty contest, has absolutely nothing to do with any of that anyway…
Johnny Cat
Jul 31st, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Am I the only one that thought Alex’s joke was hilarious?

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