I interviewed my grandfather to ask him about the types of sports
that were practiced in the past and how they changed and developed over time.
My grandfather is 75 years old and he has good memory about the past of the
UAE.
My grandfather told me that camel racing was one of the oldest
sports that UAE people used to practice. UAE people reared camels for different
purposes especially camel racing. People in the UAE grew up camels and trained
them in order to participate in camel racing. It is one of
the most famous traditional habits that people used to do. Every winter, camel
racing was organized in Dubai. People from everywhere in the UAE brought their
camels to participate in the race. Jockeys were used to ride the camels during
the race to encourage them for increasing their speed. In this race, the winner was the fastest
camel. The owner of the winner camel received medal and amount of money.
My grandfather continued to tell me about the
development of camel racing sport. The sport of camel racing has developed
these days. Most UAE people practice the sport of camel racing nearly everyday.
There are many race tracks everywhere where UAE people organize races daily.
Big camel races are hold regularly four times in a year where participants from
the UAE and neighboring countries such as Oman, Saudi and Qatar come to
participate. The race is held in big track in Dubai. The owner of the winner camel
receive big sum of money besides the prizes that Sheikhs donate for the
winner.
My grandfather added that falconry was another
old sport that UAE people used to do. This tradition was originated many
centuries ago. UAE people grew up falcons in order to use them in hunting
trips. UAE used to accompany falcons
with them in the desert to look for and to catch wild rabbits, hares and
houbara. Falcons were trained on how hunt animals. The trip of hunting using
falcons was hard and people were exposed to danger. It would take long time to
find the prey to be hunted. When falcons caught the prey, the hunter took the
prey to provide food for his family. Falconry was used basically in order to
provide food for the daily use.
Nowadays, falconry has changed. People maintain falcons as symbol of strength
and speed. Emirati people grow up Falcons as a hobby. The UAE people are pride
to practice falconry and we can see that some of them accompany falcons where
they go. The UAE people practice falconry as a type of fun and enjoyment.
