Today I rolled out of bed around seven o'clock in preparation to go to the camel market, fifteen kilometers outside of Al-Hofuf. Camels, since and before Bedoin times, have been the main transportation and life line of tribes who live in the desert, to this day. Camels are still prized in Saudi society as a symbol of wealth and power. Some camels, those which are of a rare bread, can reach into the millions of dollars when sold at auction.
The market, which happens to be next to the sheep market, was comprised of dozens of camels, mostly black and some white and brown ones, was in the middle of no where where the sun was blazing and virtually nothing lives. Alas, the camel herders exist in this location which also houses their living accomodation that consists of either a tent with some rugs and basic living accomodations, or a one bedroom building with carpet and pillows with working A/C. I'd choose the latter.
Upon getting off of the bus, all of us teachers began taking pictures and video of the various camels because.... well... why not, we are in Saudi Arabia! What else are we suppose to do? :-) Camels, as I soon found out, are very friendly and curious creatures. The first pen that I visited had several camels and they all came up to us as we approached and I got some good video and pictures of all of their heads trying to see if we had food... or maybe they were trying to eat our hair??? Well, at least they didn't spit on us.
Camels seem to be much bigger than I thought and at first, were kind of intimidating. They were harmless, as it turned out and they were quite humorous and interesting to watch as they ate and went about their lives. Camels are remarkable creatures, able to go days, even weeks without water. They don't taste too bad either, as I found out when I cooked some meat up last week. It'll be a little bit harder to buy some the next go around, but It'll be no problem.
Even more interesting on this outing were the camel hearders which take care of the animals. Upon entering the market, we passed a truck whose driver was holding a big long stick out of the window. Right after, we passed three camels running in front of it. Was this camel herding of the twenty-first century? I'd like to think so. Of course, there were also the poor fellows chasing their camels as they went into the middle of the road.
While trying to get a close glimpse at one herd, two Saudi herders, of which one spoke great English, starting speaking to us and allowed us to take some photos with them and they also answered our questions. Being the capitalist that I am, I suggested to a couple of guys that we buy a camel and charge for rides around the compound. So, I asked what the price range for a camel was. We were told that an old camel sells for 50,000 Riyals ($13,333) and that yound one goes for 10,000 Riyals ($2,666). Being a little out of our price range, we kindly rejected the thought of making millions off of camel carnival rides.
Of course, camel herders can also be shrewed businessmen as we found out when one came riding up to us and offered us rides. However, these rides were not free and came at a price. My buddy Dan, from Australia paid five riyals for a one minute ride, which was a neat spectacle. The original price from the herder was fifty riyals, of which Dan, clever that he is, talked him way down. Following this ride, I held out five riyals but the guy was done giving rides; maybe there wasn't enough money in it. Again, lucky that I didn't buy one of those living behemoths.
After bidding farewell to the nice herders, we proceeded to a truck that had a baby camel in the back. Along with this camel, were two kids dressed in the traditional Saudi gettup, the 'thobe' (white-dress robe), and the 'shmag' (checkered turbin). Being a group of foreigners, these kids were quite impressed that we were there, and why wouldn't they be? Afterall, I was there..... One of the kids tried to impress us by holding the baby camel's mouth shut, something that it did not like as it made a growling, moaning sound.
Sometime had past while looking at the baby camel, and I noticed that most of the teachers were entering the house of oneof the herders. While approaching the structure, I noticed that shoes were removed by everybody, something that reminded me of Korea, and that everyone was sitting on the carpeted floor with the Saudi herders. All of us were welcomed into their home and some were given tea and they even invited us to stay and eat. Sadly, we had to return to the compound. The kids and even the herders were very interested in taking photos of us, especially the women. It was kind of an awkward scene as the women were getting the majority of the attention. This would seem natural as Saudi Arabia is a very conservative and oh you could say, lack of 'eye candy', sort of country.
After pressing the point that we had to leave, we all got back onto the airconditioned bus and returned home. Overall, this was a very interesting and positive glimpse at Saudi culture on most levels. I will post video of this excursion in a couple of days when I return to work where there is a much more reliable and faster internet connection. Look for more photos on Facebook in the coming days.
Life continues in the Kingdom.
