Camels Take Center Stage as Abu Dhabi Museum Opens First Temporary Show

For the people of the UAE, the camel is not a distant relic but a living thread running through daily life, from weekend races to the poetry still recited in the desert. That shared heritage is about to get a public home of its own: the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi has announced its first temporary exhibition, Tracks Through Time: The Camel in Society, Trade and Art, opening in early December to coincide with the museum’s first anniversary.

The exhibition will trace more than 7,000 years of camel history, following the animal’s role in trade, society and artistic expression from its presence in the region thousands of years ago to contemporary traditions such as racing and beauty competitions. For visitors, it promises a rare chance to see, in one place, evidence of a story that shaped the communities they live in.

Among the biggest draws will be the first public display of archaeological evidence of an extinct wild camel species. The finds include bones discovered in Baynunah in Abu Dhabi, dating from between 4500 and 4000BC, and Bronze Age remains from Al Sufouh in Dubai, dating to between 2000 and 1300BC. Domesticated camel bones from Saruq Al Hadid in Dubai will also be shown, offering some of the world’s earliest evidence of the transition from wild camels to domesticated animals. The artefacts are on loan from the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, institutions whose collections are now being placed directly before the eyes of ordinary visitors rather than held in storage.

Peter Magee, director of the Zayed National Museum, framed the exhibition in terms of what it offers the community. “We are excited to present our first temporary exhibition, which celebrates the camel’s profound significance in Emirati culture and the broader story of the UAE,” he says. He notes that the exhibition draws on archaeological research to explore the relationship between humans and camels, from early domestication to the prestige of Al Hejin racing and Mazayna beauty competitions, two traditions that remain part of the country’s cultural calendar today.

The scope of the material on display is broad. It includes camel rock artwork from Fujairah dating back 3,000 years, a rare children’s book from the 1840s detailing camel species and their uses, and UAE postage stamps featuring the animal. Archival photographs, film footage and oral testimonies from camel herders will offer further insight into the animal’s place in daily life, giving voice to the people whose livelihoods and memories are bound up with it.

Sound will carry its own weight in the galleries. Recordings of Taghrooda, a form of Bedouin poetry, and Alheda’a, the traditional practice of camel calling, will feature in the exhibition. Both are recognised by Unesco as intangible cultural heritage, a designation that underscores how much of this inheritance lives not in objects but in practices passed between generations.

Meanwhile, the museum has planned a programme of workshops, guided tours and activities as part of its first anniversary celebrations, alongside a dedicated retail offering inspired by the exhibition’s themes. That programming is aimed at widening access, giving families, students and casual visitors multiple ways in, whether through a guided walk through 7,000 years of history or a hands-on workshop.

For a national museum marking its first year, the choice of subject is telling. Rather than turning inward, the institution is putting at its centre an animal that generations of people in this region relied on for transport, trade and sustenance, and that continues to command pride and affection. Tracks Through Time: The Camel in Society, Trade and Art opens at Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi in early December. Whether the anniversary year draws the crowds its programming deserves remains to be seen. Further details are available via The National at https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2026/10/14/zayed-national-museums-first-temporary-exhibition-to-explore-7000-years-of-camel-history/