Winter in Qatar offers the ideal weather conditions to spend more time outdoors, and Qatar 365 selected a few options for locals and visitors to enjoy, from an heritage-focused festival to family friendly activities in a theme park and a hot air balloon festival.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - This is my duty.
00:03 I'm very, very grateful to give them a chance
00:06 to see the tools our old people have used
00:09 how to build the towers.
00:10 - We have 50 balloons here in Qatar that are visiting
00:13 from 17 different countries.
00:15 People come and join
00:16 and they enjoy the hospitality of Qatar.
00:18 (upbeat music)
00:21 - Hello and welcome to Qatar 365 with me, Laila Humaira.
00:25 On this episode, we go behind the scenes
00:28 to explore some of Doha's marquee winter events.
00:32 We begin at an annual festival
00:34 celebrating Qatar's marine heritage.
00:37 Long before oil and gas,
00:38 pearls used to be the country's major export.
00:41 To go deep into the sea,
00:43 pearl divers would set sail on classic boats
00:46 that are known traditionally as dows.
00:49 And as Adel Halim found out,
00:51 the dhow festival is a reminder to locals and tourists alike
00:55 of that rich history.
00:56 (upbeat music)
00:59 These dhow boats have been cruising
01:02 the Arabian sea for centuries.
01:04 Today, their presence is more symbolic than functional,
01:07 but these traditional sailing vessels once served
01:09 as a lifeline for people in the region.
01:12 They were used to fish, dive for pearls,
01:15 and transport fresh water, fruits, and heavy goods.
01:17 This rich history was recently on full display for visitors
01:21 at the 13th Qatar Traditional Dhow Festival.
01:24 Dhows go back generations in Qatar.
01:27 Khalid Al-Badr's family relied on the sea.
01:30 He was eight years old when he first joined his father
01:32 and grandfather on a boat,
01:34 but his grandfather had already stopped pearl diving by then,
01:37 making his last dive in 1948.
01:41 Collecting pearls was just part of the dangerous
01:43 and demanding profession.
01:45 - This is the hard time to move through
01:49 a long distance destination between Qatar to Bombay,
01:54 to Zanzibar in Africa.
01:56 This is the most difficult thing.
01:58 Our goal here is to stabilize something like,
02:04 but once they move to the deep water,
02:07 they have to go to the ocean, Indian Ocean.
02:10 This is the time where they thought they need to be
02:14 very smart enough to get to the distance
02:18 by basic tools they have.
02:22 - The 64 year old has many of those tools on display
02:26 at his family's museum,
02:27 for history to live on for generations to come.
02:30 - This is my duty.
02:32 I'm very, very grateful to give them a chance
02:36 to see the tools they have been,
02:38 our old people have used how to build the dhow.
02:41 I show them these are the equipments,
02:44 how to navigate the boat during the day and night.
02:48 I have the equipments now to tell the people by vision.
02:53 They have to see it, they have to judge it.
02:55 How difficult is life without technology?
02:59 - These beautifully crafted boats are deeply rooted
03:02 in Qatar's maritime history.
03:03 12 countries are taking part
03:05 in the 13th traditional dhow festival.
03:08 The majority of participating countries
03:09 are coming from around the region,
03:11 but also include teams coming from India,
03:14 Tanzania and Portugal.
03:16 Portugal's ambassador to Qatar says his host country
03:19 has more in common with his home country than one may think.
03:23 - The maritime tradition is the same, of course.
03:26 There are many differences
03:27 because Portugal is close to the Atlantic Ocean.
03:32 Qatar is the Gulf Sea.
03:36 But so we have fishing tradition,
03:40 Qatar is the pearl tradition.
03:42 But the culture, the sea, the water, the boats,
03:47 that's what made me feel this connection.
03:51 - Oman also has a rich maritime heritage.
03:57 From Mana bin Saif Al Habsi,
04:01 a festival of dhows has special significance.
04:04 (speaking in foreign language)
04:08 (speaking in foreign language)
04:12 - Back at the Al-Badr Museum,
04:33 Khalid hopes memories of the past always remain present.
04:37 - Let them come and see by vision how the boat is built,
04:42 how they communicating the people from different countries,
04:45 how they are selling in the markets, bargaining the price,
04:49 and a lot of things which is gone,
04:52 but it is really worth a visit.
04:56 - Qatar may not be the first place you think of
05:02 when you hear winter wonderland,
05:04 but for the second year in a row,
05:05 it's the place to be for the festive season.
05:08 With more than 50 rides and attractions,
05:11 like the giant Ferris wheel behind me,
05:13 the Lucille Winter Wonderland has an exciting lineup
05:16 of family-friendly activities for visitors of all ages.
05:20 I got a special tour of this sprawling theme park
05:23 with Marwan Demas, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer
05:26 at a SITMA holding for a look
05:29 at how Lucille Winter Wonderland stands out
05:31 as a one-of-a-kind attraction in the region.
05:35 (upbeat music)
05:38 So Marwan, thank you for having us on this cool,
05:41 but busy evening it seems.
05:43 So Lucille Winter Wonderland
05:45 is one of Qatar's newest theme park,
05:48 but it's also one of the first in the region, right?
05:50 The first of its kind in the region.
05:52 - Oh, we have a lot.
05:53 Of course you have the iconic rides
05:55 that are from the beginning, from last year.
06:00 You see behind us the Ferris wheel.
06:02 This is the highest Ferris wheel.
06:04 It's 51 meters high.
06:06 This is 93,000 square meters.
06:09 Between rides, activities, and games,
06:12 which is something around 80 rides and games.
06:14 Yeah, it's fun.
06:15 It's fun.
06:16 I think it's one of the most amazing projects
06:18 of our company.
06:19 If you look at the lights, at the vibe, at the ambience,
06:22 it always feels nice and cool to be here.
06:25 - And we know that Qatar, of course,
06:27 is a premium tourist destination all year round,
06:31 but what makes winter so special to be in this country?
06:35 - The weather, of course.
06:36 This is, and I say, discover winter in Qatar.
06:40 So as you can see, the weather is good.
06:44 Everybody's out.
06:46 All the activities.
06:47 The country has been doing a lot of effort
06:48 and change in the past several years,
06:50 just after the FIFA.
06:52 Country has become very attractive.
06:53 Qatar has hosted 3 million
06:55 or three and a half million tourists now.
06:57 It's double what they hosted last year
06:59 when the World Cup.
07:01 So it's amazing.
07:02 The winter season is amazing in Qatar, simply.
07:05 There's no doubt about it.
07:06 - So we've spoken a lot about the rides
07:08 and all of the things on offer,
07:10 but I hear there's much more coming up.
07:12 Can you share a little bit about what's coming up
07:14 this season and also next year?
07:15 - Yeah, because the season has just started.
07:17 So we got season two.
07:19 Very exciting things coming up from here
07:20 till the end of season two,
07:21 but season three is going to be amazingly beautiful.
07:25 Amazingly beautiful.
07:26 Sometimes the park is over capacity.
07:29 Our capacity at one time is 5,000 to 6,000
07:34 at the same time.
07:35 So we are reaching capacity
07:36 with the tourists and the visitors.
07:39 And this is what makes it work.
07:41 This concept is not globally, it's not new.
07:44 So this type of theme park is a classical,
07:47 everybody loves it.
07:48 Whether you are a kid, you are a big,
07:50 it doesn't matter.
07:51 - Next, we take a short drive down the Lusaile Highway,
07:57 back to the Katara Cultural Village
07:59 to witness another winter spectacle.
08:02 This time, the excitement is up in the sky.
08:06 This is the fourth edition of the Katara Balloon Festival,
08:09 a yearly display showcasing the world's
08:12 most colorful balloons from all over the world.
08:15 I got to meet the team behind this unique event
08:18 for a look at how it's becoming a favorite way to see Katar.
08:26 - It's a joyful location.
08:27 People come, have a good time,
08:29 look at the balloons from up close.
08:32 It's joyful for everyone.
08:33 - Captain Hassan paved the way for the first hot air balloon
08:38 to fly in Katar's sky in 2019.
08:42 And every year since then,
08:43 the Katara Balloon Festival has been soaring
08:46 to greater heights.
08:48 Live entertainment, interactive games,
08:50 a musical parade, and the glow of dozens of hot air balloons
08:54 all to welcome a new flying season.
08:57 - We have 50 balloons here in Katar
09:00 that are visiting from 17 different countries.
09:03 So it's basically, here becomes a melting pot of cultures.
09:07 People come and join,
09:09 and they enjoy the hospitality of Katar.
09:11 - Lucas Mikilewicz is among the dozens of pilots
09:16 featured in the festival.
09:17 This evening's event gives people a chance
09:20 to get up close to the hot air balloons.
09:23 Lucas and his team put on a show for visitors,
09:26 but he's not allowed to fly the balloons at night.
09:29 For those wanting to take a ride,
09:31 they'll have to wait until the morning.
09:33 It's five in the morning in Doha.
09:40 While the rest of the country is still asleep,
09:43 a crowd is slowly gathering in Katara.
09:46 And Lucas is back.
09:47 This time, he'll have paying customers on board.
09:53 For those lucky enough to snap up a ticket
09:55 on the morning flight,
09:56 the early wake-up call is well worth it
09:59 for a chance to take a magical ride
10:01 on these majestic hot air balloons.
10:03 But even if you miss out on that opportunity,
10:06 the sight of them taking off and floating through the sky
10:09 would awe any spectator watching from the ground.
10:13 Up, up and away.
10:16 For many people, a ride on the balloon
10:18 is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,
10:21 and a lot of trust is put on the pilot navigating it.
10:25 Every single flight is a new challenge.
10:27 You know, when you're flying anything else,
10:29 or you're still flying routes,
10:31 here, you take off and you start analyzing
10:35 what winds I get, where I can fly.
10:38 It's more of a mental challenge,
10:39 because on the ground,
10:40 the wind usually always blows directly to the sea.
10:43 But you know that according to all the forecasts,
10:45 over 1,000 feet, 300 meters,
10:48 it will turn south,
10:50 and you will fly into open areas behind.
10:52 And that's the plus point,
10:53 that you will always find really big open areas to land,
10:57 because it has lots of desert around.
10:59 Born into a piloting family,
11:01 Lukas got his balloon license when he was 18.
11:04 Now, in his 10th year,
11:06 he hopes to keep the art of ballooning burning
11:09 for a long time to come,
11:11 despite the challenges of modernization.
11:14 Older pilots are quite skeptical about balloons,
11:17 because they think that with more drones
11:19 flying around, with more restrictions,
11:22 with gas getting more and more expensive,
11:26 balloons might start disappearing.
11:28 One pilot recently told me,
11:29 "You know, you might be the last generation."
11:31 - Hopefully not.
11:32 - Yeah, hopefully not, but that's possible.
11:34 - What a wonderful time to be in Qatar.
11:39 No matter what you choose to do here in winter,
11:41 there are plenty of great activities to enjoy
11:43 in perfect weather conditions.
11:45 We hope you've enjoyed this episode,
11:47 but that's all the time we have for now.
11:49 For more, check out euronews.com
11:51 and connect with us through our hashtag.
11:53 Thanks for watching,
11:54 and we'll see you next time on Qatar 365.
11:56 (upbeat music)