Camels -- the Horse of the Desert

Another thing we wanted to do in Egypt was ride a Camel … and we got our chance in Aswan. Our Guide Abrahim arranged for us to take Camels across a stretch of desert before being picked up to have dinner at a traditional Nubian Villager’s house.

The camels are bigger than I had expected and far prettier in person than in photos. Their faces are expressive and wise looking. While we have heard of spitting incidents, we didn’t encounter any along the way.

Unlike horses, camels will get down on the ground (somewhat willingly) by gingerly folding their front legs, then folding their back legs so they’re bellies are on the ground. You get on, they stand up front legs first, then back legs (you need to hang on tight during this procedure) and then you’re good to go. The saddles are longer fore-aft and have several grab points. Camels are a bit wider than a horse and the saddles had no stirrups. You often see riders side-saddle and after about a half hour on a camel I was able to see why.

Unfortunately our camels were led as opposed to us riding them and guiding them by ourselves. I wouldn’t mind trying to ride one and see if I could lope along with it. They seem a little easier to handle than horses are – maybe they’ve been domesticated longer or are just more docile – but the familiar smell of road-apples would make any horse person right at home aboard a camel.