Welcome

Thank you to everyone who took part in the hugely successful Festival of Falconry which ran from 10 – 18 December 2011 in Al Ain city.

Thousands of people gathered from 78 countries to make it the largest gathering of falconers the world has ever seen. Thank you to our Abu Dhabi hosts for extending such a warm welcome both at the Desert Camp and at the Jahili Fort.

International delegates were amazed to participate in the traditional hawking parties which went out in the morning and evenings. Many never believed they would experience the thrill of riding camels, tracking prey and watching falcons stoop over golden dunes onto desert hare. Not since the 1950’s has hawking been done in this traditional style. Along with hawking, there was excitement on the race track with camels and salukis showing their speed and demonstrations of falcon and eagle flying. It was a truly unique experience, being in the desert, enjoying an evening camp fire and sleeping in a Bedouin tent; one which no one will forget.

On 14 December, everyone returned to Al Ain and began preparing for the arrival of public visitors. On 15,16 & 17 December, the Jahili Fort opened its doors and thousands of people came to see learn and experience falconry around the world. The national camps had colourful and interesting exhibits on falconry around the world and visitors were amazed to see North American tepees, next to Mongolian yurts next to traditional Arabic tents.

Besides the national camps, there were exciting demonstrations in the arena, an art and photography competition, a conference plus children’s education area with special visitor Hamdoon the Falconer. The Festival climaxed with the Grand Parade which saw all the nations come together in the arena. It was a spectacular sight, seeing falconers of all ages from all corners of the world, come together under one banner and show that falconry truly is a shared living heritage.

News will be available soon on the next International Festival of Falconry proposed for December 2013.

Date and Schedule

LOCATIONS

To view a Map of the UAE click here.

The Festival will be held at the Jahili Fort in Al Ain. Jahili Fort is the largest of Al Ain’s many traditional mud-brick forts and one of the UAE’s oldest landmarks. It was built in 1891 as a royal summer residence away from the heat and humidity of the coast. In the 1950s it was used by the Trucial Oman Scouts, which operated in partnership with the British Army, as a military base. In recent years it has been restored and now houses a permanent exhibition entitled ‘Mubarak Bin London: Wilfred Thesiger and the Freedom of the Desert’. Thesiger was a life-long friend of the late Sheikh Zayed and they went hawking together from Al Ain in the 1940s. Now the pleasant garden city of Al Ain has grown up around the Jahili Fort but the building itself has been kept much as it was, and a park surrounds it.

The Festival will be held in and around the Fort and park. Opposite the Fort is the Rotana Hotel which will be used for the conferences and workshop meetings as well as for housing visitors. There is a good choice of hotels and apartments close by.

The Desert Camp

During the first four days of the Festival there will be a Desert Camp, about 40 minutes out of town. There will be shuttle buses between the Desert Camp and Al Ain. It will be primarily for falconers and will not be open to the general public. We will be manning the hawks there for the Festival and practising some of the arena activities. Local falconers will be flying some of their falcons and we will also be running some of the salukis and practising with the horses and camels. The Desert Camp will have basic amenities of toilets and catering, with army tents and campfires. You can curl up on a carpet in a shared tent to sleep, or sleep under the stars. Those who are not keen to sleep al fresco can take a shuttle bus back to Al Ain.

We will try to make available at least one bird of prey per nation, often more, of the species each nations falconers are used to. The national representatives will be responsible for manning and looking after these birds for the entire week. Some of them will be flying in the arena events. Sitting around the campfires in the desert camp is a lovely way to man the birds and to catch up with old friends or to experience the traditional desert lifestyle. Lady falconers are welcome at the desert camp. On 14th December the desert camp will close everyone will move to the Festival site at the Jahili Fort.

ACTIVITIES

Traditional Falconry.

As well as the normal activities you expect at the International Festival, we plan to offer the opportunity for a limited number of falconers to go on an overnight hawking trip alongside experienced local falconers and trackers from Sunday 11th – Thursday 15th December. The main quarry will be the desert hare and the hawking will be conducted in the traditional manner with saker falcons, salukis and camels. This is the first time traditional hare-hawking has been available for an entire generation and will be the falconry experience of a lifetime. This will be held deep in the desert amongst the large bateen dunes at Qasr Al Sarab in the Western Region.

Falconry Conference.

From Thursday 15th - Saturday 17th December there will be a three day Falconry Conference at the Al Ain Rotana Hotel opposite Jahili Fort. This will have three Workshops each day, as shown in the Schedule of Events.

The conference is free entry. No registration is necessary.

Photographic Exhibition.

There will be a photographic exhibition with about 13 categories and sponsored trips for all finalists to attend the Festival.

Art and Crafts Exhibition.

The Art exhibition will include sections for both two and three dimensional art, calligraphy, falconry equipment, falconry jewellery and costume. Short-listed exhibitors will be sponsored to attend and exhibit their work, and the finalists will be judged by official specialists in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Music and Dance.

Singers, Poets and Dancers from any of the 77 falconry nations will be invited to perform at the Festival on a non-competitive basis to exhibit the huge cultural variety found in world falconry. If you would like to participate, contact us and you may be offered a sponsored trip.

Arena Events.

Teams wishing to participate in arena events are invited to discuss feasibility with the organisers and a variety of species of trained birds of prey, as well as horses and camels, will be available.

Excursions.

Pre-booked coaches will be available for various day excursions such as to Abu Dhabi to see the city and to visit the Grand Mosque.

ACCOMMODATION

CLIMATE & CLOTHING

December in Abu Dhabi is very pleasant. It can be cool at night and warm clothing is needed. In the daytime it is cool enough to be active outside during the whole day. Evenings are a lovely time to socialise, circulate and meet new friends and local falconers will be on hand to show the legendary Abu Dhabi hospitality. Bring loose clothing, some with long sleeves to guard against sunburn. Insects are not a major problem. Sand can be an issue, especially if there is a windstorm, so ensure that you have sealed containers for sensitive equipment such as cameras, and bring sandals that can easily be kicked off to empty out sand.

National dress is required for the arena events and parade of nations.

TRAVEL

AIRPORT COLLECTION

We are pleased to announce that Prime Limousine will running collection services for delegates arriving at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports. Further information will be sent by e-mail with final confirmation.

FLIGHTS 

Omeir Travel & Services LLC will be booking flights for sponsored delegates attending the Festival. Bookings will be done by region. 

Asia, Australia and New Zealand
Zaheerulhaque (00971 2611 8784) 
zaheerulhaque@omeir.ae  

North and South America
Mr V Sriram (00971 2611 8789)
sriram@omeir.ae  

Europe and Middle East
Amer Al-Najjar (00971 2611 8785)
amer@omeir.ae  

Africa
Amer Al-Najjar (00971 2611 8785)
amer@omeir.ae  

UK & Ireland
Abner Fernandez (00971 2611 8790)
abner@omeir.ae  

Sponsored delegates will be contacted directly by Omeir Travel. 

Omeir Travel can also book flight tickets, accommodation and visas for non-sponsored people. Email the regional contact for a quote.

Visas 

Please note that Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritages (ADACH) will be organising visas for sponsored delegates. Visas will be in the form of a code which will be emailed to delegates. ADACH have advised that these will be emailed in the final week before travel.

Please note that the following countries DO NOT require visas 

England, France, Italy, Germany , Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norwegian, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus,  Finland, Spain, Monaco, Vatican, Iceland, Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Japan,  Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brunei and South Korea.