@lakshmioman –
The Empty Quarter Festival in Dhofar Governorate is to commence on Thursday and will last January 8. The festival, which is organised by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, will be inaugurated by His Highness Sayyid Fahar bin Fateq al Said.
The festival could be the best place to usher in the New Year. According to the organizers, the festival will take the visitors on an unparalleled tour around one of the largest sand deserts in the world.
Celebrating the Empty Quarter for the first time also indicates Dhofar’s distinct feature of being a destination for all seasons.
“Everybody knows Dhofar as a destination during Khareef season, the Empty Quarter Festival will showcase the fact that Dhofar is a destination for all seasons. Another objective of the festival is to give an insight to the investors the potential projects such as resorts that could be developed in the desert,” said Rawas Hafedh Abdullah al Rawas, Assistant Director General for Heritage and Tourism in Dhofar.
The festival will highlight the desert lifestyle and culture in addition to activities such as paragliding, dune adventures, sand boarding as well as endurance sports such as riding camels, horses and motorbikes. In addition there would also be a shooting competition.
The festival also brings into highlight the archeological site – Shisr, recognized as World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its important role in frankincense trade routes.
On Thursday at 10 am a symbolic camel caravan will start their journey with frankincense covering 30 km all the way till the festival square – Oasis of Al Khithaf.
On the sidelines of the festival, the Authority for SME development in association with MoHT is hosting the Oasis Festival food court at Ramlet al Khif located in the Wilayat of Tumrait from December 23 to January 1. “There are about 10 camps with 250 beds run by companies. All what the visitors have to do is call the number for reservations and book and arrive on location,” said Al Rowas.
At the Festival Oasis the events lined up are children and family theater shows, entertainment shows, children’s play areas, craft fair and heritage corner, food trucks and renting of camping and hiking supplies. The tourist camps at night will have musical sessions presenting Bedouin arts in addition to competitions in traditional games such as shooting and sand boarding.
