Camel Race

Running a Tradition

For the past 25 years, the Janadriya National Heritage and Culture Festival has become a cultural link between the past and the present, and a major national occasion attended by luminaries from all over the world. A stellar event at the National Guard-organized festival is the camel race, a thrilling experience where thoroughbreds vie for the coveted Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.

The ‘ship of the desert’ is seen at its fastest best, a far cry from its image of a listless, lanky animal. They gather speeds up to 60 kms per hour after months of regimented training and strict diet.

This year, as many as 1,500 camels from all over the Gulf region ran six different races. The camels were grouped according to their breed, each class taking on different difficulty levels.

Various categories
The camel breeds, bearing exotic Arabic names, raced on tracks of varying lengths. The Hail and Zamul breeds ran the opening race of 19 kms. Another variety, Sounaniya ran in the second race covering a distance of 20 kms. The Jadhaan, Baccar, and Jadhaan Qaadan camels contested in the next race of six kms. Baccar and Thanawat participated in the fourth race, while the fifth covered nine kms, with Qaadan and Thanayan participating. Baccar, Thanawat, Qaadan, Thanayan, ran the final race covering nine kms.

Traditional folk dancers from Saudi Arabia’s various regions, household implements used by the region’s forefathers, and early agricultural techniques were the other high spots of the festival. Due to popular demand, the duration of the festival was extended this year from the customary 14 days to 16.

Popular operetta
The operetta held every year as part of the festival was another major attraction.The songs for the operetta, under the theme, «Unity of a nation,” were written by Saudi poet Abdullah Bin Drees, composed by Majid Al Muhandis and Nasser Al Saleh, and rendered by well-known singers. The theme emphasized the attention paid by the Saudi leadership, under King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, to issues pertaining to unity, peace and dialogue.

A virtual heritage village was set up at Janadriya where several cutural institutions were represented. Souks, or traditional markets, displayed handicrafts and products from different regions.
More than 400 celebrities attended the festival which included as many as 150 different cultural events representing the various regions of the country. Several events covering the cultural asepcts specific to women were also staged.