ASH-SHAHANIYAH, QATAR – Just off the Dukhan Highway, roughly 24 miles from downtown Doha, there are two signs. One says, simply, Camel Village. And it is, well, exactly what it says, home to more than 20,000 camels and those who care for them.
The compounds stretch for miles along the desert, block after block of animal lodgings fashioned from brick and sand. There’s an under passage to access the other side of the highway, tall fences to keep the camels from wandering into traffic and dozens of plots of land run by competing groups. Each acts like the owner of a sports team; they’re training and competing in a surreal sport that started centuries ago and takes place all over the world.
The other sign doesn’t say anything at all. It’s white and circular, with red trim and a black image of a camel with a red line running diagonally through the hump. In other words, it’s a no-camel-crossing, which is funny and yet necessary for the health of drivers and jockeys alike.
