Comments on: Falconry in Saudi Arabia

By: delhi4cats

delhi4cats — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 05:42:50 +0000

Aafke your photos are incredible and will add wonderful borders whenever I choose to change the current “bedu” image.

Viking Daughter – I so agree with you. I’m glad I’ve had the chance to see the magnificent creature on display and at least get to hold one.

Yousef – welcome and thank you for the added information.

By: yousef

yousef — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:45:16 +0000

nice Post,
Im from saudiarabia I want to add more informaition , this falcon in the video is very famous its belong to the prince of Dubai (Mohammad bin rashed) , and its worth millions, most of falcons hunt birds or rabbets but few can hunt some thing big like what you see .
I was tray this kind of sport its very exiting but its also take a time and money.

By: Viking Daughter

Viking Daughter — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:56:49 +0000

Amazing creatures. I’ve always wanted one. Not to hunt with of course—just to admire.

By: Allgemeines

Allgemeines — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:33:55 +0000

There is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one’s own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels for someone, for someone, pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echos.MilanKunderaMilan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

By: Aafke

Aafke — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:19:06 +0000

yes, will see if I can scan them for you tonight.

By: delhi4cats

delhi4cats — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:35:25 +0000

Oh can you share that photo? Sounds absolutely wonderful!

By: Aafke

Aafke — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:33:51 +0000

Waw! I loved this post!!! And while reading it I saw in my mind’s eye a photo I have in a book: A man, his horse, his falcon on his arm, and his saluki by his side….
Then I watched th video…
No, today it’s the much less romantic four by four… Sigh..

I can imagine you can’t hunt too much anyway, in a fragile eco-system like that. I too was amazed at the birds being able to kill such large prey.

By: delhi4cats

delhi4cats — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:18:53 +0000

Falconry is absolutely incredible and I hope this post helps inform readers about another fascinating aspect and popular sport of the Kingdom!

That’s cool Kathryn! Oh yes; I’ve flown with poultry and not just falcons when flying around China, Pakistan and India!

By: tina

tina — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:18:54 +0000

Carol,

Very interesting post! I had no idea that falcons hunted prey that big! I always thought it was small, mouse like, rodents. I was amazed to see them singly bring down and kill something that big.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:11:58 +0000

We flew out of Jeddah to Tunisia this last January. There was a group of young men who had a basket with 2 falcons in it with their legs tied and their little hoods on and a long, low, wooden perch with four birds perched also wearing their hoods. Absolutely magnificent creatures. They sat in the row in front of us on the plane and never made a sound.
I had always made jokes about flying Saudi Arabian Airlines. You know how it is, people with too much carry on baggage of all shapes and sizes and ridiculousness…you go home and say something to your friends about how people have everything with them but their chickens! Well, this time, we really did fly with poultry!
On the way home they were catching the same flight as us out of Tunis. While we were waiting in the lounge, the birds sat on their perch and in their basket. They were kind enough to allow my son to pose with the birds for a photo. I just had to, I really didn’t think anybody would believe me about flying with birds!