Advertisement
Published: March 11th 2022
Edit Blog Post
He said, “Do you want to ride the camel? He is the lead camel.”
I was standing somewhere in the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia and I could hardly give him the courtesy of listening because my eyes and attention were fixated on the 40 white camels standing before me. Without any thought or consideration I said, “Yes, of course.”
I had no idea what was planned and I guess I really didn’t care. I was with camels. I was in my element. I felt like I was in heaven.
The camel obediently kooshed, I quickly climbed aboard and realized I had no idea who he was, where I was exactly and how I had arrived at this point. They all seem like important details for a single female traveler in a foreign country, but at this point I did not care. I was on the back of a camel, being led by a Saudi Bedouin (who turned out to be the owner of the camels) and surrounded by beautiful white camels who seemed curious, at ease and up for anything.
If the camels were up for
anything, so should I. The camel owner led the lead camel and told me about his herd as he intermittently sang camel pleasing songs. We circled around his large campsite and all the camels followed, as well handled camels often do. I giggled like a little girl, greeted the camels who approached for a quick investigation of this stranger and tried to snap a few photos.
“Is this heaven?” I wondered to myself and maybe even out loud. No, this is Saudi Arabia. This is the King Abulaziz Camel Festival. Ok, after more thought, maybe it is heaven.
Already over the moon and feeling like I am living my best life on the back of this beautiful Saudi camel, I can’t take my eyes off the flurry of camels following us around the desert. They are following the lead camel, who happens to be my ride and they are following the song of the camel owner. Curious, deliberate, quiet and gentle, the herd of camels have me in a complete dream state.
My dream is interrupted only by the owner saying with emphasis, “Would you like to see ALL my camels?”
I stop my incessant smiling just long enough to wonder “You mean there are more?” And to say, “Yes, of course!” Did he really need to ask, but I suppose it was all part of the production.
The camel owner led my ride around a corner, gestured in a direction toward a huge unassuming but very private gate and like a game show grand prize reveal, two Bedouin camel herders swung open the gate in full Saudi style. On the other side of the gate were 200 eager to join the party camels.
And with that, the main show had just arrived.
They strode out of the gate like they were greeting an arena full of frenetic fans. They looked around, made their presence known in complete grace, approached the lead camel and they joined the moment like mega stars. Before I could catch my breath, we were moving again.
I was now the queen sitting atop the front of this parade of beauty pageant winners and I was in complete disbelief of the beauty, the energy and the moment.
How did I get myself
in the middle of this sea of happiness? It happened so quickly, it is kind of a blur.
*****
We were sitting in the Bedouin tent that served as Camel Club and ICO’s (International Camel Organization) headquarters at the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival sipping tea, eating dates and marinating in the welcoming Bedouin culture when two men walked into the tent.
They obliged the traditional desert greeting ceremony of making their way around the large horseshoe shaped seating arrangement, stopping at each person for a proper greeting and pleasantries. As a show of respect, we stood and greeted each man and did not think much of it as we had become well-versed in this practice along with the expectations that happen next, such as more tea, more offerings of dates, a sharing of the incense…
What I did not expect was for one of the men to matter-of-factly approach me, know my name, speak impeccable English and report that my presence was requested in the desert. Part of me wanted to say, “Pump the brakes there buddy, I am not going into the desert near sunset with some
complete stranger.”
And then part of me was like, “Hey I’m in Saudi Arabia, I only live once and this guy seems nice enough.” My head settled somewhere in the middle after after he said, “We shall go have an interview in the desert at sunset. Are you ok with that?”
I turned to our sponsor, a high ranking official with ICO, and with a look I asked for his fatherly direction. With a deliberate and affirming head nod, he confirmed all was safe and that if I was comfortable, I should do the interview.
Within minutes, I was in the back of an SUV with a bevy of cameramen blasting across the desert where roads did not exist. We zigged and zagged. We kicked up sand. We turned around a few times to miss roadblocks. Ultimately, we arrived at this camel camp where the horizon was nothing but sand. And camels, there were lots of camels.
The camel ride and introduction to the camel herd and their Bedouin keepers was all part of the experience of this upcoming interview. When I dismounted from my dreamy camel experience
and the dust settled a bit, we were ready to face the initial task at hand.
We were sitting in the sand surrounded by camels and the rays of a setting sun before I formed any idea of what it meant to do this interview. I was told I was to talk about my camels back in the States, my passion for these animals, how I got started with camels and the relationship my father and I had around camels.
Wow, someone has done his research…
Advertisement
Tot: 0.08s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 23; dbt: 0.059s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb