More on Camel Beauty Contests

When you start posting on camel beauty contests, first you naturally have to do the occasional follow-up, and then people start E-mailing you about camels. Ah, well.

While I try to avoid camel stories because they tend towards regional stereotyping, how can I avoid it when people keep sending me stories like this:

Al Nuaimi to attend the Camel Beauty Pageant Wednesday

Feb 23, 2010 - 04:57 - WAM Ajman, Feb 23rd, 2010 (WAM)--His Highness Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman, will attend Wednesday the fourth Camel Beauty Contest and Camel Race Festival for UAE nationals, with Ajman Crown Prince HH Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi's Award for grab.

The official launch will also be attended by the sponsor of festival Ajman Crown Prince Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi.

Sheikh Ammar called on judges to observe age of a camel and other characteristics when they grant marks in the camel beauty pageant.

WAM is the official UAE news agency. I believe this is the first time that this blog has had occasion to report on the great state of ‘Ajman, which is about the size of the town I grew up in. Outsiders (well, to be honest, some insiders too) tend to think of the UAE in terms of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with asterisks for Sharja and Ra's al-Khaima. But there are seven emirates in the UAE, and ‘Ajman is one of them, in fact the smallest in territory, mostly surrounded by Sharja. (The other two are Fujaira and Umm al-Qaywayn.)