Falcon festival 'renews heritage' in Saudi Arabia

The second King Abdul Aziz falconry festival is underway in Malham, north of the capital Riyadh.

Organized by the Falcons Club and attended by an international jury, falcon owners from across the globe participate in the festival.

This year’s line-up includes a Saker falcon brought from Mount Sinjar in Nineveh province. 

The price of the competing falcons is between $1,000 to $400,000, with the winner  of the festival valued at up to $500,000.

The theme of this  year’s festival is ‘Renewing Heritage.’

“Falconry in Saudi Arabia has been in the Arabian peninsula since the last 9,000 years. Falconry, horse and camel racing is part of our culture…so we maintain the heritage of falconry in Saudi Arabia,” said the festival organizer Osama Huzeimi. 

In 2018, 1750 falcons participated in the festival.  Guinness World Records labeled it as the world’s biggest falcon competition.

This year has broken that record, with 2150 falcons participating.

 

 Video editing: Sarkawt Mohammed | Rudaw English