Third Katara Traditional Dhow Festival kicks off in Doha

The Third Katara Traditional Dhow Festival kicked off Tuesday with the participation of a number of Dhow vessels and crew members from Kuwait and other Gulf states. "The festival comes in the context of maintaining the Qatari heritage and as part of Qatar's cultural strategy, and it also consolidates historical tradition not only in Qatar, but in the Gulf region as whole," the state news agency (QNA) quoted Qatari Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Hamad Abdulaziz Al Kuwari as saying at the opening ceremony. He stressed that cultural institutions in the country such as the Ministry of Culture, Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) and the Katara Cultural Village are all work as a team in order to achieve the cultural strategy of the state of promoting Qatari heritage to the Arab region and the whole world. Katara General Manager Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti said: "We are extremely honored to host this event for the third time in Qatar and proud to teach our younger generation how to travel by dhows, and educating them about the Qatari history." The five-day festival is being held in cooperation with the Qatar Museums Authority. It aims to revive ancestral heritage in travelling and navigation through sailing. The festival exhibits more than 100 vessels from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, as well as Iran, India and Zanzibar. Owners and crews of these traditional vessels will be present to greet visitors and share their secrets of the maritime trade in an effort to showcase Qatari culture. Along the Katara beach, exhibitors display dhows from Gulf countries while visitors will get the chance to experience daily cruises, attend dhow maintenance workshops and cultural sessions, and listen to live traditional music by performers from across the Gulf