Hida Al Sahraa caravan completes 100km journey of Al Sharqiyah Sands

THE HIDA AL SAHRAA

caravan completed its journey crisscrossing Al Sharqiyah Sands to promote domestic tourism. The caravan was organised by a local magazine, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and several other organisations. It was participated by more than 40 youth of different Arab nationalities. The voyage which continued for four consecutive days carried tourism, environmental and cultural messages. In its third edition, the caravan tried to revive the legacy of Omani heritage, introduce participants and their followers on the social networking platforms about the Omani deserts, and its tourist and cultural elements. The heritage is still safe in the governorate and has maintained its environmental splendour. It is still an attraction of those who want to enjoy in the lap of its pristine nature and get acquainted with the popular tradition of Omanis living in the desert with their old life style.

Ahmed Al Bahri, a researcher in the Ministry of Tourism, said the Hida Al Sahraa caravan was organized as part of the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism to promote domestic tourism and highlight the adventures of desert. The caravan was organised coinciding with the winter tourist season in the Sultanate as well as with the desert adventure tourism.

He said that the Hida Al Sahraa caravan was aimed at introducing tourist, environmental and cultural elements of the Sultanate in general and particularly various aspects of nomadic and desert life. The programme of the caravan included cultural heritage evenings which focused on arts, customs, traditions and values of the Omanis who lived in deserts. The caravan also distributed books and various publications promoting cultural heritage and tourism of Oman. It also provided opportunity to the tourists to have an experience of riding camels and participate in various other activities.

Ahmed bin Nasser Al Junaibi, patron of the caravan, said that the initiative attracted interest of many youth, particularly those who have strong social media presence. This year, the initiative used important promotional tools for the Al Sharqiyah deserts. Those who participated in the Hida Al Sahraa caravan were blogging everyday on various social platforms about their daily activities during the voyage. Efforts were made so that more and more people know about the caravan and its diverse objectives; either they are tourism, cultural or environmental or promotion of nomadic life of Oman.