Camels

We spent two days in Dubai, and we didn't see any live camels. But we did see signs for camel rides on the beach, which is close enough for government work to count. We also saw innumerable camel-themed merchandise: playing cards, snack items, stuffed animals, tin camel caravans, etc. We also bought for our granddaughter the book "Ali and the Camel," which is helpfully in both Arabic and English. Plot line is the distraught camel anguished by the thought that no one loves him is comforted by the boy Ali, who tells him all the reasons people appreciate the camel so. Said reasons include milk, fur, transport, "dung to heat our homes in the winter" (at which point, according to the book, the camel "smiles happily"), and ... camel meat. The camel is newly re-anguished and says, "So that's why I haven't seen my friends lately!" I'm not sure what lesson this book is teaching kids, but, since mine are grown, who cares.
The photo above is NOT of camels, but rather of shoppers in a Dubai mall. But it IS the mall where I bought the camel book.