E-Paper
Sign In
A feel of the desert on show
ABU DHABI - The Al Dhafra Festival came to an end on Saturday, displaying the Arab heritage with all its beauty and wildness.
- PUBLISHED: Mon 27 Dec 2010, 10:33 PM UPDATED: Thu 22 Aug 2024, 11:27 AM
Camel beauty contest and Al Saluki Race Festival were the key attractions of the event held in Western Region in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The first Al Saluki Race Festival was organised by the Arabian Saluki Centre and Al Dhafra Equestrian Club, and was sponsored by the Emirates Falconers Club and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). The Saluki Race Festival was held at the camel racetrack in Zayed City in Al Gharbia (the Western Region).
Recommended For You
The events at the Al Dhafra Festival were aimed at putting the Western Region on the world tourism map and stimulate the region's economy.
The festival had struck resounding success and earned the UAE good reputation and commendation from local and international circles interested in heritage.
Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region, attended the festival on its concluding day.
The Saluki Race Festival gave a great opportunity for saluki owners to exercise their heritage sport in its natural desert environment and offered cash prizes of up to Dh500,000.
Hamad Al Ghanim, head of the races committee and Director of the Arabian Saluki Centre, said the festival provided an opportunity to make people more familiar with the salukis' beauty and the ability to race and hunt. The Arabian saluki is considered to be of the oldest dogs in the world.
Al Dhafra Festival safeguards local purebred camels, and encourages camel owners to acquire the best local breeds and to avoid non-purebreds, said Ali Salem Al Kaabi, Director at the Office of the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Family Development Foundation.
anwar@khaleejtimes.com