03 Jan 2007
Muscat: A large number of people are expected to throng the venues of the 33-day Muscat Festival, which started on Monday.
"The numbers of visitors this time from the UAE have increased significantly, and we expect these visitors to make the most of the festival activities," Khaleel Bin Abdullah Al Balushi, Deputy Director of Information with the Muscat Municipality told Gulf News.
He said the formal festival opening ceremony would be held on January 10 at the Qurum venue.
"We have tried to make this year's edition look different from the previous one and hope visitors enjoy the heritage and culture section of the activities," he said.
Replicas of Syrian souq, Al Hamidiyah, Souq Khan Khalili, the famous Cairo souq, Moroccan souq and Muttrah souq have been erected at the Heritage Village set up at the Qurum Nature Park to give the feel of Arab tradition to the visitors.
"These souqs will showcase cuisine, art and handicrafts and would be manned by people from the respective countries," Al Balushi said.
The municipal authorities are expecting more visitors this year. "We had 2.2 million visitors to the festival sites last year and this eighth edition could see even bigger number," he said. The simpler visa procedure, especially for GCC residents, has made it easier for people to visit the Muscat Festival.
"The Muscat Festival is aimed at activating artistic, cultural and social movement, and provide an entertaining relief for the inhabitants and visitors to the city," Muscat Municipality President Abdullah Bin Abbas said while announcing the event schedule.
The authorities here also hope the event would give a fillip to the country's tourism drive.
By Sunil K. Vaidya
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
