Rich tradition of taste, sight and sound also available
Talents of artisans at festival are by no means a sideshow
Not everyone visiting the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival plans to leave with one or more of the animals, but there are many other things to see and buy. In case camel charms prove too hard to resist, the Ad-Dahna caravan section, named after the central Saudi desert, offers lessons on how to care for and ride the animals.
A more easily manageable memento would be a doll of the festival mascot, Howair – a play on “howar”, the Arabic word for a baby camel. The mascot is also featured on USB sticks being sold at the same price – Dh15. More diverse wares can be found in the Heritage Market, where more than 100 stalls sell goods from traditional food and coffee to handicrafts.
There are also interesting characters to meet here, such as Umm Saad.
The friendly 60- year- old is a Saudi Bedouin selling decorative camel accessories that she has been making for the past 45 years.
“We are a family of camel herders and understand them well, and what colours and materials bother them and which ones they like,” she says. “They like to look nice too, by the way.”
Umm Saad also sells coffee, home- made spice mixes, and a variety of camel-milk cheeses that she has made herself.
At another stall is the artist Saleh Ibrahim Al Noubayt, 43, a self-described “father of miniatures” who has taken it upon himself to research old traditional homes and make models of them.
“See this old dukan [store]? I recreated all the products that were around here in the 1970s – you see them here along the store aisles,” he says, pointing to miniature boxes of Pampers, Tide detergent, Abu Waza tea and others.
His traditional Saudi homes, constructed from mud, sugar, cushioning foam and other, “secret” ingredients, sell for Dh200 upwards, depending on the complexity of the design.
A further taste of the old ways can be found in Ta’aleel tents showcasing Bedouin life, and falconry shows, while those who appreciate performing arts can attend poetry recitals and performances on the rababa, a bowed string instrument played by the Bedouin of the Arabian Peninsula and in parts of Syria and Jordan.