In a pioneering cultural preservation effort, Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed has established the Ghamran Camp as a transformative desert retreat that reconnects Emirati families with their ancestral traditions. The recently concluded inaugural sessions, held December 12-14 and December 26-28, 2025, provided fathers and sons with an immersive experience deliberately removed from modern technological distractions.
The camp’s nomenclature carries profound personal significance for Sheikh Hamdan, honoring his childhood mentor Ghamran Al-Humairi. The Crown Prince’s formative desert experiences with his late brother Sheikh Rashid under Al-Humairi’s guidance inspired this initiative to transmit similar values of patience, determination and self-reliance to new generations.
Ghamran Camp’s curriculum represents a comprehensive revival of traditional Bedouin practices. Participants aged 6-12 engage in falconry training, archery, camel harnessing techniques, and traditional crafts utilizing native Ghaf trees and palm fronds. The experience extends to cultural arts including Emirati poetry recitation and instruction in Al Sanea hospitality etiquette.
Educational components incorporate ancestral survival skills such as celestial navigation, plant irrigation methods, and date palm cultivation. These activities are strategically designed to foster intergenerational knowledge transfer while reinforcing community cooperation through team-building exercises.
The Crown Prince demonstrated personal commitment by participating with his children Sheikha and Rashid during the December 28 session. Participant feedback indicates the program successfully strengthened family bonds while providing practical understanding of ancestral desert lifestyles, achieving its dual objectives of cultural preservation and values transmission.