It’s been a long while since I last saw and got near a camel so my brother brought me this photo.

I’ve always been fascinated by camels. These are creatures I only saw in my story books as a child so when we first came to Dubai in 2007, I took a lot of camel photos: during our first close encounter with these humped animals, camels in Ras Al Khaimah, camels at the Camel Racing tracks, and in so many other camel meetings.

My brother works in a camp in Abu Dhabi, in the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing there but sand, more sand, seemingly unending roads and THESE.