News Date:Saturday, 27 May 2017

The Cultural Village Foundation-Katara inaugurated Katara’s Ramadan Festival which is located at Katara’s southern area, on Thursday the 25th of May.


The festival is scheduled to offer an amazing array of activities and events under a theme titled 'Hospitality in various Muslim nations'

As is the custom each year, the Cultural Village adorned its amenities with light decorations that best suit the spiritual ambiance of the Holy month. Some of the decorations that adorned the entrances to the Cultural Village, where decorated with Ramadan Greetings, and illuminated with lights shaped like minarets and lanterns in vivid colors. 

Speaking on this occasion, the Chairman of the Ramadan festival Committee, Mr. Khalid Ibrahim Al-Sayed, said; "The main objective of Katara Ramadan Festival is to promote and enhance the Arab and Islamic culture in an aim to support the activities of the cultural and religious sector in the state of Qatar. This year, the audiences will witness a diverse array of activities throughout the Holy month of Ramadan, as a full-fledged program is organized comprising of more than 200 events, including 168 lectures distributed amongst Katara's premises and mosques. This edition of Ramadan's festival is a golden opportunity for the visitors to acknowledge hospitality traditions and customs in various Muslim nations during Ramadan."

Throughout the festival, cultural and fine-art tents will be set up at Katara's Southern area, and will include several cultural lectures and workshops presented by a-number-of prominent Qatari intellectuals.

Physical fitness has been given a priority in this edition of the festival. Katara's beach front will come alive with beach volleyball and football matches that are scheduled to take place in the evenings. A new addition to the festival will be Traditional games, which are divided into two categories; brain-teasers and fun games. In addition to FIFA 2017 play station championship, which will be dedicated to males only; nationals and expatriates, aged 10 years old and above. 

Every approach has been made to ensure that visitors enjoy a traditional Ramadan experience that balances spirituality with entertainment. The Iftar Cannon will be installed at Katara's southern area and fired daily at Maghrib prayer. In addition, two characters, the Mesaharati and the story teller, will be roaming around Katara's premises to entertain the public. Moreover, every Friday, Katara will bring back the popular treasure hunt contest during the holy month, which will be conducted at Katara's premises and Meerat Ramadan.

During the Holy month, other informative events, such as; seminars, educational programs, Islamic and cultural lectures has been organized in cooperation with Raf foundation, Qatar Charity, and the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs.

Another event that is being held due to popular demand is the Holy Quran memorization competitions. The event is held for children with the aim to encourage and promote spirituality and strengthen the religious values amongst children. As in the previous year, Katara's mosque will host Tarawih prayer followed by Islamic gatherings and lessons each day. 

Meanwhile, the ongoing Meerat Ramadan market which is scheduled to last until the 29th of June, being held at Katara's southern area, is an essential event for Katara's Ramadan Festival this year. Meerat Ramadan has become increasingly popular with the visitors as it offers provisions from renowned food and beverage suppliers in the State of Qatar, such as Al-Meera, Baladna Live-stock production, Widam Food, as well as 40 other outlets.

The produce and food items on offer are priced in a way that enables Katara's visitors to meet their grocery requirements at a low cost, during the month of Ramadan. The market also offers a wide array of dates, fresh produce and cupboard staples that are usually in large demand during the Holy month.