Some 655,758 people of different nationalities have visited Katara’s fourth Traditional Dhow Festival, which concluded yesterday, according to the organisers.

The closing day witnessed the announcement of winners of the festival’s competitions as well as a prize-distribution ceremony, held along with the Al Qafal celebration.

“The fourth Traditional Dhow Festival, a leading heritage event, achieved a number of objectives - such as bringing generations together and reviving Qatar’s as well as the region’s maritime heritage. Our maritime heritage is a distinctive feature of our national identity. This is in harmony with Katara’s mission as a cultural institution, through which we spread our culture as well as interact with other cultures,” said Dr Khaled bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, general manager of Katara.

Meanwhile, festival director Ahmed al-Hitmi said the recently announced “Fateh Al Khair 2” dhow trip would start in early October 2015. “After sailing off Qatari shores, the dhow will stop at the Khasab and Muscat ports in Oman, after which it will reach Ras Al Hadd port, before heading for its final destination in India,” al-Hitmi said, noting that “Fateh Al Khair” will return to Katara’s seashore with the kick-off of the next edition of the Traditional Dhow Festival.

According to al-Hitmi, Katara has received many requests from people as well as members of the media from all over the GCC, Europe and Australia to board the dhow on its historical trip to India. “Fateh Al Khair 2”, however, was likely to have no more than 20 guests on board.

Yesterday’s closing ceremony started with the Al Qafal heritage festival, which celebrated the return of the 10 teams participating in the pearl-diving competition to Katara’s seashore after sailing off on Thursday. The Al Qafal ceremony featured a number of traditional dances and folk songs that gave the competitions’ crowning ceremony a heritage flavour.

While the Fateh Al Khair team from Bahrain won QR200,000 for collecting the highest number of pearls (14,264) during the three-day contest, Leshkhairah from Oman, the competition’s runner-up, was awarded QR150,000 for coming back with 13,242 pearls.

The third place went to the Al Sadd Al Aali team from Bahrain, which was able to dive for 12,765 pearls, taking a QR100,000 award home.

The performances were evaluated by assigning 70% of each team’s scores to the number of pearls collected, while the 30% remaining was based on the teams’ adherence to heritage and traditions. 

Meanwhile, Mohamed Abdullah al-Saada from Qatar took home QR100,000 for winning the free-diving contest. Al-Saada managed to hold his breath for five minutes and 30 seconds under water. With a 21-second difference in timing, Hamad Rashid al-Hajiri from Qatar was awarded QR80,000 for coming second.

The third place was bagged by Abdullah Abed Omar from Qatar, who was awarded QR60,000 for staying under water for three minutes and 43 seconds.

The sailing competition’s winners were also crowned, with the Raslan team winning the first place, Al Khor team finishing second and Al Maha team third. The winners were awarded QR100,000, QR70,000 and QR50,000, respectively.

As for the rowing competition, the teams that secured the first four spots on Wednesday, all from Oman, were awarded QR100,000, QR70,000, QR50,000 and QR30,000, respectively. The four other participating teams were each awarded QR10,000.

Finally, Qatar Museums’ Fateh Al Khair won the Best Dhow contest, bagging a QR100,000 prize. This year, the judges found the contest to be highly competitive and decided to honour two more dhows with QR50,000 each. The two honorees were Bahrain’s Al Khalfaniyah dhow owned by Abdulaziz al-Shahin, followed by the Kumzar dhow of Mohamed Abdullah al-Kumzari from Oman.

The award ceremony was followed by the festival’s main operetta, Al Tabaa (The edition), which revolves around the 1925 sinking of pearl-diving boats in the Arabian Gulf after being exposed to a strong cyclone and heavy rains.

On Friday night, Dr al-Sulaiti and Al-Hitmi honoured the festival’s participants in a special ceremony on the Katara beach. Those honoured included the festival’s artisans, dhow owners and participating pavilions.

 

 

 

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