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Katara Traditional Dhow Festival concludes, marks ten years of Qatar’s maritime culture and heritage show

 

Doha -- Katara

 

The conclusion of the 10th edition of the Katara Traditional Dhow Festival on Saturday marked the completion of ten long years since the launch of what is now a significant event of Qatar and the region maritime culture, heritage, history and tradition.

The 2020 festival was held at the esplanade of The Cultural Village Foundation – Katara over five days with all precautionary health measures against the coronavirus pandemic according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health.

All participating nations – Qatar, Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, Republic of Iraq, Tanzania and India, and visitors adhered to the health and safety measures resulting in a very successful conduct of the festival.

The festival witnessed visits of several Their Excellencies, ambassadors and dignitaries. The turn-out was large and quite high over the weekend,

As in the past one decade, the festival has been characterised by a number of competitions and marine shows, besides a variety of cultural activities and events that reflect ancestral heritage and shed light on the ancient maritime history aimed at restoring culture and preserving folk heritage.

The Haddaq Al-Saif fishing competition, which began on the first day of the festival saw a lot of big fish catch being brought in by the participants. The weight of the largest catch was calculated on Friday.

Sultan Dokhi Al-Muraikhi (1kg and 900 grams), Nasser Ali Badr (1kg, 900gms), Khalifa Abdullah Bujsum (1kg, 900gms) emerged as the best and were rewarded with a prize of QR4,000 each.

Ahmad Khamis Al-Badr and Salih Ali Al-Badr (1kg, 600 grams) won QR3,000, while  Salih Khamis Al-Badr (1kg, 400gms) received the prize of QR2,000.

Saad Rashid Al-Mansouri (1kg, 300gms), Yousef Ibrahim Al-Obaidly (1kg, 100gms), Abdullah Muhammad Al-Matati (1kg, 50gms), and Saad Al-Badr (960gms) were awarded QR1,000 each.

Besides the competition, maritime heritage collections from various participating countries, special pavilions of traditional handicrafts, and workshops showcasing ship-building process and ancient craft stood out with their unique displays at this edition.

The festival and its activities also received a wide media attention. Television, newspapers and radio channels described the on-goings at the festival in detail given the growing interest of the locals, expats and foreign visitors in the maritime history and culture of Qatar and the region.

While the newspapers published describing articles and pictures of various activities at the festival, Qatar Television carried live coverage. Qatar Television had also painted their outdoor broadcast (OB Van) stationed by the Katara beach esplanade in imagery of Qatar of the past and present.

Having grown exponentially over the years, the dhow festival - where traditions are revived and renewed – occupies a valuable stature as a prominent destination for heritage and culture and attracts visitors of all nationalities.

This year’s edition of the festival was partnered by Qatar Insurance, the Official Insurance Sponsor, Qatar Airways, the Official Carrier, Qatar Petroleum, the Platinum Sponsor, and Al Meera.

History of natural pearl, the rare jewel, and craftsmanship on show at 10th Katara Traditional Dhow Festival

 

 

 

History of natural pearl, the rare jewel, and craftsmanship on show at 10th Katara Traditional Dhow Festival

 

Day Three of the festival continues to wow visitors with social distancing

 

The 10th Katara Traditional Dhow Festival on its third day continued to excite and charm Their Excellencies, ambassadors and visitors alike on Thursday.

Spread across the splendid beachfront esplanade of Katara, the activities are being conducted in strict accordance of Ministry of Public Health safety guidelines and precautions for prevention of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Cultural Village-Katara, in cooperation with Al Meera, one of the sponsors of the festival, are ensuring the use of sanitizers, masks and gloves for the safety of all.

Feeling safe and maintaining social distance, visitors are having a great experience at the festival which is much more than just a marketplace. Besides many treasures of the sea, music provided by Omani Folk Band, and delicious traditional food on offer, there is a lot to learn and gain from the historic and traditional value on show for people of all ages and walks of life.

Qatar like many countries of the world has always had a great historic connect with the sea. Qatar’s maritime history is full of legendary tales of how the nation has become renowned for pearls globally.

The tenth traditional dhow festival brings this facet to light for the present-day generation to learn from history and to see for themselves the valuable marine resources of Qatar and the heritage besides many other sea-related products of other participating countries.

Pearl has been one of the most valuable and ancient natural resource of Qatar and the deep-sea diving history of the nation has been well-known for ages. But for the younger generation the presence of some of these professionals and how oysters are brought to land and how a pearl is actually found is fascinating.

Deep-sea diving was once a source of livelihood in the past as ‘tawash’ and carpentry being among the prominent occupations in the labour market.

The Qatari ‘Al Hayrat’ oyster is considered to be one of the finest in the Arabian world, as the finest pearls are extracted from them.

Another highlight at the tenth dhow festival is the presence of Al Majid jewellery pavilion which showcases some of the finest, ancient and modern jewels including pearls. They also have a section which shows how pearls are measured and grouped into formations as jewellery.

They also have an assortment of necklaces -- mixed with traditional heritage and shaped by modern designs.

While diving and pearl is one facet, the boats used for fishing is an equally challenging dimension of maritime culture.

The marine heritage of Iraq while being distinct can at the same time be commonly associated with Arabian maritime tradition and history.

Mahdi Mutashar, supervising the Iraqi pavilion Al-Janaj, speaking about their presence at the festival this year said, “We are this time displaying Iraqi folk craft such as making ‘mushaf’ boats used for fishing in addition to hand made woollen carpets. Our craftsmen are also making baskets and table mats (woven rugs) which people can see for themselves and realise the originality of the tradition and culture.”

The pavilion of Oman is showcasing antiques and rare collectibles of the sea.

Hammoud bin Abdullah Al-Amrani, managing the Omani pavilion says they have antiques and rare collectibles of the sea, also personal supplies of sailors from their long voyages that could last up to six months and more. Utensils used for cooking, food storage methods, in addition to natural oil utensils that are used for treatment purposes.

Medication, in addition to many exhibits representing models of famous ships of the Omani maritime heritage, pearl extraction tools, oysters and scales used by the tawash and boxes (pashtata) used to collect the pearl crop, as well as many ancient antique collectibles such as Rumaila clocks and compass dating back 150 years.

On Friday, the festival shall receive visitors from 1pm until 11pm and on Saturday from 10pm to 10pm.