UAE man pays $6.45m for three camels

An Emirati splurged a whopping 24 million dirhams €4.658 million for three camels, including one which cost $2.72 million, at an auction in the desert near Abu Dhabi, an AFP photographer said. The auction was held at the Dhafra Festival for Camels and...

An Emirati splurged a whopping 24 million dirhams €4.658 million for three camels, including one which cost $2.72 million, at an auction in the desert near Abu Dhabi, an AFP photographer said.

The auction was held at the Dhafra Festival for Camels and was attended by the biggest camel owners in the Gulf, among them princes and tribal dignitaries. The other two camels cost United Arab Emirates national Hamdan bin Ghanem around $2.4 million and $1.35 million respectively.

Citizens of Gulf countries are passionate about camel racing, which is considered a national sport and tradition.

At the festival, competitions are held for the best camel meat and camel milk dishes, and for the best poem written about camels.

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