The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is home to an exquisite range of heritage and cultural sites & is a must-visit. Its well built infrastructure, luxury services and endearing hospitality are absolutely mesmerising and attract hundreds and thousands of tourists. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia takes a lot of pride in its culture and art forms and is renowned worldwide. Despite being one of the richest countries and being extremely modernised, Saudi Arabia continues to maintain its values and traditions.
In a bid to celebrate and further present its culture on the global stage, Saudi Arabia organises the Tantora festival. The Tantora festival is a winter festival that was first celebrated in 2018. Since then, the event has only become more splendid and grandeur. It is celebrated in the city of Al Ula, a UNESCO heritage site and a historical Saudi Arabian city. The festival derives its name from the concept of a sun clock. The sun clock used to hold a lot of significance for the local people many years ago. Back then, it was used to determine the arrival of winters which marked the arrival of the sowing season. It was considered to be a period of extreme happiness and rejuvenation among the locals.
Historically, the Tantora festival spans over a period of 8 weeks. However, this year it is going to be conducted in a six-week format. In fact, the event has kickstarted and is going to run from December 21 to February 12. This article provides you a detailed guide about the festival, the city of Al Ula, connectivity, safety, etc.
Concerts and Experiences at Tantora Festival
The festival is going to be held in collaboration with the Al Ula Moments. Al Ula Moments is going to be held in a four festival format. These festivals are going to be themed around art, culture, nature, etc. The festival is going to start at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hegra with a Candlelit Symphonic concert. The event is going to be filled with star-studded concerts throughout the six-week period. Al Ula is home to Maraya which holds the Guinness World Record for the largest mirror building in the world. The Tantora festival is going to utilise and present Maraya in the best possible way. Stars like AbdulRahman Mohammed, Omar Khairat, Andrea Bocelli are all going to perform at Maraya. In fact, Lebanese superstar giant Magida El Roumi is also going to perform at the Maraya.
The Tantora festival is also going to be home to an exquisite range of experiences. From entertainment to aesthetics, the festival is going to be a treat for visitors of all sorts and types. The iconic Annabel dining experience is going to make the event a delight for food lovers. With their themed dining areas, favourites collection, delicious delicacies and refreshing mocktails, Annabel certainly takes Tantora to the next level. Garden of the Moments is yet another amazing experience that adds to the value of this festival. It takes the visitors close to nature and enables them to have an interactive and refreshing experience. Lastly, the Cinema Elhoush is going to provide the ultimate entertainment experience to the visitors. It is going to feature the most popular local and international films from every Tuesday to Saturday throughout the festival.
Major Events at the Tantora Festival
Here is a list of some of the major events to be held at the Tantora Festival:
- The Tantora Celebration: This celebration relates to the arrival of the sowing period. It is celebrated by the local folk with full zeal and enthusiasm.
- Alula Citrus Festival: This festival will provide visitors with an experience to view, taste & even buy an exotic collection of local citrus fruits.
- Hegra Fashion Cavalry Show: This show will feature horses dressed in expensive, designer clothes.
- Fursan Endurance Cup: It is a 120 km long horse race that is a symbol of endurance and racing worldwide.
- Richard Mille Alula Desert Polo: This event will feature select teams participating in a competitive polo sporting event.
Travel and COVID-19 Safety Norms and Protocols
The city of Al Ula is well connected to other major cities of Saudi Arabia and the world at large. The two major airlines- Saudi Airlines &Flynas have multiple flights scheduled to Al Ula from a number of cities regularly. Also, if you wish to explore the entire country, you have plenty of options to travel to Al Ula too. In addition to flights, there is the public transport facility which is comparatively cheaper. Besides this, you can also drive yourself and enjoy the scenic beauty alongside the journey. There is a growing rise towards renting and leasing cars to travel as it helps travellers in enjoying their journey. There are numerous renting facilities like lumi rent a car that provide all sorts of cars from budget to luxury. These car rental companies provide you with easy pick up and drop off facilities and have quality cars.
Thus, all in all, the city of Al Ula is easily accessible and can be reached through various mediums. Also, keeping in view the Tantora festival & Al Ula moments, airline companies are likely to increase flights to Al Ula.
Given the testing times that we’re living in owing to the pandemic, due care is being taken to ensure safety. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has developed a comprehensive policy for people from different countries. Acceptable vaccinations, dosage periods, permitted visitors and flights have all been framed out. These details can be found and checked on the official tourism website of Saudi Arabia. All foreign travellers are required to produce a negative RT-PCR report, not older than 72 hours from departure. In addition to this, travellers must carry their official fully vaccinated certification to avoid any quarantine impositions. Apart from this, to ensure complete safety, regular sanitization and precautionary measures will be implemented and strictly followed.
This third edition of the festival is going to be extremely grand and even more successful. For all those planning to visit the Middle East, now is certainly the best time.
Author bio:
Stella has gained huge popularity amongst the industry experts and critics. He has been contributing his knowledge in helping The pay of principle, working as a content marketer for their clients.
