Al Dhafra Festival: A story of success and progress

Organized by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Tourism and Culture (TCA Abu Dhabi), the Festival is held under the directions of the President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Speaking about the strategy and objectives of the Festival, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Advisor for Culture and Heritage in the Court of His Highness the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, stressed that the safeguard of the cultural heritage of the UAE and its transmission to future generations are considered as one of the most important responsibilities and tasks.

“Through the Festival, the people of the UAE have been seeking to deepen the bond with their forefathers and the distant past”, Al Mazrouei said.

“This vision makes the bid to progress towards a brighter future for the UAE more determined as the nation remains, at the same time, devoted to its authentic identity and rich civilization,” he added.

On the history of the Festival and the story of its success and large progress in a relatively short time, Salem Ibrahim Al Mazrouei, Director of Al Dhafra Festival, said that the first edition, which began on April 4, 2008, has inaugurated most of the various and varied events that raised the Festival’s profile on the international level. The Al Dhafra Festival, he said, had succeeded in reaching people beyond the borders of both the UAE and the Arabian Gulf.

Al Mazrouei also noted that the British newspaper “The Times” had published, at that time, a story about the competition, highlighting the great success of the Festival in attracting a staggering number of participants and camels (The number of camels ranged between 10,000 to 15,000).

To represent most of the elements of the Emirati heritage, the TCA Abu Dhabi, launched the Traditional Market under the slogan ‘100% Emirati, 100% hand-made’. The aim of the event consisted in preserving and promoting the traditional Emirati handicrafts. In fact, the Traditional Market, which begins with the Festival and ends with it, has become a key event in this mega and internationally unique occasion.

Thanks the expansion achieved by the second edition of Al Dhafra Festival, which began in December 2008 and lasted until January, 2009, the Camel Mazayna managed to attract more than 2,000 owners of camels, who participated in the different categories and laps of the competition with more than 24,000 camels. The overall value of the prizes awarded in the various competitions reached more than 40 million dirhams (about 11 million US Dollars).

The number of staff taking part in the second edition was more than 500 of organizers and supporting staff.

The second edition also witnessed many innovative and unique competitions that attracted hundreds of participants. At the forefront of these competitions were the dates contest, best descriptive poems of camels and Al Dhafra Festival, “Al Dhafra Festival in Photographer’s Eye” photography competition, and a heritage competition dedicated to handicrafts. As a crucial event, the Traditional Market included more than 150 shops for Emirati aged between 16 and 66 year-old.

Starting from the 30^th of January until the 8^th of February, 2010, the third edition stunned Arab and international media by attracting thousands of tourists and participants to the ‘Gate of the Empty Quarter’. Up to 1,200 camel owners participated with more than 28,000 camels in 42 laps of the two local categories of Assayel (pure-bred) and Majahim (dark- skin), preceded by Al Bayraq laps. The total value of the prizes in the various competitions and events reached nearly AED 42 million (approximately 12 million US Dollars).

In the third edition of the Festival, the competitions and events witnessed many developments at the level of organization and participation. Namely: the Mazayna Al Dhafra (camel beauty contest), the camel auction, dates packaging competition, the Al Dhafra Festival competition of creative poetry, a competition dedicated for cooking using camel meat and milk, several other competitions and cultural heritage events for children, as well as “Al Dhafra Festival in Photographer’s Eye” photography competition. The competition “Al-Hallab” which aims to select the milkiest camel from the two categories Assayel and Majahim, was launched. A heritage camel race was also organized for the first time based on a decision by the Higher Organizing Committee of the Festival.

The fourth edition of Al Dhafra Festival, which was held from the 16^th to 25^th of December 2010, extended its activities on dozens of square kilometers in the Al Gharbia (Western Region). The Camel Mazayna attracted more than 800 camel owners, who participated in the different categories and laps of the competition with about 20,000 camels. The number of the laps was estimated at about 42. The total value of the prizes in the various competitions reached 35 million UAE Dirhams, and the winners collected 102 cars.

Like the third edition, the fourth edition presented to the visitors and participants a wide variety of events characterized by an aptitude to generate enthusiasm and excitement among all. Heritage products, from the Traditional Market, decorated every corner of the Festival’s site.

The fifth edition, which was held in December 2011, brought about a lot of innovation in its main competition, including the increase of the number of laps in the Camel Mazayna to 56. The participation in this edition expanded beyond the GCC countries to come from as far as Yemen and Jordan. The Camel Mazayna attracted more than 1,300 camel owners, who participated in the different categories and laps of the competition with nearly 20,000 camels.

The novelties of the fifth edition included the first Saluki race and the first falcon competition along with the continuation of the competitions held during the previous editions. The value of the prizes in the various competitions exceeded AED 35 million, and winners collected 155 cars.

The sixth session, which will be held from the 15^th to the 29^th of December, will raise the number of laps of the Camel Mazayna to 70, in order to accommodate the ever increasing number of participants, year after year, and expanding to represent many countries in the Arab region. The edition will also witness an increase in the number of cars given to the winners of the top positions in the different categories and laps to 198, in addition to direct cash rewards.

The public of the sixth edition will have the opportunity to discover many heritage events and competitions, notably the Mazayna Al Dhafra, the Hallab competition, the dates packaging competition, the cooking competition, camel heritage race, Saluki race, falcon competition, Nabati poetry contest and “Al Dhafra Festival in Photographer’s Eye” photography competition.

Many heritage events for children and school students are also on the programme. The Traditional Market of the UAE’s traditional handicrafts will be present as usual and will feature more than 180 shops run by Emirati women.