Castle and valley festivals are  human message that embodies the triumph of the culture of life and joy

The Castle and Valley festivals, which have become an annual tradition, will kick off in days to spread joy among people through  various activities and events included in this year’s program.

Unlike the previous festivals, the opening ceremony of this year’s festival will take place in the Square of  the Al-Mantabiya Church in the village of Al-Qalatiyeh where artistic ceremony will be hosted by the widely popular Takat Band, according to festival director Hamam Ghali.

Ghali told the Homs-based “Al-Uruba” Newspaper that changing the style of the opening and closing ceremony this year means that as many people as possible could attend the event due to the popularity of the band and the vastness of the opening place.

He pointed out that the festival has become an annual tradition for the people of the region.

Economics and civil society  in Wadi Al-Nadara region, in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism and Homs governorate, cover all the costs of the festival, especially since the area is the home of a large number of expatriates loving their region and keen to show the cultural and tourist face of the valley area”, noting that a large number of expatriates synchronized their summer vacation with the festival period.

Director of Homs Tourism Directorate, Malak Abbas noted that the Citadel and Valley Festival, which is held under the patronage of the Prime Minister and begins its activities on the 15th of this month, is a festival for culture, arts, sports and entertainment with a human message that embodies the triumph of the culture of life and joy over destruction and war.

The Valley is a tourist area because of its environmental, cultural, heritage and archaeological components, such as the world-renowned Al-Hosn Castle and the monastery of Mar Gregorios, which also acquires global religious and cultural significance.

Abbas indicated that the festival has great importance in highlighting these tourist sites as it contributes to attracting tourists especially with a large number of expatriates in the valley area who contribute through their participation to promote tourism in their area.

The festival enjoys many success factors, the most important of which is the participation of the local community, in cooperation with government institutions, and the concerted efforts of all economic, people and civil activities to contribute to the success of the festival and achieve its goal, she added.

With regard to the festival’s events and activities, Abbas pointed out that there was some change as the opening ceremony was held annually at the Al-Hosn Castle, while this year it will be held in the village of Qalatiyeh, with the closing ceremony at the Al-Hosn Castle. The crafts and heritage market has also been moved to Al-Hawash Square. The festival will include folk and heritage weddings and last year’s highly successful Drive Race.

The head of the festival’s organizing committee, Elias Khoury, said that the festival will run for three weeks, three days each week, mostly public holidays, and include many different cultural, recreational, social, sports and other activities that will include all the villages of the valley.

He noted that the preparations for the festival included securing buses to transport people from the city of Homs to the Wadi region as well as the buses belonging to private universities in the region that will transport participants in the festival.

The festival’s activities include a car race, a bicycle marathon, zajal and poetry evenings, an exhibition of rural heritage, artistic concerts, scouting festivals, games, sports matches and tournaments, and many other various activities and events.

Amal Farhat