Highlighting the significance of these majestic creatures, Saudi Arabia names 2024 the Year of the Camel Photo: Elio Nougueira Saudi Arabia named 2024 The Year of the Camel. Its aim is to consolidate the ancient relationship between Saudi society and camels and promote international cultural exchange, honoring the “value that camels represent in the lives of the people of the Arabian Peninsula from the dawn of history until now,” says the Ministry of Culture. Through poems, folklore, proverbs, and epic stories, the relationship between camels and man has been inspiring for centuries.
A loyal and honorable companion, camels have served to cross long distances, becoming an essential element to Saudi life and identity. The domestication of the dromedary, or one-humped camel, around 3000 to 2000 BCE, revolutionized life for nomadic Bedouins living in the desert. Camels, able to endure long periods without water, could carry heavy loads, provide milk, meat, and hide.
They also facilitated trade routes that connected the Arabian Peninsula with distant regions. The camels were integral to facilitating cultural exchanges and the prosperity of ancient civilizations. Photo: Getty The Saudi Minister of Culture, His Highness Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, writes, “They are the ship of the desert on which our ancestors depended for their settlement and travel.
” He continues that the “Year of the Camel comes in the context of national efforts to pay attention to cam.
