The White City, with its seven mosques, was about to witness a cultural event that embodied its authenticity and the fragrant history. This is the launch of its first cultural festival, in which the city highlighted its rich heritage and ancient culture dating back two thousand years.

The cultural festival, in its first edition, gave the city its special character, casting its shadow to reveal to visitors and citizens the pearls that this city abounds in, represented by dazzling folk dances and folkloric performances, of the utmost splendor, beauty and splendor.

The opening ceremony of the cultural festival, in its first edition, was an artistic masterpiece in itself. It carried with it many surprises in a rich experience of the most famous traditional performing arts and provided a creative space to introduce the public to the history of the Sultanate and its preservation of the glow of the vibrant and imperishable folk heritage, which reflects the diversity of the cultural experience immersed in authentic traditional folk arts. And the various costumes and folkloric performances of the ancient city of Tadjoura.

In the context of the event, the Tekkem Taaxago Association, as the organizing body for the festival in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Culture, which supervised its organization, aims for the Republic of Djibouti to flourish in various forms of culture to enrich the individual’s lifestyle, contribute to strengthening national identity, and also encourage cultural dialogue with the region and the world.

In a brief speech on this occasion, the Minister of Youth and Culture, Dr. Habwa Momen Asawi, expressed her pleasure at such an impressive organization of the cultural festival of the ancient city of Tadjoura in its first edition, and stressed that this event is a national historical occasion in the field of culture, and a strong indicator of the government’s interest in heritage, culture, traditions, and authentic values. She continued by saying, “The Tadjoura Cultural Festival, in its first edition, is a national occasion, in which the fragrance of the glorious history is mixed with the products of the prosperous present, an affirmation of the Djiboutian identity, the consolidation of the national heritage in all its aspects, and its preservation so that it remains present for future generations.”

The Minister pointed out that one of the priorities of the heritage aspect of the festival is to highlight the various aspects of popular heritage, represented by handicrafts and traditional crafts, with the aim of linking them to the reality of our contemporary present, preserving them as one of the festival’s primary goals, and highlighting the ancient human creativity and heritage they represent for the people of the country for successive generations, in addition to being It is considered a popular attraction for visitors.

The Minister highly appreciated the efforts of the Tekkem Taaxago Association for its good organization of this dazzling cultural festival in its first edition, despite its recent experience in organizing festivals. She praised their dedication to producing the festival in the best possible way, and noted that the city of Tadjoura is a historical city dating back two thousand years and replete with many heritages. And culture and successive sultanates. For his part, the Minister of Defense, Mr. Hassan Omar Muhammad, expressed his pleasure in organizing this cultural festival in its first edition and said: As a son of this city, small in size and large in its history extending back to two thousand years, I am pleased and honored to be present among you to commemorate this festival, which It embodies our history and our originality. He added, I thank the Tekkem Taaxago Association, which organized this festival and ensured its success and brought it out with this remarkable splendor. I say to you, you stirred in our souls nostalgia for the past and our ancient originality. Do not allow laziness and boredom to seep into your souls. We expect a lot from you to offer us in this field. .

The Minister stressed that customs and traditions are what distinguish us from others, and that at this moment we are living the details of the past time for which we feel nostalgic, praising the diverse cultural momentum that the city of Tadjoura is experiencing, stressing at the same time that holding a diverse cultural festival is evidence of our belief in the role of culture in the development of the city. the countries .

A number of historians, thinkers, writers, and writers participated in the cultural activities accompanying the Tadjoura Cultural Festival. They held seminars on the history of Tadjoura and the region, and seminars were also held on Afar culture, heritage, and poetry.

The cultural heritage represented by handicrafts was no less important than other aspects of the festival. Where many handicraft products were displayed, which the city of Tadjoura abounds with, it is worth noting that the visitor or tourist finds in this ancient city something that dazzles his lens and quenches his thirst for the cultural heritage of different historical eras, just as the researcher finds what he is looking for to dig from its source. The city is a theater where the present meets the past and authenticity meets modernity. Its narrow alleys tell a thousand and one tales, drawing you to ancient times and successive generations that left their mark in golden letters on the pages of its bright history, in successive varying eras of kings and sultans, passing through the era of the Ottomans, Portuguese and Italians, and ending with the period of French occupation. .
Source: Al-Qarn newspaper