Mazayen al-Ibl
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Mazayen al-Ibl, also known as the King Abdel Aziz Festival, is a
beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...
for camels put on by the Qahtani tribe of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. It is held in Guwei'iyya yearly. In 2007, 250 owners participated, showing a total of more than 1,500 camels. Participants come from every Gulf country except
Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
, and from every region of Saudi Arabia except the south-western mountain region, where there are no camel breeders. The competition is held in respect to the role of camels in Bedouin history, and to preserve
purebred Purebreds are " cultivated varieties" of an animal species achieved through the process of selective breeding. When the lineage of a purebred animal is recorded, that animal is said to be "pedigreed". Purebreds breed true-to-type which means the ...
camel strains. No pageant was planned in 2020. Four varieties of camel participate in the show: the majaheem, which is black; the maghateer, which is white; the shi'l, which is dark brown; and the sulfur, which is beige with black shoulders. There is strict health testing and veterinarians present at the event. The event is supported by the King and Crown Prince Sultan. Prizes are awarded to the most beautiful camels in four categories based on the number of camels entered by the owner: groups of 100, 50, 10, and individual camels. The beauty of the camel is based on the "size of its head; whether its lips cover its teeth, the length of its neck and the roundness of its hump" and "big eyes, long lashes and a long neck." "The nose should be long and droop down, that's more beautiful ..The ears should stand back, and the neck should be long. The hump should be high, but slightly to the back." The most beautiful camel is called the "Bayraq" and can fetch prices of up to $3 million US dollars. In 2007, prizes included 10 million riyals and 72
sports utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...
s. The winning camels may also sell for prices exceeding one million riyals. There are parts of the festival dedicated to camel trading, where millions of dollars change hands every day. Some members of more stringent Muslim schools have accused the shows as being evil, and have stated that those who participate should "seek redemption in God". In addition, some breeders refuse to take part in the competition, saying that it has become too commercial because wealthy businessmen, who have no interest in preserving the breeds and are only interested in fame, have started to enter. There are also dances, feasts, and parties during the festival, as well as youth camel shows. A similar contest in Abu Dhabi is the al-Dhafra Festival, which also awards prizes to the best milking camels and hosts camel races. This festival focuses on Asayel (local camels) and Majahim (dark skinned camels), and also features falcon hunting, Saluki and Arabian horse races, and
date Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner ** Group dating *Play date, a ...
packing contests.


References

{{reflist Camels Agricultural shows