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As the sun begins its descend every early afternoon, one little camel caravan after another start taking over the Million Street. At a slow, but constant speed, directed by their owners riding along with them in four-wheel automobiles, they are all heading towards the Camel Haleb Competition arena.

A dusty, unpaved large road, Million Street was named after the countless Dirhams worth of camels that tread its almost 10 kilometres length daily during Al Dhafra Festival, heading towards the Camel Auction or Camel Haleb - Milk - Competition.

Organised by the Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals Committee - Abu Dhabi (CPHFC), Al Dhafra Festival is occurring this December 10th to 30th in the desert premises beyond Madinat Zayed in Al Gharbia, the Western Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate.

As in previous years, this ninth edition kicked off with the Camel Milk Competition, along with the Baynounah Camel Beauty Competition. For one week, From December 10th to 18th, the "bosh haleb" (camel milk) contest will award the camels that offer the biggest quantity of milk throughout one milking session.

Both Assayel, the pure reproduced golden camel that originates from Oman and Majahim, the black camels of Saudi Arabia are enabled to go into the competition. So far, over 50 Emirati and Omani camel owners entered the contest daily.

No mixed bred or various origin camels are permitted to contend and the individuals have to take a solemn oath during the registration procedure: "I swear by Almighty Allah that this camel is truly mine and it is pure-bred.".

"Taking such an oath is actually a lot stronger than providing any files that testify the origins of the camels. No Muslim would ever lie when swearing on Allah's name," stated Abdullah Al Muhairi, an Emirati camel breeder, who was waiting its turn in the competition.

"Usually, a good milk camel gives up to 10 litres of milk in one milking session. So far in the competitors, there was one that provided 11.5 litres.".

Although not as financially valuable as the racing camels, milk camels are extremely applauded, particularly by the Bedouins of the Arab Gulf. Camel milk has been clinically shown to have many health advantages, treating or enhancing conditions such as asthma, diabetes, allergies, autism, even colon cancer.

Mohammed Saeed Al Mahri treated his 10 years old kid's digestion problems in one month with one glass of camel milk per day.

"My boy utilized to deal with food allergies and digestive problems. The doctors recommended some sort of surgical intervention, but I said let's attempt with camel milk first. He didn't like milk that much, however I made him drink one glass every day, like medicine, and after one month he had no more allergies or digestive concerns," he discussed.

Al Mahri, who has more than 100 milk camels in his farm in Salalah, Oman, brought 10 of his finest here, at Al Dhafra Festival, to take part in the camel milk competition.

He is also aiming to buy and sell some of his camels and competitors such as these are highly profitable for camel traders, as they showcase the milkiest camels out there.

Among the main goals of Al Dhafra Festival's Camel Milk competition is, in fact, discovering the best milk camels and encourage camel owners to purchase them.

Referred to as the "white gold of the desert", camel milk has a deeply rooted cultural significance in the UAE and the Arab Gulf, as it was when a staple food, along with dates, for Bedouins. An ancient custom, camel milking has also become a symbol of the strong relationship the people of the region have with their camels.

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