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| Arabia |
| 'Most Beautiful Goat' Pageant |
| 2008-11-03 |
| RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has held its first ‘beautiful goat pageant following a series of lucrative camel competitions that have taken off in recent years. Owners of pedigree ‘Najdi goats from around the Gulf region converged on Riyadh this week, hoping to win the prize for top male and female goat. ‘The Najdi goat is a pure national product like nothing else in the world, said Sheikh Faisal al-Saadoun, a leading Saudi breeder who organised the show. ‘They are different in terms of beauty, shape and how eye-catching they are. The goats are named after the central Najd region of Saudi Arabia, where the goats have a distinctive high nose bridge and shaggy hair with a fine, silky quality. They were given a thorough shampoo for the show, according to the official website (wwwl.al-nawader.com) which displayed the winners. Most of the goats in the competition were bred from one star goat, Burgan (Volcano), from Saadoun's stable and have been exported around the Gulf in trade worth millions of riyals. Burgan was not on display at the show as the owners fear he could be afflicted by the ‘evil eye. But that did not stop offers from the Qatari royal family to buy him, the compere told the gathering. Saadoun sold dozens of goats from his stable for at least 100,000 riyals ($26,000) each at the show, adding to some 8 million riyals he has made over the years breeding from Burgan. ‘This male goat is different. He is historic and he has contributed to developing the Najdi goat, he told Reuters, as poets recited odes in praise of the goats over loud speakers. The winner in the male category was a son of Burgan with a value of 450,000 riyals. The gathering at a ranch outside Riyadh gave breeders a chance to trade but Abu Ahmed, a breeder from the United Arab Emirates, was disappointed that Saadoun did not take his offer of 350,000 riyals for a one son of Burgan. ‘I wanted to develop the breed from the point it has got to, he said. However, camels remain the pride of the Bedouins. Delicate females or strapping males can sell for more than a million riyals and camel-racing is a popular throughout the Gulf. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #2 Geez. Where to begin... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-11-03 13:39 |
| #1 A young man grew fed up with modern life and decided to leave the big city and become a shepherd, spending months in the seclusion of the distant mountains alone with his thoughts and sheep. So he went up the high mountains where he found three older shepherds with a big flock of sheep, and asked them to show him the ropes. The shepherds agreed. The young man spent a week with them. One evening by the fire he asked casually,"So how do you guys get by with no women around here?" Said one of the men,"Why, with so many sheep around, who needs women?" The youngster shuddered: "Ewwwww! How horrible! How can you...?" The three men only smiled and said nothing. Another week passed and one morning the young man realised that the tension in his groin had grown unbearable. He remembered what the men had said, and looking at the sheep, thought, "Hmm, why not after all..." He chose a moment when none of the older shepherds were around, and grabbed one of the nearest sheep. However, the others showed up in a minute, and seeing him with the sheep burst out laughing. "What? What?!!", shouted the young man, blushing. "You told me that's what you did yourselves, didn't you??!" "Yeah, sure! But to choose the ugliest one??!" |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-11-03 01:29 |