By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
The third Dhow Festival, which opened yesterday at Katara – the Cultural Village, has the participation of as many as 105 dhows from all over the Gulf region, including 22 unique boats.
Attended by a number of Qataris and expatriates, the opening ceremony was graced by HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Dr Hamad bin Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari, who was taken around the participating dhows at the beach. The minister was accompanied by Katara general manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti and other dignitaries.
Al-Sulaiti told reporters that about 107 dhows had participated last year but 70% to 80% were of the same kind.
“We call them Simbug. This year we have 22 types of ‘unique’ boats, mostly Jalbud, Bghala, Bateel, and many others coming from the Gulf region, and some from Iran and India,” he said. Citing Qatar’s good relations with China, he expects the latter to join the festival next year. He said the Chinese ambassador had held talks with them related to this.
He reiterated that the Fath Al Kheir journey would be the highlight of the event. Dhows will leave Doha on Friday at 4pm for Bahrain, from where they will sail to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE before returning to Qatar. The journey was named after Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani’s dhow.
Al-Sulaiti stressed the importance of the festival, saying it aimed to educate the young generation about Qatari heritage and culture. The boats, he noted, were used by Arab sailors, traders, fishermen and pearl divers for centuries.
He said their fathers and grandfathers used to go to the sea and dive for pearls hundreds of years ago.
Some of the dhows included Fath al Rahman, a Ghanjah type boat, 78ft long and 19ft wide. Made in Oman, the 23-year-old boat is mainly used for transporting products and goods.
The Fath al Khair from Bahrain is bigger (73.4 ft by 21.2ft) and also has a smaller boat (55ft by 15ft), mainly used for pearl diving. Another one is the 18-year old Jernas from Abu Dhabi which measures 43ft by 12ft.
The event featured a variety of traditional and cultural shows such as band performances, lecture series on heritage, live boat-making exhibition and display, dhow cruises, light and fireworks shows, children’s activities and exhibits from museums across the Gulf.
“This unique festival honours the importance of the seas in Qatari culture, the pearl diving era reflects our heritage and to this day we still value the true importance of our waters,” said al-Sulaiti.
Some of the participants had also joined the past two festivals while first timers have praised the annual event saying it teaches a lot of things to children.
People will also have the chance to watch the maritime races today and tomorrow. The sailing event is today, while the rowing and a pearl diving events are lined up for tomorrow.
An awards ceremony is set for Saturday, the last day of the festival.
“The Dhow Festival pays tribute to our ancestors who worked effortlessly to build a future for our country,” said Dhow Festival committee manager Ahmed al-Hitmi in a statement.
Visitors can watch some of the activities with the following schedules: Today and Saturday: 9am – 10pm; Tomorrow: 9am-11pm; Friday: 3pm –11pm. Public schools may visit the festival between 9am and noon.
Traditional artistes performing at the festival venue yesterday.
