The greatest showcase of bedouin lifestyle

The festival that embodies the spirit of heritage in this part of the world, and the place to be for the lovers and admirers of bedouin life and culture.

This yearly festival that is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, is somehow the joining link between the generations in an ever changing social environment, and an occasion to celebrate heritage within the young generation who lives in a globalized society open to the cultures of the world.

Include camel mazayna (beauty contest) competitions in Sweihan, Razeen and Madinat Zayed, in addition to the principal mazayna competition at the Al Dhafra Festival site.

Also includes: falconry competitions, pure Arabian horse and traditional Arabian saluki races, archery, and falconry and ghanam al naim mazayna (Sheep beauty competition), And other competitions related to heritage.

The aims of Al Dhafra Festival include: unifying criteria, terms, conditions, efforts and resources to achieve greater success in all mazayna competitions; increasing the number of participating camels; preserving pure camel breeds, and increasing demand for these breeds; contributing to the development of local and GCC tourism; stimulating economic activity; shedding light on the region; and strengthening Abu Dhabi's status as the destination for camel mazayna locally, regionally and internationally.

The festival is witness widespread interest and increased participation by camel owners in the UAE and GCC countries.

 The program of the festival includes first and foremost the famous Mazayna, a beauty contest for camels and a celebration of this most beloved animal that played a huge role in sustaining life in these arid lands long before the oil and wealth era.

Visitors of the festival will admire and never forget the cheers and traditional chants of the tribes when celebrating their winning camel while marking the head of the animal with a paste made with the expensive and rare Saffron along with other aromatics.

Alongside the many cultural aspects, the festival constitutes an undisputed venue for huge business deals and multi million dollars camel purchases. That might happen in the open auctions, or in the serenity of the night along the main avenue of the festival, “Avenue of the Million”. After all, pure bred race camels are no less expensive than the most sought after horses.