SHARJAH - The third and final day of Sharjah Heritage Days concluded in the city of Kalba, amid a distinguished public turnout.

The event was organised with all preventative and precautionary measures in place and with the participation of official government agencies.

The activities at the closing ceremony included artistic performances and beautiful dances by popular groups, and presentations of the art of the Dan, Al-Razif Al-Harbi, and Al-Ayyala. The Al-Hosn Theatre witnessed the presentation of Russian, Syrian, Yemeni, and Lebanese folklore performances.

The events were attended by Khamis bin Salem Al Suwaidi, Chairman of the Suburbs and Villages Affairs; Sheikh Majid bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Director of the Department of Suburbs and Villages Affairs, Dr. Saeed Mubarak Al Haddad, Director of Kalba branch of Sharjah Institute for Heritage; Khaled Al Shehhi, Director of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, Khor Fakkan branch, as well as crowds of heritage lovers, residents and citizens of Kalba and the surrounding areas.

Dr. Abdulaziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the 18th edition of Sharjah Heritage Days, said, "In this year’s edition, Sharjah Heritage Days was able to resume as planned as it was well organised, with all safety measures and special protocols in place." He stressed that the broad participation from all official bodies is evidence of Sharjah's keenness to embody the vision of His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, who honoured Al-Ayyam by opening the events in the city of Kalba, to protect the heritage, be reminded of it, and revive it. Sharjah Heritage Days works to share the importance of history and heritage with new generations, hence the importance of the event being held in the main cities of Sharjah, Khor Fakkan, and Kalba.

Dr. Al Musallam expressed his thanks and appreciation to all participants in the Sharjah Heritage Days from government and private agencies, academics, media figures, public figures, and audiences of different age groups, and everyone who contributed to the success of these days.

The Sharjah Heritage Days included performances on the different environments of the emirate, from a marine environment, an agricultural environment, a mountain environment and a coastal environment. In the mountain environment, pictures of the mountainous terrain of the city of Kalba were shown and some mountain plants, stones and mountain rocks were also displayed. From the marine environment, models of ships and boats that were used in the past in fishing and transporting passengers were shown. The presentations also included a workshop for the craft of making salty fish, the way of working "Al-Jashi", and many methods including the making of nets were also presented. Additionally, workshops were held to show event attendees the method of making fishing boats using wood and palm wicker.

As for the agricultural environment, the method of working the "yazra" was presented, which is the tool used to extract water from the fold using the bull, apart from other displays.

Within the activities of the academic administration, a lecture was organised in the Heritage Library entitled "Emirati Women’s Dress", during which Dr. Reem Tariq El-Mutwalli, author and founder of The Zay Initiative, led the lecture. Latifa Al Matroushi, Scientific Publication Officer at the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, also spoke at the lecture.

Dr. El-Mutwalli talked about the development of women's dress in the UAE based on her book "Sultani", which examines women's dresses in the Emirates during the reign of Sheikh Zayed and about the changes that occurred to them during that period. In her lecture, she touched on the "costume" initiative. It is a non-profit charitable initiative created to register heritage through costume, traditional clothing and heritage jewellery, to launch a digital platform in the Arab world to broadcast them to the world.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2021.