Al Dhafra, UAE–The 16th Al Dhafra Festival has kicked off as part of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s camel beauty contest season.
The event will continue until February 2 at Madinat Zayed in Al Dhafra.
Organised by Abu Dhabi Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee and ADNOC, the festival aims to preserve and develop heritage activities, and enable camel owners to continue the tradition of breeding and caring for camels and highlight the role of the camel in the Emirati and GCC’s culture.
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Major General Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Commander-in-Chief of the Abu Dhabi Police (ADP) and Chairman of the Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals Committee – Abu Dhabi, hailed the wise leadership’s support for heritage preservation projects, promoting and developing heritage festivals, enabling camel owners to continue breeding and caring for camels, and supporting those interested in falconry competitions, purebred Arabian horses and heritage competitions, which made the Emirate of Abu Dhabi a unique role model in the field of organising heritage festivals.
He added that festival is given great attention by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan since its first edition in 2008 which represented a key pillar for preserving Emirati authentic cultural heritage in continuation of the approach of the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who instilled the love of heritage and pride in authentic customs and traditions in generations to come.