{"id":3580,"date":"2023-10-28T09:01:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-28T09:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.camelvoyages.com\/?p=3580"},"modified":"2024-09-03T15:24:46","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T15:24:46","slug":"zeydouns-last-hurrah-october-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.camelvoyages.com\/?p=3580","title":{"rendered":"Zeydoun\u2019s Last Hurrah"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zeydoun’s Last Hurrah – October 2023<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We were not to know this as we set off from Sabria on day one of our five day Camel Voyage.\u00a0 For my fellow travellers, Georgina my great niece, and Abdul a former work colleague and dear friend, it was their third time travelling with me on the dromedaries which I considered a great honour, remembering my working days at The Savoy London where repeat guests were the greatest compliment a hotel could wish for!<\/span><\/p>\n

The purpose of our adventure was to once again experience the sheer joy of riding camels across the Sahara under the guidance of our Bedouin friends, Adel and Ali, who never fail to make the unavoidable two-day journey getting from London to Sabria, worth every single arduous mile.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not one for figures or statistics, I had lost count of the number of times I had embarked on a desert voyage astride my beloved Zeydoun, but this time, and for the first time, I would not be riding him. It had been agreed that in his old age, he would be the tent carrying camel. Throughout Circuit Steve<\/em> last November, \u00a0Zeydoun had been having great difficulty rising from the ground \u2013 a wobbly experience for the camel, and an unnerving one for myself the jockey, and Adel his keeper.<\/span><\/p>\n

So imagine my concern at seeing him being loaded up not just with the lightweight tent, but with heavy jerry cans filled to the brim with water, saddle bags stuffed with provisions, clanking cooking utensils, and three mattresses to boot!\u00a0 Hindsight is easy, but had I known in advance that Zeydoun\u2019s long suffering temperament was to be taken advantage of in this way, I would have insisted on hiring another camel to carry the weighty baggage.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As the days melted one into the other, Zeydoun became noticeably tireder. The unrelenting heat was a handicap in itself, and it had become apparent that Adel and Ali too had reached an age and stage in their own lives, preferring the flatter desert routes where possible, rather than negotiating the precipitous dunes which once upon a time man and beast used to take in their stride.<\/span><\/p>\n

Happily though, Zeydoun still led the train in his usual majestic fashion, head held high, Adel setting the pace, walking at his side.\u00a0 Georgina followed on her elegant white camel, Labiar, hitched up to Zeydoun.\u00a0 Labiar belongs to Adel\u2019s half brother, Faraj, now retired from the military and organising successful long distance camel safaris of fifteen days or so, that we were later to witness first hand at a well stop.\u00a0 His clients on this occasion were two delightful German ladies.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Abdul and I rode Ali\u2019s camels \u2013 me on Lahajah, Abdul on Lazrak \u00a0hitched up to Lahajah, the ever attentive Ali marching on foot beside us.\u00a0 Sometimes Abdul preferred to walk, especially when the going was on the level.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The extreme heat necessitated long breaks at lunch time, stopping at midday, and setting off again at around 5 o\u2019clock.\u00a0 During these prolonged hours of rest, whilst we read and slept under \u00a0improvised shade provided by blankets draped over a large bush, the camels, although hobbled, were free to roam as they pleased, stripped of their heavy baggage, with only the saddles remaining on their backs \u2013 these would come off as soon as we pitched camp for the night, when joy of joys, the dromedaries revelled in rolling in the sand whilst we rolled \u00a0out our sleeping bags in readiness to climb into after dinner!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Evenings in the desert are special: time to breathe in the cooler air, our aching backs propped up against the wooden camel saddles arranged \u00a0in a semicircle in front of a blazing campfire.\u00a0 Whilst Adel crouched over his steaming cauldron, Ali passed round the Coca Cola.\u00a0 We relished the simple vegetarian diet of cous cous one night, macaroni the next, spicy sauces, fresh vegetables and fruit, not to mention the dates!\u00a0 Hauntingly beautiful music signalled the end of each unforgettable day: Ali playing the drum, Adel the flute.\u00a0 Drum beats and quivering notes floated into the inky night sky \u2013 the desert at its romantic best.<\/span><\/p>\n

Day five arrived all too quickly.\u00a0 The daily carefree routine to which we had become so accustomed was about to change.\u00a0 There would be no more breakfasts and lunches enjoying \u00a0Ali\u2019s bread, freshly baked in hot ashes in the sand.\u00a0 No more nights under the stars.\u00a0 No more camel riding.\u00a0 The only thing we were thrilled \u00a0to leave behind was the hot wind, from which on some days, there was no escaping other than hunkering down in the makeshift shelter hastily put together by Adel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lunch spot on our last day was within sight of Sabria, and the change of mood palpable. The serious subject of Zeydoun\u2019s future could not be ignored any longer.\u00a0 For the past sixteen years, Adel has cared for Zeydoun, they have never been parted.\u00a0 But now my black camel\u2019s retirement was imminent.\u00a0 I was not at ease with the idea of him being turned loose into the Sahara to fend for himself, the fate of many a camel too old to work.\u00a0 Neither, at my age, did I think it made sense to \u00a0invest in a new riding camel, much to Adel\u2019s disappointment.\u00a0 As mentioned in my book, \u2018Great Aunt Alice and the Black Camel\u2019, <\/em>\u00a0Zeydoun and I are growing old together, he with the Saoud family in Sabria, and me with my family and friends in London.<\/span><\/p>\n

The dreaded moment came when the camels were saddled for the last time.\u00a0 I walked over to whisper sweet nothings to Zeydoun, but to my utter dismay my affections were greeted with a roar and bared teeth \u2013 a scenario I had never, ever encountered before. Shocked, I took this up with Adel, who was quick to explain: \u2018It\u2019s nothing to do with you Diana, it\u2019s because he\u2019s angry with the load he\u2019s had to carry\u2019.\u00a0 And with those words \u00a0ringing in my ears, I looked on as a weary \u00a0Zeydoun rose willingly to his feet, giving away nothing of his innermost feelings.\u00a0 It was to be his last Camel Voyage as a working camel.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Zeydoun’s Last Hurrah – October 2023 We were not to know this as we set off from Sabria on day …<\/p>\n

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