The founder's initiatives have won the appreciation of environmentalists around the world
Following in the footsteps of Zayed .. "Abu Dhabi Hunting" continues the march of the first falconer
Sheikh Zayed elevated falconry to an authentic traditional art.
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The past years of the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition brought beautiful memories for all generations, during which the Emirates Falconers Club was able to present a message about the value of heritage and the environment in the Emirates, and the event, which was honored in its first session in 2003 by the visit of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, God willing, became Its wealth is a global forum for displaying the masterpieces of human heritage, and its resonance has become everywhere, as the largest event of its kind in the Middle East and Africa.
The exhibition is a continuous success story for more than 18 years in preserving the environment, sustainable hunting, presenting heritage, and enhancing the awareness of young people and generations about the authentic Emirati traditions and culture, following the approach of the late Sheikh Zayed, who visited the exhibition and was accompanied on the visit by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Falconers all over the world are still clinging to their love and loyalty to Sheikh Zayed, and for his great giving to this sport, which he elevated to an authentic heritage art, which he loved, mastered, and unique in, and gave him many of his white hands and a spirit of love for nature and wildlife.
At a very young age, the late Sheikh Zayed seemed to be able to understand the language of nature and mother life, and he refused to use the gun for hunting since 1930, and this is what won the appreciation of his Bedouin society and environmentalists around the world.
Among his most important initiatives in the field of preserving the sport of falconry was the organization of the First World Falconry Conference in Abu Dhabi in late 1976, which brought together for the first time the falconers of the Arabian Peninsula and their counterparts in North America, Europe and the Far East.
The conference was a real starting point for the strategy developed by Sheikh Zayed, with the aim of mobilizing falconers to be at the forefront of activists with real interests in nature conservation.
Excellence story
By 1995, Sheikh Zayed switched from using wild falcons to bred falcons in captivity, and the UAE, a few years later, became the first country in the Middle East to rely entirely on the use of bred falcons in the sport of falconry.
In the same year, he announced the Sheikh Zayed Falcon Release Program, which aims to preserve the numbers of falcons in the wild, by giving them the opportunity to breed in their original areas.
Sheikh Zayed, may his soul rest in peace, donated his falcons annually to the program at the end of the annual hunting season, and he urged falconers in the area to donate their falcons as well, and the program is still continuing with great success until today.
As for the breeding programs for Houbara - the lover of falconers - in captivity, they were launched by Sheikh Zayed more than 43 years ago, so that this bird remains in the wild for new generations as a pillar of their authentic heritage, a story of Emirati excellence and success recorded by history in letters of gold.
The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, undisputedly, embodied the ideal image of the Arabian falconer, for his honest intuition and his extensive knowledge of nature, which enabled him to win the admiration and love of members of his Bedouin community.
It was said that the three best images that can be combined at the same time are: the image of a falcon on the hand of a man on the back of his horse or camel.
intense preparations
Under the slogan "Sustainability and Heritage.. in a Renewed Spirit", preparations are intensifying today to organize the 18th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, representative of the ruler in the Al Dhafra region and president of the Emirates Falconers Club, from the 27th to the 3rd. From next October at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, organized by the Emirates Falconers Club.
The International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition in Abu Dhabi was launched in its first session in 2003, and was honored by the visit of the late Sheikh Zayed. To continue the relentless quest to show the exhibition at its best and highest level.
The theme of the event for the next session was "Sustainability and Heritage... in a Renewed Spirit", as a reflection of Abu Dhabi and the world's efforts to promote environmental sustainability, fishing, heritage sports and related businesses.
During its past sessions, the exhibition witnessed great growth and gained popularity and a distinguished position at the local and international levels, as the number of participants increased 17 times, and its area expanded more than nine times.
Hunting and hair
The late Sheikh Zayed was a prominent poet of the Nabatean poets, the traditional poetry of the Arabian Peninsula, and he was keen to encourage the revival of heritage, customs and traditions at a time when he was steering the wheel of modernization, development and contemporary.
The personality of the late is characterized by the original nomadism that he inherited, and the wisdom and eloquence of an experienced statesman. Wildlife has a clear impact on refining his personality and distinguished character as a majestic knight, a skilled sniper and a frequenter of camels.
One of his favorite hobbies was hunting, and out of his interest in falconry, he published the book “The Sport of Falconry” in both Arabic and English, which gained wide attention in the scientific community.
On many occasions, he stressed the importance of preserving the authentic Arab traditions, including the sport of falconry.
Sheikh Zayed's interest in poetry came because of its influential and important human and literary value, and as an important element of the Emirati identity.
Sheikh Zayed loaned Nabatean poetry, and several collections of poetry were issued to him including his poems, and arranged on various weights, but he showed a clear interest in the weights of Nabatean poetry and its arts that the emirates of the state have been famous for since ancient times, especially Al-Wanah, Al-Ridha and Al-Taghrooda.
As for the poetic purposes that Sheikh Zayed wrote, there are many, and they vary between spinning, poems of wisdom, national and social poems, and preservation of heritage, in addition to his loan of what is known as poetic debates.
There are important features of Sheikh Zayed’s poetic experience, which are reflected in those human values that were contained in quite a few of his poems. These values are linked to important themes, such as tolerance, the call for peace, acceptance of the other and the exchange of respect between the individual and the other, the importance of friendship and brotherhood, and encouragement to practice hobbies. Authentic heritage.
In its natural habitat
More than 2,000 falcons have been returned to nature by the Sheikh Zayed Falcon Release Program, which was launched by
The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, in 1995, and it is considered one of the most important sustainable fishing projects in the world.
The program aims to support sustainable falconry, by re-releasing falcons after they have been used for hunting, into their habitats in their natural breeding grounds.
To date, the program has succeeded in releasing more than 2,000 falcons, of the species of heat, peregrine falcon, and gerbil.
Majed Al-Mansoori: We will preserve the beautiful
The Secretary-General of the Emirates Falconers Club and Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee of the Abu Dhabi Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition, Majed Ali Al Mansouri, stressed that “the values of nature conservation are still firmly established, through their roots that strike deep in the earth like good trees, and the pioneering projects to preserve heritage and preserve the environment will continue at the same pace. And success in memory of the late Sheikh Zayed.
He added: "Falconers and nature preservers will remain steadfast in their thanks and appreciation to Sheikh Zayed in gratitude and appreciation for his long journey in protecting wild falcons from the dangers threatening them and saving the Houbara bird from extinction, following his path and achieving fruitful results for his pioneering projects, which are still successfully continuing to this day."
18 years of environmental conservation, sustainable fishing and heritage presentation sums up the exhibition's story.
• The late Sheikh Zayed embodied the ideal image of the Arabian falconer, due to the sincerity of his intuition and his extensive knowledge of nature.
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