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. Adventures in desert . Adventure with nomads . Adventures in canyons . Adventures by camels . Adventures by horses . Adventures by jeeps . home page |
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Camels in Jordan: Camels have been throughout history a source of riches and of survival for nomad tribes. Their strength and endurance have served in trade and in war. Their wool, their milk and their meat are useful in everyday life. They are comfortable with people and often enjoy being caressed. Many of them attach themselves to their owner, and are actively unhappy when separated from him for any period of time. During wars, the Bedouin claimed that even if a camel is mortally wounded during a fight, he will not succumb before having carried his rider out of the battle and out of danger before allowing himself to fall. Although camels do appear to sneer at one, and the noises they make can sound very menacing, most camels are docile and even friendly creatures. I agree they do slobber! But the Bedouin seem to consider their camel as an intimate friend, they are proud of them, and will boast about them on the slightest provocation. I have known more than one wife (or girlfriend) complain that "his camel comes first"! To simplify, camels can very generally be divided into three types: the burden bearing camel, the racing camel and the milk camel. Burden bearing camels are the most common camel in Arab countries. You can see the difference in its larger size, its strength and its endurance. It can, in case of need, remain more than 2 months without drinking and 2 weeks without eating, although when given the chance it will drink and eat every day. It is the riding camel the most frequently used. These camels are able to carry loads as heavy as 900 pounds, although normally they will only carry a third of that. Its hide provides tents for shelter, and the meat is said to be similar to veal, although a little tougher. The racing camel are mainly to be found in the Arab peninsula where camel racing is becoming a very popular sport. it stands out by its long legs, a fine body and a small hump. It is reputed for its intelligence, its strong will and its courage. An ordinary riding camel will normally proceed at about 5/6 kms/hour, its fastest racing speed being perhaps 20kms/hour, but a racing camel can reach 40km/hour, sometimes more. Their endurance is astonishing: although a good camel can cover 50 or 60 kms a day for several successive days, over 100kms in 12 hours is not extraordinary. A very good camel can cover 120 or 130kms in 12 hours. Some specially bred camels have been known to continue at racing speed for up to 18 hours. If you calculate the distance this covered, you can see just how valuable they were to the Bedouin and why they earned their name. In the photo above you can see a young Bedouin racing a camel. He is leaning right back against the saddle, since like this, practically lying against the camel's rump, he is not bounced around at this speed as he would be if he was sitting on a normal saddle in the normal way. I am even told that this position is very comfortable! The saddle here is not for sitting upon, but to stop him sliding forward. You can see the difference between the two types of saddle. The riding saddle is made of wood and is very solid. It is customary to pad it heavily with blankets which the Bedouin will use for sleeping. The brightly coloured saddle bags, woven by the women from goats' wool, can contain a considerable weight, often as much as a hundred kilos, sometimes more. A camel saddle and its harness is also decorated with tassels and woven ribbons to make the camel look even more handsome! The milk camel or breeding camel is raised for the quality of her milk and fur. She is often allowed to wander alone with her herd in the desert and is also used to bring water and food for the Bedouin camp. Happy in human company, she will mark out her territory and will come back to her master's camp in the evening for the night. The "herd matriarch" will lead the rest of her family home. Camel milk is more nutritious than cow's milk since it is heavy in protein. It is one of the basic ingredients of a traditional Bedouin diet (it carries little fat, does not curdle and is difficult to turn into cheese). It is said that a Bedouin who only owns a female camel and her young one is a rich man, since he can cover long distances and is nourished mainly from the camel milk. I have heard several stories of Bedouin who live alone in the desert and who live on camel milk. You can see from this photo how the camel's udder is high up between her legs, and largely protected - quite unlike a cow's udder. A female camel will carry a baby for 12 months before it is born, and it will be nourished on her milk for a year. Twin babies are unheard of. Most camels will live for about 30 years.
Camel milk has also a number of medicinal uses; it is
recommended in cases of muscular diseases, in cases of sterility and more
recently camel milk and also camel urine is being studied as remedies for
cancer.
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