Dhow Cruising is a part of the weekend celebration in Qatar. It is a popular sport and a recreational activity. Dhow was originally a traditional wooden sailing boat used by merchants.
The dhow is an integral part of Qatari culture and they were historically used for pearl diving, fishing and transporting goods. To keep those traditions alive, the ancient craft still serves the people of Qatar, elegantly evoking the essence of our centuries-old maritime heritage.
The wooden dhow, mainly made of Malabar teak, is probably the biggest handicraft in the world.
Craftsmen from Beypore (Kerala,India) send at least one fully handcrafted luxury dhow a year to Qatar. Beypore dhow are purely made of wood, without using any modern techniques, and traditional methods are used to launch this boat into the water.
The carpenters manually join each piece of wood to build the large boat. They are a set of traditional dockyard workers.
We can see plenty of dhows available at the Corniche area for cruising. Families and communities are organising their special occasions in Dhow with food, music, fishing and many cultural activities. We can cruise Doha Bay in a dhow for limited time or as per our demand at an affordable price.
The dhow captain and his team members decorate their dhow with colourful lights and will play Asian or Arabic music at your request. Adequate safety precautions are taken with all the lifesaving equipments. The atmosphere in the dhow is tremendous. Qatar tourism authority is also supporting this activity to introduce Qatari tradition on the world tourism map.
—Text and photos by Vinu John
@vinujohnkj
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