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Seen by a Diplomat’s Spouse
their limbs are slender and graceful and their feet are flat
and soft. Their ribs are big and their chests are wide.
Their humps are situated up opposite the abdomen
below. Their necks are long and curved . Their ears are
relatively small, have sharp and tapered ends and are stuck
on a high and proud head. All this gives the spectator a
feeling of awe and an impression that camels look with
disdain on all that is around them.
Thus, it can be said that the camel ranks first in respect
of all its vital characteristics. If animals had a special
register for their record figures, on a par with the well
known Guinness record, then the camel would most
probably occupy pride of place among all other animals in
respect of its adaptability to all conditions of nature as it
has unique vital and organic characteristics.
One unique characteristic of the camel is its hump,
which is a virtual store wherein it stores a great quantity
(up to 150 kilograms) of food and water. Thus when it eats
more than it needs, the extra food is transformed into a
special grease that contains water and is kept in this store.
When its body needs water and energy, it takes it from
this reserve. Hence, a camel can dispense with water for
two weeks, and when it partakes of plants that contain
water, it can dispense with water for several weeks. This,
however, does not mean that it can dispense with water
when it is available, for, on the contrary, it does not miss
any opportunity to drink when water is available. Usually,
when agreeable water is available, a camel can drink
between 10 and 20 liters per minute, up to a total of 100
to 150 liters. In cases of rainfall, bedouins prefer to drive
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Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia
Seen by a Diplomat’s
Spouse
their camels at night and leave them near streams so that
they may drink at leisure in the cool. In general, these
animals have a special sharp sense in respect of water.
They sense its presence even when it is underneath layers
of sand and at a far distance.. Many a time camels have led
their stranded owners to the buried wells and oases. Many
stories are narrated on how in the past men have found the
water that rescued them from inevitable death thanks to
the camel’s storage of water in their stomachs.
In such circumstances, men would slaughter the camel
and drink the unpalatable, green water just in order to
survive the fatal thirst.
The hump of a camel is an index of its physical condition
and health. If a camel has been sick and hungry for a long
while, the hump would become hardened and wrinkled,
would spill over the back and would almost disappear. But
in the case of a sated and healthy camel, this part of its body
would be hard. I should mention in passing that a camel’s
saddlebag takes the form of a square piece of wood that
is placed on the hump. I have often taken a ride on the
back of camels, but to tell the truth, it was a frightening
experience, although we were given very calm, docile and
properly trained camels to ride. In camel-racing, the riders
sit behind the hump, on an ordinary pillow, although one
gets the impression that they cannot possibly control the
camel by pulling and releasing the bridle while sitting
back in that posture.
In the winter of 1999, the heads of diplomatic missions
accredited to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia were invited
to attend the celebrations of the first centenary of the