The Camel Races

Yes, there are camel races in Doha! Susan was invited to join a group of women to watch the event soon after her arrival. She learned that recently remote-controlled robots replaced human jockeys on the backs of the camels! These robots are the size of a large shoe box, equipped with a whip or jockey crop, and they are marked with individual race numbers. The owners of the camels remotely control the robot, not from the grandstands, but from their moving vehicle - usually a white Toyota Land Cruiser!

There are two concentric racetracks - the inside track where the camels race, and the outside track where the Land Cruisers race. As the camels circumvent the track, so must also the drivers keep abreast (or ahump?) of their animals. Can you imagine the craziness of a pursuing fleet of vehicles loaded with cheering Qatari locals racing around a dusty dirt track frantically trying to follow their camel while also dodging other SUVs doing the same? To make this chase even more exciting, my brave lady friend Janet and us passengers decided to join in this crazy car rally at about 80 kilometers an hour ouselves! Wheeee!

Following our taste of the races, we dined at an authentic Qatari restaurant draped in the interior like a bedouin tent! The food was a local faire of hummus, pita bread, grilled lamb chops, shish kebabs, and salads with feta cheese. Yummm!