A Camel Beauty Competition Happening In The UAE This Week

Mazayna is a camel beauty contest happening at Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Heritage Racecourse in Sweihan this week.

During the week-long event, which ends on Saturday October 28, tens of thousands of camels from across the GCC will be heading to the racecourse for the competition.

Purebred camels from the Asayel (pedigree) and Majaheem (dark-skinned) lineages will be judged this week in hopes of going forward in the contest.

The event is the first stage of the process leading up to the main camel beauty competition (which you can attend) at the 17th edition of the Al Dhafra Festival.

Taking place from January 20 to February 8, the festival celebrates Bedouin tradition. Along with the final of the camel beauty contest, it will include Arabian horse racing, Saluki dog racing, falconry, traditional handicrafts and Emirati entertainment.

Purebred camels will be judged in four categories, Asayel, Majahim, Asayel hybrids and Wadh.

Camel beauty competitions are common practice across the GCC, thought to have started in 1993 when two camel breeders enlisted the help of independent judges to decide which animals were the prettiest.

The beauty contests now take place around the region and generate large amounts of money for those involved.

Until Sat Oct 28. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Heritage Racecourse, Sweihan, Abu Dhabi.