Dhow boats enliven their valued presence at 10th Katara Traditional Dhow Festival

 

Dhow boats enliven their valued presence at 10th Katara Traditional Dhow Festival

Doha - Katara

Visitors, over the weekend, swarmed the 10th Katara Traditional Dhow Festival which was aglow with its pristine and authentic cultural shows and music with the flags of participating nations fluttering in the breeze by the beach of The Cultural Village.

The strict precautionary measures against the coronavirus were well in place as people maintained social distance and patiently waited for their turn to be allowed admittance.

Friday evening presented beautiful scenes at Katara esplanade as traditional dhow boats, small and large, sailed into the sea along the bay. Generations have passed by since these ancient styled boats have been in existence. Parents and grandparents could be seen informing the children of the importance of the dhow boats.

The dhows have different shapes, designs and names. They were also used for different purposes like for fishing, pearl diving and sea transportation. The ‘Al-Boom’ was one of the most famous types of vessels intended for the transportation of goods through the Gulf ports, from the Arabian Sea into the Indian Ocean and as far as the African countries. The ‘Sanbok’ used to cross seas and the ocean to reach India and Zanzibar in Tanzania.

The ‘Al-Bateel’ has been used for pearl diving purposes while ‘Jalbot’ loader in addition to the ‘owls’ has been among the oldest sailing vessels used for distance voyages in maritime transport of the past. They also carried horses and dates among other commodities. The Baggara and Shu'i were also used for the such voyages.

The atmosphere of the Katara Traditional Dhow Festival in the backdrop of Katara hills overlooking the sea provides ideal setting for such historic learning to be passed on to the younger generation.

The real boats, their cruise and the sea-related marketplace and beautiful paintings bring to light the cultural magnificence of the historic past confirming the heritage stature of the festival – being informative, educational and entertaining all at the same time.

History at Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum

The Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum has had a great presence at the festival all through the last ten years attracting visitors of various nationalities.

Qatar’s glorious maritime history has been traced through various eras by the depiction of books, paintings, boats and materials used for voyage in the past.

This year, the museum has displayed some rare pictures of sea-diving, rare large lanterns used on sailing boats when there no modern navigational tools like a radar or the GPS. The lanterns are in different sizes and well preserved.

The museum is also displaying some other engine gadgets from Europe that have been used in the region and preserved for rarity and historic and cultural importance.

Tools used for pearl diving, boats, and equipment used by deep sea divers made from goat horns. The museum also contains old documentary pictures of pearl diving trips, which paint a vivid picture of an authentic past made by the Qatari forefathers with sweaty foreheads.

The 1oth Katara Traditional Festival will conclude on Saturday and expects a large turn-out amid adherence to the health and safety measures being followed in the country as per the Ministry of Public Health protocols.

The festival will remain open from 10am to 10pm on Saturday.