Al Jabal Al Akhdhar to celebrate first olive harvest festival

AL Jabal AL Akhdhar is witnessing another festival with the hope of drawing more visitors to the mountain. Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdhar Resort is organising its inaugural olive harvest festival, a celebration of the mountain’s unique surroundings and local enterprise in partnership with the local community.

For hundreds of years, the mountain of Al Jabal Al Akhdhar has bloomed with roses, pomegranate and apricot. One of Oman’s most fertile areas, with its distinctive terraced farms and falaj irrigation system, it is for this reason that it is colloquially known as the Green Mountain.

A decade ago, local farmers decided to experiment with planting olive trees. Today, Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdhar Resort celebrates the rich harvest with its inaugural olive festival.

Planned for the week of 11-17 September, guests of the resort will enjoy a full daily schedule of olive-inspired activities such as fun harvesting competitions and an olive souq.

During the day, an array of guest chefs will host cooking demonstrations and hands-on cooking classes. Chef Gabriele Kurz from Bavaria, celebrated author of wellness cookbooks and the force behind the Middle East’s first healthy fine dining restaurant, will show how easy it is to create nutritious vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Evenings are dedicated to feasting, with olive-inspired tasting menus by sister brand NH Hotels’ leading executive chefs, Jesualdo Bermejo and Martin Aristondo. Chef Jesualdo is the Executive Chef at NH Nacional Hotel in Madrid and all the award-winning Tablafina restaurants in Spain, while Chef Martin works as Executive Chef of the NH Collection Aranzazu hotel in San Sebastian. Tablafina is the name of NH’s gastronomic initiative that seeks to connect with the world of traditional bars and local cuisine, something that is quintessentially Spanish.

The harvest season lasts the month of September, and throughout, the resort will offer a special four-course tasting menu at its restaurant Bella Vista. Guests will enjoy delicacies such as ricotta-stuffed olives, seared cod with an olive tapenade, and a rich olive oil cheesecake. A special spa journey is also on offer at Anantara Spa, a full-body olive scrub high in antioxidants and Vitamin E followed by a massage. Guests staying during this period can book the festival package of accommodation, tasting menu and spa treatment, with the room or villa of their choice.

“At Anantara, we believe in immersing guests in the real destination while partnering with the communities we operate in”, says Maren Kuehl, General Manager of Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdhar Resort. “Al Jabal Al Akhdhar has such a fascinating history, as well as a unique living culture, and we are proud to showcase this to guests from around the world”.

For more information on the olive harvest festival at Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdhar Resort, or for reservations, visit jabal-akhdar.anantara.com, call +968 2521 8000 or email [email protected]