Salalah Kharif Festival

Salalah Kharif Festival

Salalah Kharif Festival is one of the popular Salalah Festivals & Events held in the town during the month of mid June and august. It lasts for six weeks and is one of the major events that bring to the limelight the cultural aspect of Oman. Held in the tropical parts of the town, Kharif Festival at Salalah is held on the coast that is about 1030 kilometers from Muscat. The place can be easily accessed by air and takes only about an hour from Muscat. One can also drive down to the venue of Kharif Festival in Salalah by road. It would take approximately 12 hours to reach the place.

Salalah Kharif Festival is famous for the carnival which is organized during this time. The performers parade through the street dressed in colorful garments and provides a lot of musical and dance entertainments to the common public. The children are dressed in traditional apparels and wave cheerfully to the crowd while displaying the conventional uniforms. The Salalah Kharif Festival includes the Municipality Friends Camp and kharif festival, but the Government also arranges for shopping centers that is a paradise to the visitants.

The Salalah Kharif Festival was inaugurated initially by Sayyid Mussllam bin Ali al Busaidi, who was the then minister of State and Governor of Dhofar. It has been a tradition then onwards for the participants to march on the commercial streets displaying the cultural heritage of the town. This also promotes tourism in the state of Oman.

One can observe young girls dressing up in colorful Indian saris and feature as apart of the cheerful crowd. Comedians and grotesque characters appear on the stage for the entertainment of the public. They also display snake boat of Kerala with oarsmen on the street.

This Salalah Kharif Festival also displays performances by the Omani Society for the Care of the disabled. It strongly advocates that the physically challenged people also have a lot to offer to the society.

The folklores are generally based on the cultural heritage represented by the Sultanate tradition. They, through their performances, uphold the traditional culture and the importance of the sultanate tradition in the town. Few other performances advocate the need for having a united and well integrated community life.

The tune of the bagpipers, the drummers and the trumpeters at the background rends the air. The horsemen and the camels march gracefully during the parade. Apart from these, you would also find the Indians and Sudanese parading in the procession, dressed in their traditional apparels. It shows the tolerance of the sultan for the other cultures.

The children find it very entertaining as they can ride on the toy trains and other merry go rounds during the Salalah Kharif Festival. Already gaining popularity among tourists world wide, this a traditional festival of the town that best holds up the culture of Oman.

Book Oman hotels now