Tags
By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter
HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani attended the Fath Al Kheir departure at an event witnessed by thousands of people at Katara – the Cultural Village yesterday afternoon.
Some 40 people from Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, the UAE and Saudi have joined the 27-day journey considered to be the highlight of the third Dhow Festival this year.
A group of Arab performers and well-wishers led the farewell programme at the Katara beach for members of the voyage who will be back in Doha on December 18 for the Qatar National Day.
Leaving at 4pm, the boat headed to Bahrain where programmes and activities will also be held. It will then proceed to four other GCC countries before returning to Qatar.
Besides promoting tourism in the country, the Fath Al Kheir journey aims to preserve the cultural heritage of the region.
Educational programmes have been part of the five-day festival which ends today.
Children with special needs have been given the chance to see the dhows.
With 105 participating dhows this year, Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti said they also welcomed 22 unique boats in the festival. The opening ceremony on Tuesday was attended by HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad bin Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari and other dignitaries.
The same “cultural sessions” in the morning and afternoon are also expected to be held today. Shops from other GCC countries feature some of their products at the festival venue.
Visitors will still have the chance to see the participating dhows at the beach from 9am to 10pm today. Participants of the pearl diving competition will arrive at 4pm to attend the awarding ceremony in the evening. The festival officially ends today at 10pm.
People witnessing the departure of Fath Al Kheir yesterday.
There are no comments.
SPORT Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
TECHNOLOGY Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
CULTURE Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
ARABIA The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
ARABIA Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
ARABIA The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
ECONOMY Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.
