This is the land of desert. And here, the king of desert is camels.
“Camels are even-toed ungulates, meaning 'hoofed animals'. There are several groups of ungulate mammals whose weight is distributed about equally by the third and fourth toes as they move around. Camels are native to the dry desert areas of western Asia and central and east Asia. The name camel comes from the Greek kámēlos from the Hebrew 'gamal' or Arabic 'Jamal'.
There are two main species of camel, the Dromedary Camel sometimes called the Arabian Camel which has a single hump and are warmer climate dwellers and the Bactrian Camel which has two humps and are rugged cold-climate camels.
Fossil evidence indicates that the ancestors of modern camels evolved in North America during the Palaeogene period (a period of geologic time that lasting 42 million years and is a time when mammals evolved) and later spread to Asia.
Originally, the camel came from North America some 10 million years ago, where it became extinct about 2 million years ago. All Arabian camels are domesticated from a process that started about 5,000 years ago. Now there are no wild Camelus dromedarius in North Africa and the Middle East.”
Ok, enough story about camel before this blog turn to another wikipedia page.
I have been hearing about the camels milk drinking activity since I 1st came here about a year ago. But, I never have a chance to try it myself, or actually.. drinking fresh, warm bobbling bubbling milk not really my taste of cup.
Anyhow, last weekend together with my friend, Mohd Raznan and his family (his father was also here for short visit),we went to this small open place near to Dammam highway road that said to be selling the milk of this amazing animals.
And, here we are.. having the first sip of camels milk…
Milking the camel not much different than milking your
wifecow, you just need to squeeze, pinch a little bit, pulling gently or.. roughly, as you like, hmm.
Fresh and warm bubbling camels milk!! Dare to have a sip?
“Whooaaaaa…. why you’re taking my milk?!!!”
Overall, this is a good experience for us. The taste of the milk is a bit tasteless, and I’m supposed not to have any problem drinking it if only I do not see and imagining and know the fact that the milk that I’m drinking coming directly from ..errr… the breast of she-camels? Not to mentioned with the surrounding areas, with the strong smells of camels and their … hmm.. liquid and solid waste, makes my cerebrum corpus callosum couldn't really translating the signal it received into something nice!
2 comments:
Found this article in Saudi Gazettes Online:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2010022063950
So, for those who are frequent to drinking untreated camel milk, be careful.
Drinking untreated camel milk is hazardous
By Naif Masrahi
IT has become a common occurrence to see people selling camel milk in the Al-Harazzat district, east of Jeddah. The area is prepared on a regular basis to fill pots of fresh camel milk to sell to customers, and the camels are kept close to the area. Some enterprising individuals even bring a small refrigerator along with them to keep the milk from spoiling.
It never occurs to these individuals, however, that air pollution - especially considering that a cement factory is located right behind the area - might be tainting their produce and proving to be a health risk. The area was chosen simply because it was far removed from the eyes of the Jeddah Municipality. Ranging between 10 and 50 Saudi riyals, these pots of milk are available twice a day - in the mornings and right before dusk.
Veterinarians, however, largely warn people from drinking such milk since these sellers don’t seem to have a medical license or permit from the municipality to sell the milk, untreated, in an open area. The main problem is that the milk is not boiled before consumption, a prerequisite for killing the germs and microbes present in the milk
There is also a rumor that the camel herder gives his camels a drug that helps in increasing the amount of milk the animal gives. Adam Ali is a Sudanese camel herder who told Saudi Gazette that his camel is often milked four times a day but he claims that he achieves this by feeding her well and giving her plenty of water.
There is a variety of opinions on the health benefits of drinking camel milk in the district itself.
Mohammad Al-Solami told Saudi Gazette that he has been drinking camel milk since he was child and has heard extensively about the health benefits of it, largely because of its germ-killing benefits. Another resident of the area commented that he drinks camel milk to help with his infertility, as advised by one of his relatives.
Medically, camel milk is rich in potassium which helps to retain water in the tissue. “Camel milk also contains lactose but of the non-allergic variety, so any lactose-intolerant person who can’t drink cow’s milk, can drink camel milk,” explained Ruquiya Alusmani – the consultant chief of the Nutrition and Dietetics department and a Diabetic Educator at Baksh Hospital in Jeddah - in an interview with Saudi Gazette. “Camel milk is rich in non-saturated fatty acids and has more protein, iron, phosphorus, calcium and vitamin C than cows milk, in addition to the diuretics and liver-strengthening properties of the wild herbs preferred by camels. These include Rosemary (iklil), Thyme (sa’tar), wormwood (shayh) and southern wood (qayum).”
Camel milk is therefore, nutritional and has a number of health benefits, even though Alusmani cautioned that a number of those benefits are still under rigorous clinical study.
One can therefore, drink camel milk, but only provided that it has been boiled an treated before consumption and not tainted by germs and microbes in the air like the pots of milk found in Al-Harazzat are. – SG
I have been hearing about the camels milk drinking activity since I 1st came here about a year ago. But, I never have a chance to try it myself, or actually.. drinking fresh, warm bobbling bubbling milk not really my taste of cup.
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