They are both proud nations with fine traditions. Now Abu Dhabi is to give the United Kingdom a history lesson.
A prestigious contingent of cultural, environmental and conservational officials from the Emirate
is preparing to ‘invade’ Britain in a major charm offensive to promote the traditional values of
the capital to the UK.
The cultural task force is aiming to spread the word of Abu Dhabi’s rich culture at next month’s International Festival of Falconry, being held on 11th and 12th July in the heart of the Berkshire countryside some 50 miles outside London.
The campaign is headed by members of the Emirates Falconers’ Club, which represents falconers of the United Arab Emirates. The venture also has the backing of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
A team of over 60 from Abu Dhabi, along with members of the Abu Dhabi Royal family, will be making the journey to the Festival. The two-day festival, a celebration of falconry from around the world, is hosted by the Hawk Board, the umbrella body for UK falconers. It is expected to welcome over ten thousand visitors – including members of the British Royal Family.
Fifty nations are taking part and there will be displays, parades and opportunities to learn from one another about the full range of falconry-related activities. This will include breeding, training, desert culture, wildlife conservation, and leather craft.

 

During the festival, the second to be staged, each nation will have its own camp. People will wear their national dress, stage exhibitions of art and materials, cook their national dishes and create their national music.
The Emirates Falconers’ Club will be taking a piece of Abu Dhabi to the UK countryside, in the form of a 500 sq m ‘Abu Dhabi Village’ which will showcase traditional Bedouin crafts, customs and culture.
“Abu Dhabi is now one of the focal points in the world,” explained a spokesman for the Emirates Falconers’ Club. “It is growing and evolving steadily and is now increasingly become renowned as a major centre for visitors and business.
“We feel that it is now time for Abu Dhabi to increasingly make people abroad aware of our heritage and roots, and our culture.  This is a great opportunity for a cultural exchange so that people can know more about us and our heritage.”
The spokesman added: “Falconry has a deeply rooted tradition in the UAE. But there is a major misconception about falconry. It is not simply about killing. We see this as a way of being able to meet other organisations and actually talk about various ways of conservation, which is so important for ourselves and future generations.
As part of the Club’s education programme the Abu Dhabi Village will feature a Young Falconers’ Corner. Children will be able to learn centuries-old Bedouin traditions, hear falcon tales around a campfire, track hidden falcons via radio and walk away with a Young Falconers Pack filled with fun activities and information about falconry and conservation.
As well as taking an active lead on international issues that affect falconry, with involvement in the Houbara conservation project run by the National Avian Research Center (NARC), the Club also hopes to persuade UNESCO to have falconry recognised on the representative list of the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, to recognise its importance to the nation’s history.
The exact origins of falconry remain in dispute, but it is generally thought to have started in Central Asia around 2,000BC.
The sport was established soon afterwards in the Far and Middle East, where a Persian king was said to be the region’s first falconer. The “sport of Kings”, as it became known, grew increasingly popular in Britain and Europe between the 6th and 17th centuries, proving to be a hit with everyone from bakers to popes.
Falconry still flourishes today throughout the Middle East, where its skills are handed down from father to son. The United Arab Emirates’ long tradition of falconry stems from the Bedouin lifestyle and the need to protect the environment whilst maintaining a cultural identity in a changing world. As many as nine out of ten men in the UAE take part in falconry of some sort; the values required to be a successful falconer are very much intrinsic to those of the Nation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Originally published in Abu Dhabi Week vol 2 issue 21]