RIYADH — Adhari Al-Khalidi, from the northern Saudi city of Sakaka, is the first Saudi woman falconer participating in the King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, which is being held on the festival grounds of Mulham, located north of Riyadh. The third edition of the festival, organized by the Saudi Falcons Club, which kicked off on Nov. 28, runs through Dec. 12. The King Abdulaziz Falconry Festival, the largest of its kind in the world, includes Mazayen, a falcon beauty pageant, and Melwah, a falcon-calling contest (over 400 meters). Each competition is open to Farkh (less than one-year-old) and Qurnass (more than one-year-old) birds. Six types of falcons are participating in the Melwah competition, which are: Al-Har, Al-Shaheen, Gir Shaheen, Taba Gir, Qarmousha Gir, and Ger Pure. Adhari participated in the Melwah 400-meter competition, on its fourth day, with her falcon Aneed in the round of Gir Shaheen Qurnass for Saudi owners. Speaking to Al-Arabiya.net, Adhari unveiled her dream of starting an exclusive falconry school or training center for Saudi women. She put her falcon through the paces for more than two months for the competition. The passion for falconry made her dedicate time and effort to engage in this sport for over ten years. Her falcon Aneed was able to cross Qurnass 400 meters in 21 seconds. Last year, she participated in the festival with her falcon Sattam in the Farkh category but did not win any prizes. But this year, she is confident of emerging a winner. Adhari turned her dream and hobby into a reality on the festival grounds through continuous and strenuous practice. She said that falconry is her passion that she embraced since childhood and continued practicing this sport for over 10 years. "I got my first training of falconry in the company of my husband. It is just enthusiastic to be among the participants, for which there must be strength and the falconer must also be well versed in every details of this sport." "I continued following this sport, reading all aspects of it and the best ways of taking care of falcons. I found very good support from husband and bought one falcon in the type of Shaheen last year, named it Aneed and started giving training on Melwah round before proceeding to Riyadh to take part in the competition." Adhari emphasized that she faced many difficulties at the inception of practicing the falconry hobby. But within a decade, the sport has strengthened her with endurance, and is happy that she did not succumb to the difficult circumstances that she had faced. "The sport of falconry enables people to have patience while facing any difficult situations in life apart from strength and courage," she said. She is also very thankful to her supportive husband and family members for their total support and help. The Saudi Falcons Club had announced earmarking of more than SR22.7 million in cash prizes to the winners of Melwah and Al-Mazayen competitions held within the festival's activities. The festival, which brought together local and international falconers, is being held in implementation of the directives of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, who is also the supervisor-general of the Saudi Falcons Club, to preserve the cultural heritage of Saudi Arabia and to achieve one of Vision 2030 goals.
