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Abu Dhabi: After nine days of camel beauty contests and a celebration of the desert's beloved beast, the world's largest 2008 Mazayin Dhafra Camel Festival comes to a resounding close.
Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser, attended the event to present the key winners their prize and to also examine the finalists in the competition.
About 250 kilometres from Abu Dhabi into the Western region, the desert was transformed into a glimpse of the Bedouin heritage.
Camel owners from throughout the region travelled along with their herd of camels to showcase their pride in hopes to cash in on a portion of the Dh35 million and 99 trucks given as prizes.
"The festival was a great success and an unforgettable celebration of our heritage," Ganem Al Mazroui, president of the Festival told Gulf News.
Al Mazroui praised the organisers who helped to make the festival a remarkable even across the region.
"This event raised the price of camels and the value of our heritage. Today's Bedouins are different. They may drive their Mercedes and live in grand villas but they still have their camels. The camels were born with us and will live with us," says Al Mazroui who takes pride in calling himself a modern Bedouin.
Emirati Mohammad Sayegh Al Mazroui, 29, says: "I won two cars and money for my camels."
Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, the organisers of the event, said it was the biggest and most comprehensive camel festival the Arab world has ever seen.
Each day for the past 10 days there was six competitions with different categories that depend on age, gender and type.
There are two different types of pure-bred camels: the Asayel and the Majahim. The Asayel are the lighter-skinned camels and the Majahim are the darker camels, which are very common in the Gulf region.
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