European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 30, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A amps Vinco crawly a Young boy sits astride his Camel at the Hollif Market. Versatile Camel King of the desert Vince Crawley camels explained an old bedouin at a saudi arabian Camel Market have unlimited uses. They can travel economically Over the vast Ness of the arabian Interior. 1 hey can navigate terrain where other vehicles cannot go. 1 hey can be used As pack animals or they can haul Field artillery cannons. They re also Handy if your car runs out of Gas. You can drink their milk use their hair for clothing and make sandals from the leather of their skins. And As if that weren to enough the bedouin added they Are also Good eating. A we done to need anything if we have a Camel a the bedouin said. A and if we Ever run out of Oil the Camel will be Back in  westerners might joke and Call it a horse designed by a committee but to bedouins the Camel is one of Allah s More multipurpose creatures a horses cattle and beast of Burden All in one. For generations it was their desert ship carrying them across spaces of emptiness where men would otherwise die. A Camel in the desert is life. Of course modern saudis Are More Apt to drive to the Camel Market in pickup trucks. And bedouin caravans carry electric generators to Power their television sets. Still there arc plenty of camels in saudi Arabia. Many gis deployed Here for operation desert shield have seen them from Road convoys helicopters or desert outposts grazing in herds like cattle. Bac Road signs urge motorists to yield to camels and the humped beasts have also been spotted blocking traffic on the four Lane highways that Cut through the desert. And like the image of the solitary Cowboy on Bis trusted horse in the american West camels Are a constant part of saudi arabians cultural landscape. There seven a television commercial similar to the Marlboro Man ads except instead of a grizzled cowhand it features a Sheik like rider who bears a likeness to Rudolph Valentino. While grand desert music plays he gallops his dark Camel out of the Sunset and toward a bedouin Encampment. His Robes flutter wildly against a backdrop of Sand kicked up by his camels hoofs. Finally he arrives leaps from his faithful mount and joins his bedouin buddies around a campfire. Instead of whipping out a pack of cigarettes they share a pot of Lipton Tea. Camel proverbs abound in the arabic language. Translated some Are self Cpl Anatomy while others Are More opaque. Some examples the Camel limped from its split lip the Camel cannot see its own Hump and the Camel dung Points toward the Camel. Heed them All. Souvenir shops Are packed with All sorts of Camel gew Gaws a clocks hats to shirts brass statuettes door knockers ashtrays and Pencil sharpeners disguised As Cartons of camels milk. The velvet paintings at one All night grocery store depict not Elvis but camels in dozens of Middle East settings. One of these is on Black velvet and shows an arabian night with a Camel outlined in the lower right Corner and the dreamy face of a veiled woman in the sky above it. As far As camels milk goes some Roadside convenience stores Stock Cartons of the real thing. Tourists who be tried it say its pretty similar to cows milk. But it costs More. One saudi arabian City Dweller warned against drinking from a freshly milked Camel. Some of the beasts carry a disease called Mastic fever and the first time he tasted camels milk he succumbed to an overnight stomach ache and diarrhoea. When in doubt he suggested boil the stuff first. Camels also make great racers. The annual Camel races in february arc something of an arabian Kentucky Derby. The races held near Riyadh offer prizes that include cars and jeeps expensive water storage tanks and Cash a sometimes More than $25,000, according to a spokesman for the saudi ministry of information. Either male or female camels can race but usually the jockeys Are boys and Young men. Camels might be useful but they re Seldom actually used these Days said the ministry of information official. Other than what he a Learned simply by being arabic his knowledge of camels is derived from leading a handful of Tours to a Market in Hoff near the East coast of saudi Arabia about 100 Miles from Dhahran and the and dam Mam Airport. A nowadays vehicles with 4-wheel-drive Are available a he said. Camels Arentt really considered , a but people nowadays Are taking care of camels As a traditional  auctions Are on wednesday thursday and Friday mornings and those in the know suggest arriving Early to get the Best deals. Goats and other livestock Are also sold. In fact the sign on the Highway Calls the place a Goat Market. But most visitors Are clearly looking for camels. Women wearing Black veils sit among the camels Selling harnesses colourful belts and other Camel accoutrements. The fact that veils cover everything but their eyes make bartering especially difficult. Few reveal whether they can speak English. Instead they gesture with their fingers to signal How much Money they want. One item they sell is a piece of coarse cloth about 1-foot Square made of Camel Wool. It goes for about $8. This said the ministry of information spokesman is to be placed Over female camels sensitive udders to protect them from among other things getting burned when they lie Down on the blistering Sand. Camels said the ministry Man come in different shapes depending on their purpose. There Are draft camels with big feet and heavy bodies used for hauling stuff. There Are camels with Flabbie bodies and softer Muscles that Are destined for eating. And there Are the camels lean Long climbed and Small footed used for racing. They rather resemble a Gigantic Cross Between a greyhound and a Colt. Considering that they re camels they really do look almost svelte. A really Fine racing Camel with a Long and proud lineage can Cost As much As $1 million the ministry spokesman said. However most in this Blue ribbon class go for Well under half that. At the other end of the Price Range really cheap camels Cost just $125. During a recent trip to the Hoff Market one Camel went for 25,000 saudi riyals or about $6,700, another went unsold because the owner was asking 26,000. And the Price tag on a scrawny baby one was 800 riyals or $210. A Good Choice a the owner told a woman who had enquired. A Good for  she did no to buy. Vince Crawley is a stars and stripes staff writer