Saudi Arabia new city and falcons

There's a great article in the online International Herald Tribune today:

Ancient falconry flies with new visions in Saudi Arabia
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/12/sports/letter.php?page=1

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It is here that the falcons' owner, the regional governor of Tabouk, Prince Fahd bin Sultan, this year will begin construction on what is intended as a showcase for a new Saudi Arabia: a $300 billion multicultural metropolis designed to lure 700,000 inhabitants from around the globe.

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"Prince Fahd is the greatest of all living falconers," Aimi says, placing the feather in a leather pouch.

That is no idle tribute in the Islamic world, where King Abdul Aziz, the creator of modern-day Saudi Arabia and custodian of the two holy mosques, was revered as Al Saqr al Jazira, the Falcon of the Peninsula.

The moniker, bestowed on Fahd's grandfather by other Arab leaders, honored what they perceived as his blessed ability to capture and become as one with the falcons, releasing the hunters into the wasteland at speeds of 480 kilometers, or 300 miles, a hour, to fetch nourishment for his subjects.

"They ask you as to what is allowed to them," the Koran says about such talent and the falcon's overarching significance in Islamic culture. "Say: The good things are allowed to you, and what you have taught the birds of prey, training them to hunt - you teach them of what Allah has taught you - so eat of that which they catch for you and mention the name of Allah over it."

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The falcons will assemble there, too, an integral part of what Fahd envisions as the world's first university completely devoted to environmental studies alongside Saudi-endowed satellite campuses of Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Oxford universities.

The prince recalls his first hunt at the age of 5. "It was very cold, so cold that my father put me between him and the driver to keep warm during our trip into the desert."
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Read the article, it's a beautiful story. I too share the love of falcons (see my falcon story in the About Me section.) I'm very impressed with the plans for the world's first university devoted to environmental studies. I'm sure that another of my absolute favorite animals, the Arabian oryx, will also be a part of that school! If you've never seen a photo of an Arabian oryx, look one up on the Internet. The whiteness of the coat and the beauty of its face are wondrous.