Saudi women attend the first official King Abdulazziz Camel Festival in the village of Al Sayaheed, Rumah, on March 29, 2017. Fayez Nureldine / AFP Photo
Saudi women attend the first official King Abdulazziz Camel Festival in the village of Al Sayaheed, Rumah, on March 29, 2017. Fayez Nureldine / AFP Photo

Can this small Saudi village become the camel capital of the world?



AL SAYAHEED, SAUDI ARABIA // In the red desert village of Al Sayaheed, about 120 kilometres north-east of Riyadh, a large black camel of the Majahim breed is in a foul mood.

Even with two of its legs loosely tied together, the camel is resisting all efforts to move it along, and keeps on looming over a Toyota pickup, exhibiting the determination and obstinacy for which the animal is famous. And one more: sensitivity.

“He is worried about his family,” says Abdullah Tamim, the owner of the camel and its mate, a brown female of the Al Homr breed who had given birth a few days earlier.

The female calf is ill and unable to stand, so Tamim and the mother stay by its side while the father is led away to one of the beauty contests being held at the first official King Abdulaziz Camel Festival.

The largest such event in the region is being held this year from March 19 until April 15 and according to the organisers has so far brought an average of more than 35,000 visitors a day to Al Sayaheed, a small village in the Rumah governorate of Riyadh province that was this year designated the festival’s permanent home.

The location was for centuries a meeting point for camel caravans arriving from all points on the Arabian peninsula, carrying goods and trading animals. Now the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives that organises the festival wants to make it the camel capital of the world and part of the transformation of Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy.

“We want this location to become the reference point for everything camel related,” said Dr Fahd Al Semmari, the foundation’s secretary general.

Plans include expanding the festival beyond its entertainment elements to include a centre for camel research, including scientific studies of camel milk and its benefits, as well as a hospital for camels.

“We are competing against the horse, who gets the high end of everything: the best attention, the most prestigious festivals and the best prizes,” said Al Semmari.

The festival this year is open to visitors from around the world for the first time, with special visas on arrival being issued through the festival’s website.

“As part of the 2030 Vision, Saudi Arabia is now focused on expanding its cultural and tourism environment,” Dr Al Semmari explained.

There are about 30,000 camels and more than 1,300 owners from across the GCC taking part in the festival this year.

The prize money for the “Miss Camel” beauty contests (in which male camels also compete) totals more than Dh112 million. So far, at least three entrants have been disqualified for “fake lips” – where the lips were injected with silicone.

There are also camel auctions, poetry competitions (with Dh14 million in prizes), dancing children dressed up as camels and interesting camel facts – everything from which country has the largest number of camels (Somalia, with 7.1 million), to camel references in the Quran and the Prophet Mohammed’s famous female camel Al Qaswa who died of grief upon her master’s death.

There is a special exhibition on the history of camels and vets on site to assist ill or injured camels and worried owners like Tamim.

“This little one is part of my family now. I have to do whatever is possible to save her,” said Tamim, a Saudi in his 40s. The latest in along line of camel herders, he has been caring for them since he was 6 years old.

Traditionally, they would try to jolt the calf’s nervous system using a form of acupuncture and cauterisation. Now he sat stroking the newborn, even blowing into her mouth to help her breathe while he waited for the vet. The calf’s mother grunted mournfully as she nudged her little one. Another famed camel trait, says Tamim – Al Umoma, or motherhood.

“She will stay by her baby’s side until the end,” he said. “Camels are very intelligent. They remember everything, and so if you are kind to them, they will love you wholeheartedly, but if you are mean to them and hurt them or any member of their family, they will hold a grudge and even take revenge. Never mess with a camel – they were not just used for transportation, they were once formidable soldiers, tougher than any man.”

Al Sayaheed also has an important place in the history of the camel as combatants. It was the operations base for the camel-mounted followers of Saudi Arabia’s founder, King Abdul Aziz, during his campaign to unify the country nearly 85 years ago.

Despite modernisation, the camel is no less important today in Saudi society, said Dr Al Semmari.

“In the 1940s, when cars were being introduced to Saudi Arabia, people said it was the end of camels,” said Dr Al Semmari. “But decades later, here we are, and camels are still king.”

rghazal@thenational.ae

UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
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8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Last 10 winners of African Footballer of the Year

2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2007: Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla and Mali)
2008: Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Togo)
2009: Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast)
2010: Samuel Eto’o (Inter Milan and Cameroon)
2011: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2012: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2013: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2014: Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast)
2015: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund and Gabon)
2016: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City and Algeria)

Fight card

Preliminaries:

Nouredine Samir (UAE) v Sheroz Kholmirzav (UZB); Lucas Porst (SWE) v Ellis Barboza (GBR); Mouhmad Amine Alharar (MAR) v Mohammed Mardi (UAE); Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) v Spyro Besiri (GRE); Aslamjan Ortikov (UZB) v Joshua Ridgwell (GBR)

Main card:

Carlos Prates (BRA) v Dmitry Valent (BLR); Bobirjon Tagiev (UZB) v Valentin Thibaut (FRA); Arthur Meyer (FRA) v Hicham Moujtahid (BEL); Ines Es Salehy (BEL) v Myriame Djedidi (FRA); Craig Coakley (IRE) v Deniz Demirkapu (TUR); Artem Avanesov (ARM) v Badreddine Attif (MAR); Abdulvosid Buranov (RUS) v Akram Hamidi (FRA)

Title card:

Intercontinental Lightweight: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) v Angel Marquez (ESP)

Intercontinental Middleweight: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) v Francesco Iadanza (ITA)

Asian Featherweight: Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) v Phillip Delarmino (PHI)

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand

UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final

The winners

Fiction

  • ‘Amreekiya’  by Lena Mahmoud
  •  ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid

The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award

  • ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi;  translated by Ramon J Stern
  • ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres

The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award

  • ‘Footnotes in the Order  of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah

Children/Young Adult

  •  ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb 
THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5