Camel market near Cairo |
If you’re in the market for a camel – here’s the place! A 90-minute drive from Maadi, west of the desert road to Alexandria, is a colossal camel market. It’s impossible to get a single photo of the thousand or so camels being traded here. Upon entering the gates, the main thoroughfare stretches ahead for several blocks. Groups of camels wearing identically painted brands stand or occasionally sit along the sides of this wide passage. Notice the green targets and cheeks in the photos. All camels except nursing mothers are hobbled to prevent runaways. You can hear lively conversations haggling over prices with the occasional cry of “Thief!” when a buyer isn’t happy. That unusual white camel costs about $1700. Fences and low storages buildings with hay on the roofs, separate holding pens where newly purchased camels wait for transport. Old bathtubs make great watering holes in these areas! Most pens contain cement inclines with a place for trucks to drive up next to the rise. As camels are stubborn animals, men beat them into the trucks with thick bamboo poles. (This scene is NOT for faint-hearted animal lovers.) Then, the camels are secured for the ride with seat belts of rope. |