More than 10,000 camels from across the Gulf will be competing for millions of dollars in prize money at a beauty pageant for the "ship of the desert" in Abu Dhabi this week.

The contest is part of a camel festival being staged from Wednesday in the capital of the United Arab Emirates which aims to celebrate and preserve the region's cultural heritage.

Camels from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will strut their stuff before a panel of expert judges who will decide which owners should be awarded prize money totalling around 9.5 million dollars. One hundred cars are also up for grabs.

"Preserving the rich heritage of the UAE and passing it on to future generations constitutes one of the most important missions which people of the UAE wish to undertake, by connecting our culturally rich past with our aspired bright and prosperous future," the official WAM news agency quoted festival organiser Mohammed al-Mazrouei as saying earlier last week.

Oil-rich Abu Dhabi, one of seven emirates that makes up the UAE federation, produced the world's first test-tube purebred camel and has begun using remote-controlled robot riders in its camel races.

Camel racing is a very popular sport in Arab states. It's not only a sport for fun but also a profitable business.

（阿联酋首都）阿布扎比将于本周为具有“沙漠之舟”之称的骆驼举行选美大赛。届时，来自海湾各国的一万多头骆驼将参加选美，大赛的奖金总额达数百万美元。

“骆驼选美大赛”是将于下周三在阿布扎比开幕的“骆驼节”的一项活动，这一节日旨在庆祝和保护海湾地区的文化遗产。

届时，来自巴林、科威特、阿曼、卡塔尔和沙特阿拉伯的参赛骆驼将“昂首挺胸地”站在专家评委们的面前接受评判。评审小组将从中选出优胜选手，除950万美元的奖金外，大赛还将提供100辆小轿车作为奖品。

阿联酋通讯社于上周早些时候援引活动组织者穆罕默德•马兹鲁伊的话说：“保护阿联酋丰富的文化遗产并将其传给后代是阿联酋人民最希望承担的重任之一，我们将努力把过去丰富的文化遗产与光明、繁荣的未来联系在一起。”

富产石油的阿布扎比是阿联酋七个酋长国之一，它曾成功培育出了世界首例试管骆驼，并开始在赛骆驼比赛中使用遥控机器人骑手。

赛骆驼在阿拉伯地区十分盛行，它不仅是人们娱乐消遣的一个体育项目，而且还是个赢利颇丰的行业。

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