EYE OPENEREYE OPENER
Quest for
camel-lot
RUMAH, SAUDI ARABIA
Eager buyers surround a
herd of camels in the
Ad-Dahn desert of Saudi
Arabia, during the annual
King Abdulaziz Camel
Festival in Rumah.
Camel racing and the
‘Miss Camel’ beauty
competition are highlights
of the festival. A long neck,
delicate ears, full lips and a
shapely hump are all
criteria for the most
beautiful camel.
The festival was rocked
with scandal in 2018 when
a dozen camels were
disqualified from the
beauty contest due to the
discovery of cosmetic
enhancement – owners
had injected botox into
the camels’ lips, to make
the animals’ pouts look
more alluring.
Camels are a proud
symbol of Saudi Arabia
and the King Abdulaziz
Camel Festival is the
world’s largest, and
richest, camel festival.
It’s a sprawling six-week
event for the country’s
elite, with prize-winning
camels fetching up to one
million riyals (£203,900).
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