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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Focus Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Camels steal the show
By Nashwa Abdel-TawabCamel basketball might never make it as an Olympic sport but the event, among several more customary sports, drew its share of spectators in the first South Sinai Camel Festival which ended Sunday. Eleven sports were on show in Sharm Al-Sheikh, played on the sidelines of celebrations marking the liberation of Sinai: camel racing, football, archery, playing basketball from atop camel humps, mountain biking, quad runners, cross-country racing, beach volleyball, windsurfing, underwater photography and polo.
Camel racing, polo and underwater photography were recognised as official sports held under the supervision of their respective federations. The games were open to Egyptians and foreigners alike except the camel race, an exclusively Bedouin sport. Mövenpick Jolie Ville Hotel donated the cash prizes and trophies.
"The aim behind the festival is to encourage tourism, especially sports tourism in Sinai," said Mohamed El-Sawi, head of the Alamia Publishing and Advertising Company, the organiser.
Twelve tribes entered the nine, 12 and 15-kilometre camel race event held on a three-kilometre track so close to Sinai Airport that several tourists took the opportunity to come and watch.
"Camels, like Egyptians, do not run quickly at the beginning," said Sheikh Mohamed Eid Solaiman, founder of official camel racing in Egypt and a member of the first Egyptian camel club in North Sinai. "The true test is when they run long distances. That kind of stamina is important for the pride of the tribes," Solaiman said. The Howaitat tribe came in first with Billy, Mezeina, Ayayda and Sayada tribes not far behind.
On the fun side, a basketball match on camelback -- five minutes a half -- was played, as were four friendly soccer matches between journalists, foreigners, Mövenpick Hotel workers and Bedouins.
Khaled Haggag, a marathon runner who journeyed from Luxor, won the cross country race held on the camel track. "It's the first time for me to feel like a camel but run like a horse," said Haggag holding the cup tightly to his heart. "Now I know why I'm better at marathons than sprints. We are like camels more or less, running slowly but steadily," Haggag mused. Briton Stewart Johnson, on a two-week visit to Egypt, came second.
There was fun and prowess under the sun, on the sand and above and below the water as almost a dozen sports vied for attention at the South Sinai Camel Festival. Almost every imaginable and unimaginable sport -- even camel basketball -- jammed the unique one-week event Fifteen Bedouins took aim in archery. In Sofitel Hotel's sandy and uneven hills, Mohamed Sheta from Egypt took first place in mountain bike racing, followed by Armella Van Dodge from Norway. In quad running, the official name for dune buggy racing, Ahmed Serour from Egypt captured first place, followed by two Italians in the under 250cc event. Orabi Mohamed, Sameh Fanous and Sheta took the three first places in the above 250cc.
Egypt won the polo competition, followed by Malta, Germany and Tunisia. Three players made up a team while the horses came from the Police Academy in Cairo. The sandy track made the matches especially demanding.
Sofitel Hotel won at beach volleyball, defeating Mövenpick Jolie Ville. Twelve teams, including five teams from abroad, participated. An earlier exhibition match saw pro players Ayman Rushdi, Yasser Rushdi, Mohamed Abdel-Karim and Mahmoud Gomaa demonstrate their talents.
Tarek El-Said of the Arab Contractors Club in Cairo took first place in windsurfing, topping 11 other competitors.
Eight divers snapped away in underwater photography in the Red Sea. The divers, who took the plunge twice daily for two days with only one roll of film, submitted three pictures in the close-up event, three in the wide-angle event and three in the marine-life category. Sameh Mesharafa, a member of the Egyptian Diving Federation, said the International Diving and Underwater Photography Federation has already decided that either Sharm Al-Sheikh or Hurghada will host the 2000 World Cup in the sport "due to the view below".
"The festival was successful since Egyptians and foreigners either participated or watched from the stands," said El-Sawi, adding that the festival would be an annual event.
