Saudi tribe holds camel beauty pageant

[JODO 2]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070427/od_nm/...R83PJ8z5eEDW7oF

Saudi tribe holds camel beauty pageant By Andrew HammondFri Apr 27, 9:23 AM ET

The legs are long, the eyes are big, the bodies curvaceous.

Contestants in this Saudi-style beauty pageant have all the features you might expect anywhere else in the world, but with one crucial difference -- the competitors are camels.

This week, the Qahtani tribe of western Saudi Arabia has been welcoming entrants to its Mazayen al-Ibl competition, a parade of the "most beautiful camels" in the desolate desert region of Guwei'iyya, 120 km (75 miles) west of Riyadh.

"In Lebanon they have Miss Lebanon," jokes Walid, moderator of the competition's Web site. "Here we have Miss Camel."

While tremendous oil wealth has brought rapid modernization to the desert state of Saudi Arabia, the camel remains celebrated as a symbol of the traditional nomadic lifestyle of Bedouin Arabs.

Throughout history camels have served multiple purposes as food, friend, transport and war machine. They were key to the Arab conquests of the Middle East and North Africa nearly 1,400 years ago that brought Islam to the world.

Camels are also big business in a country where strict Islamic laws and tribal customs would make it impossible for women to take part in their own beauty contest.

Delicate females or strapping males who attract the right attention during this week's show could sell for a million or more riyals. Sponsors have provided 10 million riyals ($2.7 million) for the contest, cash that also covers the 72 sports utility vehicles to be will be awarded as prizes.

"Bedouin Arabs are intimately connected to camels and they want to preserve this heritage. The importance of this competition is that it helps preserve the pure-breds," said Sheikh Omair, one of the tribe's leaders,

"We have more than 250 owners taking part and more than 1,500 camels," he said inside a huge tent where the final awards ceremony takes place.

[mRx 16]

I hear the camel toe judging event is the most exciting.

[Nagishkaw 510]

And they are passing out lots of free promotional products featuring Joe Camel.