Ships of the desert? Camels show they're pretty nippy in the frozen tundra too

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER



Bumpy ride: Mongolian tribesmen take part in a camel race during a winter Naadam festival in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia region



Camels, usually known as the ships of the desert, here show that they are pretty handy for traversing the snow-covered tundra as well.

These incredible pictures are from the winter Naadam festival in Hulun Buir, in north China's Inner Mongolia region.

The event showcases Mongolian nomads' traditional sports and pastimes, including folk dancing, wrestling, archery, and, or course camel racing.



Lovely weather for a sleigh ride together... a Mongolian tribesman rides a sleigh pulled by a camel during the winter Naadam in Hulun Buir



The festival's origin lies in the warlike past of the Mongolian people, and it is believed to have existed for centuries in one form or another.

The Naadam - which in Mongolian means, simply, games - begins with an elaborate introduction ceremony featuring dancers, athletes, horse riders, and musicians.



Snow contest: Traditional horse racing in the Naadam, which China is promoting as a tourist attraction. Its latest five-year plan calls for tourism revenues to rise 10 per cent



Towns with significant Mongolian populations in China have their own, smaller Naadam celebrations.

The Hulun Buir festival is the latest event seized upon by Chinese authorities to promote tourism in remote parts of the coutry during the cold winter months.

China's latest five-year economic plan calls for tourism revenues to rise 10 per cent annually to 2.3trillion yuan by 2015, up from 1.44trillion yuan in 2010.



Keeping out the cold: A group of Mongolian women provide a splash of cheerful colour in their traditional costumes and fur hats



Snow business: Mongolians in exotic national costumes put on a show for the tourists during the Naadam. The biggest games are held in the capital Ulaanbaatar



source: dailymail

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Duel of the dromedaries: Afghan camels in wrestling showdowns to celebrate Persian New Year

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Battle: Afghan festival-goers watch as a camel fight starts during the second day of Persian New Year celebrations in Mazar-i Sharif, northern Afghanistan


An Afghan camel's life is not an easy one. If they survive the arid conditions, heavy work and littering of landmines that characterise this war-torn country, they still have one more test to face: camel fighting.

Afghans gathered in their hundreds of thousands in Mazar-e-Sharif last week to watch this spectacular duel of the dromedaries - part of the celebrations for Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

The male camels, which can stand up to 2m tall and weigh up to half a tonne, go head to head in a 10-minute showdown, slamming necks and butting heads as raucous crowds watch and gamble on the outcome.


Brains not brawn: As well as using sheer brute force, camel wrestlers feint and sweep their opponents legs to try and win a submission


And there's only one thing that will get these usually placid ships of the desert to turn so fierce - mating season.

Once the two bulls are led out into the arena, a young cow is paraded around to get them excited. The beasts are ready to clash, the trainers know, when streams of viscous milky saliva begin to stream from their mouths and nostrils.

Once the two bulls will get down to it and actually try to wrestle one another they do not simply use brute force. They wrestle artfully, feinting in here and there, eventually locking a fore-leg inside the leg of the opposition and leaning on him to topple him over in a dromedary's version of a wrestling fall and pin.


Savage: Camel fights do not usually end tragically, but have been condemned by animal rights campaigners for their brutality


The fights, while savage, are not usually fatal. Each camel's mouth is tied tightly closed to prevent biting. Often the loser will run into the crowd of spectators causing panic as onlookers try not to get trampled. Other hazards include splashes of viscous camel spittle.

In Turkey, the spiritual home of camel-wrestling, fights are far more organised - and high profile. There the camel wrestlers are considered the body builders of their species, and they are carefully fed so as to be enormous. The best specimens are regarded as well-formed martial artists, and they are prized by their owners.

The annual Selcuk championship, named for the western city where the event takes place, draws roughly 20,000 fight fans. Bizarrely, they also enjoy eating camel meat while watching the duels.


Celebration: Afghans gather around the Shrine of saint Sakhi Saib, Kabul, as they celebrate the Persian New Year


The Persian New Year, which has been celebrated for at least 3,000 years, is the most revered celebration in the greater Persian world, which includes the countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and portions of western China and northern Iraq.

It started on March 21 and coincides with the astronomical vernal equinox.


source: dailymail

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US Army soldiers guard the entrance of Baghdad's main presidential palace near a camel named Josephine

US Army soldiers guard the entrance of Baghdad's main presidential palace near a camel named Josephine 15 April 2003. The camel fled from Uday Saddam Hussein's private zoo.




A US Army tank guards the entrance of Baghdad's main presidential palace near a camel named Josephine 15 April 2003. The camel fled from Uday Saddam Hussein's private zoo.




A US Army officer stands guard at the entrance of Baghdad's main presidential palace with a camel the soldiers have named Josephine 15 April 2003. The camel fled from Uday Saddam Hussein's private zoo.



US soldiers stand guard at the entrance of Baghdad's main presidential palace with a camel named Josephine 15 April 2003. The camel fled from Uday Saddam Hussein's private zoo.


source: daylife
photo: Gettyimages

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