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Differently designed with more maritime events and folk shows, the Festival also has a floating café for visitors

Tribune News Network
Doha

Amid exciting festive atmosphere, coinciding with the launch of FIFA Arab Cup 2021, Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, Director General of the Katara Cultural Village Foundation, inaugurated the 11th edition of the Katara International Dhow Festival in the presence of HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani and a number of ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions on Tuesday. They took a tour around the festival and also a cruise with a traditional loader.

Celebrating FIFA Arab Cup 2021, this year’s festival  will be much longer and exquisite being held from November 30 to December 18 with the participation of nine countries -- Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Greece, India, Zanzibar and Turkey besides hosts Qatar.

Speaking at the festival’s opening, Dr Al Sulaiti said, “The Katara Traditional Dhow Festival is based on ancient traditions and the 11th edition will once again underline that it is not only a festival that presents a number of cultural activities, but an event which has turned into a cultural act that has transcended its local dimension to achieve its goals at the regional and global levels as well.

“Given the various activities and events that combine our authentic marine heritage with various fields of arts, in addition to the traditional marine sports, through various competitions that have been inspired by our ancestral heritage of deep sea diving to seek livelihood for decades,” he added

Dr Al Sulaiti elaborated that this year’s fortnight-long Festival is more distinct. “It is no secret to you that this version has a special flavour, since it coincides with the country's hosting of the Arab Cup 2021, which will enable the country's guests, tourists and everyone to learn about the finer details of our Qatari and Gulf heritage and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere.

“The Festival also proves that the Katara Cultural Village Foundation is strongly present in supporting the country’s great efforts in organizing major international events in the field of sports and other, and confirms that culture is the true reflection of every success that we sense in achieving our mission of building bridges of communication between different peoples and cultures,” he added.

This year’s Katara Dhow Festival carries a different engineering design wherein visitors will be able to follow all the events from both sides of the beach and the waterfront, besides the craftsman’s market, and the pavilions of the participating countries, in addition to the participating museums, bodies and ministries such as the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Municipality, the Engineering Office, Qatar Museums Authority and Mathaf, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Museum and live painting artists throughout the festival with more comfort and safety.

The Festival also presents more than 85 crafts from Qatar, and about 100 from the Sultanate of Oman, all of which are traditional crafts drawn from the maritime heritage of the Gulf countries.

There is also a cinematic presentation of the ‘Fath Al Khair’ trips available to visitors on all days of the Festival.

Floating Cafe

This year, there is a floating café which offers a unique opportunity to visitors to see the dhows and the Festival from the sea. The café serves variety of drinks and light food and has been designed to keep pace with the festival atmosphere. Visitors will be able to access it via the free water taxi located on the beach. In addition to the artistic performances that will be presented by folk bands throughout the festival days.

The activities include exhibitions displaying maritime heritage collections from various participating countries, special pavilions of traditional handicrafts, and workshops showcasing ship-building process and ancient craft, in addition to marine competitions.

There is also the ‘Nahma’ competition, an Arab singing tradition which is one of the most prominent marine heritage culture in Qatar and the Gulf region. This will be in addition to the Fine Arts, painting and portrait competitions open to citizens and residents of various nationalities.

There are story-telling competitions and traditional stage shows throughout the festival.

The Haddaq Al-Saif fishing competition will take place on all days of the fortnight-long festival.

This edition will also be distinguished by a variety of other competitions and marine shows and a series of workshops related to handicrafts that shed light on the marine heritage and reflect the reality of the environment of the people of the sea such as the manufacture of ships and boats (galaf) which occupies a prominent position among the traditional industries. The various industries in fishing, pearl diving and trade,  folk craft such as palm fronds, wood, blacksmithing, spinning (fishing nets), ropes  and other ancient marine artefacts, in addition to the presence of the traditional marketplace.

Live music, folk bands, and delicious traditional food of various cuisine will also be on offer. Artistic performances will be presented by popular groups on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays,

The festival is open to all nationalities and people from all walks of life from 9am to 12 noon and from 3pm to 10 pm. On weekends, however, the festival will remain open until 11pm. On Fridays, The festival will open at 3pm.

The Katara Traditional Dhow Festival - where traditions are revived and renewed – has established its position as a prominent destination for heritage, culture and tourism, reinforcing its role in preserving the authentic marine heritage and the customs and traditions of the ancestral past. It attracts thousands of visitors from across the world each year.

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30/11/2021
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