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| Arabia |
| Saudi tribe holds camel beauty pageant |
| 2007-04-27 |
| This is the strangest story that I have see so far today out of the Middle East. Hat tip to Little Green Footballs. GUWEI'IYYA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - The legs are long, the eyes are big, the bodies curvaceous. Contestants in this Saudi-style beauty pageant have all the features you might expect anywhere else in the world, but with one crucial difference -- the competitors are camels. This week, the Qahtani tribe of western Saudi Arabia has been welcoming entrants to its Mazayen al-Ibl competition, a parade of the "most beautiful camels" in the desolate desert region of Guwei'iyya, 120 km (75 miles) west of Riyadh. "In Lebanon they have Miss Lebanon," jokes Walid, moderator of the competition's Web site. "Here we have Miss Camel." While tremendous oil wealth has brought rapid modernisation to the desert state of Saudi Arabia, the camel remains celebrated as a symbol of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of Bedouin Arabs. Throughout history camels have served multiple purposes as food, friend, transport and war machine. They were key to the Arab conquests of the Middle East and North Africa nearly 1,400 years ago that brought Islam to the world. Camels are also big business in a country where strict Islamic laws and tribal customs would make it impossible for women to take part in their own beauty contest. Delicate females or strapping males who attract the right attention during this week's show could sell for a million or more riyals. Sponsors have provided 10 million riyals (1.36 million pounds) for the contest, cash that also covers the 72 sports utility vehicles to be will be awarded as prizes. "Bedouin Arabs are intimately connected to camels and they want to preserve this heritage. The importance of this competition is that it helps preserve the pure-breds," said Sheikh Omair, one of the tribe's leaders. "We have more than 250 owners taking part and more than 1,500 camels," he said inside a huge tent where the final awards ceremony takes place. Over at the camel pen, the contestants are getting restless as the desert wind howls and whips up swirls of sand in the hot afternoon sun. Camel-drivers sing songs of praise to their prized possessions as they try to calm the animals down. Amid a large crowd of Bedouin who have gathered to watch, the head of the judging committee emerges to venture into an enclosure with some two dozen angry braying camels. "Beautiful, beautiful!" the judge mutters quietly to himself, inspecting the group. Finalists have been decorated with silver bands and body covers. "The nose should be long and droop down, that's more beautiful," explains Sultan al-Qahtani, one of the organisers. "The ears should stand back, and the neck should be long. The hump should be high, but slightly to the back." The camels are divided into four categories according to breed -- the black majaheem, white maghateer, dark brown shi'l and the sufur, which are beige with black shoulders. Arabic famously has over 40 terms for different types of camel. Some females have harnesses strapped around their genitalia to thwart any efforts by the males to mount them. One repeat offender called Marjaa has been moved away. "This one would fetch a million!" says Hamad al-Sudani, a camel-driver, admiring the heavy stud, or fahl. |
| Posted by:Gleng Unolulet1281 |
| #10 Well, we do have the Westminster Dog Show Yeah, but I'll be it's not a beauty contest! I wonder what the reaction is when Mohamhead the judge picks an ugly camel . . . . |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-04-27 15:54 |
| #9 so that game farm in Florida was onto something...... |
| Posted by: USN. Ret. 2007-04-27 14:03 |
| #8 Throughout history camels have served multiple purposes as food, friend, transport and war machine. And sometimes, much more than just a "friend". Bedouin Arabs are intimately connected to camels Usually after dark. Arabic famously has over 40 terms for different types of camel. Besides "hottie" and "vixen" they also include such endearments as "sweetheart", "honey" and "darling". Some females have harnesses strapped around their genitalia to thwart any efforts by the males to mount them. Some guys just can't be bothered to wait at the stage door like other fans. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-27 12:35 |
| #7 Somehow, based on the picture in #2, I can't see how "camel" and "beauty" can be part of the same sentence. |
| Posted by: Rambler 2007-04-27 08:46 |
| #6 Well, we do have the Westminster Dog Show. Now, do you remember the 2002 show, when they paid tribute to the rescue dogs who had worked at the World trade center? Quite moving. The Saudis would never understand that! |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2007-04-27 08:23 |
| #5 Goats don't spit at you either. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2007-04-27 07:20 |
| #4 I heard they prefer goats to camels, because you don't have to walk around the front to kiss them. |
| Posted by: Bunyip 2007-04-27 04:07 |
| #3 Hmm. Can I get back to you on that one? |
| Posted by: Mohamhead 2007-04-27 01:53 |
| #2 vs. |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-04-27 01:51 |
| #1 Damn, that's a good looking camel. Reserve her for Saturday celebrations please ! |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 2007-04-27 00:40 |