The battle, referred to in written sources by the pre-Islamic phrase yawm al-jamal, The Day of the Camel, immortalized Aisha’s presence in the closed litter atop her camel. The Battle of the Camel would forever remain synonymous with Aisha’s participation in the first internecine Islamic conflict. Even her troops would be referred to as ashab al-jamal, the companions of the camel.
-Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past, Denise A. Spellberg.
Egypt’s Battle of the Camel; The Day the Tide Turned…In a scene reminiscent of the Middle Ages, men on horses and camels entered Cairo’s Tahrir Square on 2 February 2011…to disperse the week long sit-in calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. The events that followed came to be known as the Battle of the Camel. The battle left 11 dead and over 600 injured…the sight of camels galloping through the square had spooked the protesters. The duo [of pro-Mubarak activists] allegedly hired thugs [baltagiyya] with camels from the Nazlet al-Saman district [near the Pyramids, where the tourist stables are located]…
-Ahram Online, Yasmine Fathi, February 2, 2012
Thugs on camels. Baltagiyya al-jamal. Those two words used together should not be possible, but maybe yes only in Egypt. In Dar al Kababish and its desert surroundings, we were all Ashab, Companions, of the camel, Abbala, People of the Camel, from the word where the collective noun Ibl, camels, is put into the occupational form of the word, People who work with —. Baltagiyya [from Wehr, meaning gangster, pimp, sponger, parasite, hanger-on] ride in cars and carry sticks. All the Abbala I knew rode on camels and carried whips.
When I first read about Cairo’s Battle of the Camel in Tahrir Square, I joked with my Sudanese friends that maybe Mubarak had hired KhairAllah and the other drovers. But when I saw the photographs I knew quickly they were not Abbala. Look how this rider does not cross his legs in front of the saddle horn, but instead he lets them dangle astride as if searching for their stirrups. Stirrups on camel saddles are for tourists.
A true son of the Abbala, a true son of the Ashab al-Jamal would know to cross his legs over the camel’s neck. That way you can press down with your legs to leverage your body upward and so resit yourself in the sirj whenever you wish and so avoid saddle sores. Look at that baltagi in the photo. His rear end must be hurting. KhairAllah would be laughing. Even I laughed. The two of us were Ashab al-jamal, companions and friends. He, the one wearing tennis shoes and blue jeans, dressed like a thug, was clearly not.
Thugs on Camels in Cairo