On the twentieth day precisely of Dhu al-Hijja I went out of Mecca in the company of the commander of the caravan…Anyone who left the caravan for a natural want and had no mark by which to guide himself to his place could not find it again…
-Travels, Ibn Batutta (1304-1368)
I was always impressed when one of the drovers heard and answered the call of nature while the Dabouka was underway at a fast clip. It is not easy to force a camel, even a well ridden camel, to a dead stop and couch when the others are rushing past. So the drover would have to jump off on the move, run to the side to answer his call, then run doubly fast to catch up, pacing himself beside his long striding mount, then swing back into the saddle up from its neck. Smooth and Easy, like a tree climber on a smooth branch, so unlike a branch of the Vechellia seyal, gum arabic tree, whose eight inch thorns can ruin your day.