Camel racing isn't really a spectator sport (11.8.07)

Today's wake-up call from my own cell phone was at 5:25 am so that I could hail a cap to a camel racing track that Adam had been able to locate for me by calling around. While on the surface Dubai seems very sterile to me and the culture is very Indian / Pakistani / Bangladeshi or Philipino, the guidebooks claim that it has preserved some of its Emirati heritage in the form of its diversions which include horse racing, camel racing, and falconry. I found a cab, gave the general directions, and settled back to watch the sunrise and make a few calls during the drive. When we had been going for about 35 minutes and the fare had reached 95 Dh (~30 USD), I started to panic. Where is it? What did we do wrong? How much further? Do I have enough cash to cover the taxi?

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Just as I was convincing myself that a lovely drive into the unirrigated desert was going to be worth a $60 RT taxi fare, camel farms started appearing on either side of the highway. The next thing I knew, we had clearly passed some sort of race track and were exiting the highway.

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To get there, we basically followed the camels. There were camel farms and pens extending away from the actual track for about 2 miles in all directions, and there was a steady stream of dark-skinned handlers leading 3-5 blanketed and muzzled camels to and from the track.

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The actual track was a much more impressive facility that I had been prepared for. Prior to arriving, I had imagined a sandy gathering place in the desert with a bunch of bedoins squatting on the ground and placing bets. What I found was a modern viewing clubhouse with plush leather chairs for the sheiks, plastic ones for the rest of us, and simulcast television screens for watching the action out on the track. There are a series of holding pens for the animals and their handlers both around the starting area and athe finish line, and plenty of room for the sheiks' white SUVs to manuever around the track. There was a group of American tourists / investing conference attendees already there, so I joined them for a while to learn about the races and generally to marvel at the experience.

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This track was 4 km long and it was actually difficult to see the camels until they crossed the finish line. What you see instead are about 20 SUVs following them around the track on paved roads on either side. It turns out that historically, the camel jockeys were kids of ~8-10, but it was very dangerous for them. If they fell (camels can be 8-9' tall), they either were injured during the fall or trampled by the other camels. Two years ago, actual jockeys were replaced by electronic "jockeys" (essentially remote controlled whips) operated by the owners in the SUVs. The handlers bring the camels to the starting line and there is one guy who actually does ride a camel for the start of the race to get things going. The gate is lifted, the handlers let go, and off they go with fabric-covered coffee-pots sitting just behind their humps.

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As the title implies, its not much of a spectator sport. You can't see them when they are on the other side of the track, and the race is ~8 minutes long, meaning you wait a long time to see them come trotting through the finish line. After the group of American tourists left, there was only one person besides myself who looked like he was just there to watch, and that was a robed guy sitting in the first-class seats. Everyone else there was a handler, a driver, a cook, a security guard, or racetrack staff.

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I stayed for about an hour, and then it was off for the next event - the "Open Hearts, Open Minds" tour discussion at the Jumeirah mosque, the only mosque in the entire UAE open to non-Muslims.

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I have learned a lot about Islam during my trip, but from some of the guided activities of OAT's Morocco adventure and then in one-on-one discussions with locals, but it was again fascinating to have such a well-spoken and open Emirati lead us through the ritual ablutions prior to entering the mosque (3x each for hands, feet, arms up to elbows, mouth, face, nose, insides of ears). I am constantly impressed at how knowledgeable almost every practicing Muslim is about not just the Quran but also the Bible and the Torah. All of the players from the other holy texts are considered prophets of god, so Muslims know the story of Jesus as well as many Christians, though they stop at calling him the son of God. FYI - "Islam" means "submission" in English.

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Abdullah, our guide (who later admitted that he is not an imam but a real estate exectutive) first started by discussing the architecture and the function of parts of the mosque. Since he was standing in the niche, this lead nicely to an explanation of the Ka'bah, the holiest place of worship in Islam and a cube at the Sacred Mosque of Mecca. It was built by Abraham as a landmark for worshipping god and itself is a small structure in one of the corners of the larger structure that was erected there in later years to facilitate the enormous number of pilgrims and there is a family that has been chosen to make the black fabric covering of the Ka'bah for centuries.

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He next took us through prayers, answered questions about gender differences, wedding rituals, prayer beads, and the role of imams. The entire experience was about an hour long and I found it fascinating. To most of us in the US, Islam is some very nebulous idea practiced by a few Fundamentalists in the Middle East. What I have learned is that it is a HUGE religion and that even to be a very basic practictioner, you have to have a very deep commitment to God and an impressive awareness of the holy text.

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Since I only have two more days left, the rest of my day was spent running errands: back to the Karama Center to try and pick up some Indian textiles and to find a box for shipping; back to the Ramee Hotel Apartments to pick up my passport (I discovered quite by accident that I did not have my passport this morning!); back to Jumeirah to pack up the box and to take a quick dip in the Gulf; and then to the Post Office in Karama. Even though the costumes and textiles that I have been buying over here are fairly cheap, I am probably doubling their price with the amount of postage I keep requiring to ship things home! Thursday night over here is the start of their weekend, so it was impossible to find a cab back over to the Creek so I got my exercise in so that I could go barter for more costuming supplies. I dropped a couple of hours there, and then ended up walking for another hour before I found a taxi that was being vacated in the middle of the street at a traffic light. I saw someone get out through the left side and I went careening through the traffic to jump in the right side.

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Back at the Jumeirah Beach Residence I chilled out with Adam for a while and finally fell exhausted into bed. If any of my bosses at work notice that I am not well-rested when I return, its because I am not "vacationing" - I am "travelling". There is a huge difference and I am going to need to figure out how to get a few days of vacation out of the next two weeks!

The Muslim Prayer:

Allaahu Akbar (4x)

Ashhadu Allah ilaaha illa-Lah (2x)

Ash Hadu anna Muhamadar rasuulullah (2x)

Hayya' alas Salaah (2x)

Hayya' ala Falaah (2x)

[Fajr only] A-Salaatu Khayrun Mina-Naum (2x)

Qad qaamitis Salaah (2x)

[Iqama only - not recited in Athan] Allaahu Akbar (2x)

Laa ilaaha illa-Lah

God is great. (x4)

I bear witness that there none worthy of worship except God. (x2)

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. (x2)

Come to prayer. (x2)

Come to felicity. (x2)

[Fajr only] Prayer is better than sleep. (x2)

[Iqama only] Our prayers are now ready. Our prayers are now ready. (x2)

God is great. (x2)

There is none worthy of worship except God.

Camel Races

Salaat