The National Day festivities at Darb Al Saai, a major venue of Qatar National Day (QND) celebrations, will conclude today in the evening after attracting thousands of visitors during the past nine days. Visitors can enjoy the festivities at Darb Al Saai until 11pm today (Friday).
Several ministries, government entities and top organisations in the country are taking part in Darb Al Saai events, such as the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Qatar University, and Qatar Foundation among others.
The festivities are aimed at achieving the vision of Qatar National Day, by promoting loyalty, solidarity, unity and pride in the Qatari national identity.
For the past nine days, the visitors to Darb Al Saai have enjoyed various activities such as Al Maseer parade with the participation of horses, camels and motor cycles. They also enjoyed Metro and ‘Al Maqtar’ activity which is similar to the old desert lifestyle, in addition to heritage and cultural events about the Qatari customs and traditions.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs, H E Dr. Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah; Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, H E Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi; President of Planning and Statistics Authority, H E Dr. Saleh bin Mohammad Salem Al Nabit; and Dr Hassan Rashid Al Derham, President of Qatar University visited Darb Al Saai festivities.
The activities which attracted more visitors at Darb Al Saai include horse riding, shooting competitions, educational activities for kids, flag hoisting event, sports activities, and ‘Traffic Village’ which educated children about many tasks that the traffic police do on the roads. It also educated adult visitors about road safety in desert areas and the requirements to be followed. More than 30,000 people visited the General Directorate of Traffic activities at Darb Al Saai.
The activities began in an environment full of patriotism and pride under a slogan of this year’s celebration ‘Al Maali Kaydah’, which means ‘the path of excellence is arduous’, taken from the poetry of the Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani.
Darb Al Saai means the ‘Route of the Messenger’ used by the delegates whom the country’s founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin Thani would entrust to deliver his instructions and directives.
These men were known for their outstanding characteristic traits such as loyalty, obedience, courage and insight on account of which they were chosen to play such a sensitive role in those difficult times.
