Like all good pageant contestants, Nazaa’a displayed not solely dazzling magnificence but additionally poise and style.
She batted her eyelashes and flashed a toothy smile for the tv cameras on the Mzayen World Cup, a pageant held within the Qatari desert about 25km away from Doha and soccer’s World Cup.
Nazaa’a, thoughts you, is a camel.
Think Westminster Dog Show crossed with the Miss America Pageant, aside from, properly, camels.
Nazaa’a is an impressive light-haired creature that overcame a number of preliminary rounds and a whole lot of different camels to win the pageant at Qatar Camel Mzayen Club on Friday.
The occasion, which was designed to carry cultural consciousness to World Cup guests, was sponsored by the Ministry of Sports and Youth, at the side of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, the native World Cup organizing committee.
Nazaa’a was considered one of 15 camels who competed for the crown, parading by followers whereas carrying bejeweled collars and draped with strings of gems.
“I assumed our camel was higher than Ronaldo and Messi,” joked Jassim al Kuwari, a part of the household that owns Nazaa’a.
Camel parade with flags throughout a pageant on the Qatar camel Mzayen Club, in Ash-Shahaniyah, Qatar. Photo: AP
These occasions are held often all through the Middle East, the place the folks have linked with camels for generations.
“This is our tradition. This is from very long time in the past, from our fathers and grandfathers,” Al Kuwari stated. “Today is a contest, a magnificence competitors. We like these camels. We give them names. It’s like a household.”
Visitors have been greeted by a camel jingle “Welcome to the Camel Competition” and served Karak, a spiced tea with milk. Owners and their households sat in an air-conditioned luxurious tent with pink velvet chairs and a glass wall to observe the competitors.
The most important attraction have been the pure-bred feminine camels. Competitors makes a number of passes in entrance of a stand of followers that cheer for his or her favourite. There’s additionally a milking competitors, with the prize going to the camel that produces probably the most milk.
Make no mistake, this a severe contest: A health care provider is on employees to verify the animals do not use fillers or Botox to make them extra lovely. Last December dozens of camels have been disqualified from the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in Saudi Arabia for beauty enhancements.
Then there’s the cash: The winner, runner-up and third place camels all obtain trophies. Nazaa’s homeowners earned 200,000 Qatari riyals (US$55,000). The camel that produces probably the most milk wins 15,000 riyal.
“I’ve been with camels and their contests since I used to be a toddler,” camel proprietor Hamad al Greissi stated.
“Camels have been there earlier than planes and vehicles. They have been referred to as the ships of the desert. after fashionable automobiles, the camels turned much less standard, however they nonetheless maintain a giant place in our tradition.” – AP
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