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Winter at Tantora Kicks off with Large Celebration in AlUla

AlUla's Maraya Concert Hall. (AlUla)
AlUla's Maraya Concert Hall. (AlUla)
    AlUla - Mohammed Halal
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Winter at Tantora Kicks off with Large Celebration in AlUla

AlUla's Maraya Concert Hall. (AlUla)
AlUla's Maraya Concert Hall. (AlUla)

The fourth edition of the musical and cultural festival, Winter at Tantoura, kicked off on Thursday, introducing many cultural and historic experiences including musicals and interactive activities that highlight the unique history of the city.

Tantora represents many generations of culture and heritage in AlUla, famed for the sundial used by local residents to tell the time and mark the beginning of the winter planting season. This year, AlUla celebrates this landmark with a series of entertainment and cultural events, musicals, and special experiences.

These experiences include cultural shows and interactive activities that highlight AlUla’s prestigious history and magical season. Winter at Tantora is the largest festival of its kind, hosting over 200 artists, and an orchestra concert that mixes the best Arabic and international music pieces, in addition to a visual presentation on the walls and the fortress of the old town.

During the festival, routes of AlUla will be decorated with many local products such as dates, citrus fruits, and coffee. Visitors will also enjoy the hospitality traditions of AlUla with coffee and dates to celebrate the Year of Coffee 2022 in Saudi Arabia.

The fourth edition of Winter at Tantora is held between December 22 and January 21, 2023, during which visitors will enjoy myriads of entertaining activities including concerts at the Mirror Hall by Majid al-Muhandis on December 23, Mohammed Abdu on December 30, and Assala Nasri on January 13.

Esteemed singer Mohammed Abdu said he has always been happy to partake in concerts in his home country, adding that participating in Winter at Tantora is very special to him given the city’s unique aspect that combines history and modernity. He also said he’s looking forward to seeing his fans and promised them a distinguished concert.

For his part, Majid al-Muhandis said music plays a major role in spreading culture, noting that “Winter at Tantor in AlUla” represents a great opportunity to enhance the prospering cultural and musical scene in Saudi Arabia.

Muhandis noted that AlUla is very special to him, as he previously chose it to shoot one of his music videos, and that he’s so happy to sing in it again surrounded by his fans.

Assala Nasri described Winter at Tantora as an exceptional idea, saying she’s thrilled to partake in it and to sing in such a unique place.

In addition, music will accompany the “Balconies of AlJadidah” segment held in collaboration between the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and the Music Commission. During the segment, the Saudi National Music Band will perform special pieces that date back to the 1970-90s in different regions and along the incense road at AlJadidah.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to fly in the sky of AlUla and enjoy the amazing landscapes in air balloons. The festival offers several experiences including the 15-minute hanged balloon trip, the 45-min free balloon trip, and the hanged balloon in the Khaybar region, the geological miracle known for its green oasis, volcanic rocks, and prehistorical rock formations.

For tour lovers, storytellers will be reciting the old history of the oasis in a two-hour tour dubbed “Folkloric Oasis Path”, during which visitors can wander in amazing natural areas featuring old mud houses and local farms.

Winter at Tantora also offers new and exclusive culinary options and the tastiest international dishes in the desert mountains and historic landmarks. The event hosts some of the most known restaurants and cafés at AlUla oasis during the festival.

Finally, the “environmental agriculture” experience, one of the free, interactive activities in Tantora, offers a three-hour experience including workshops that focus on vegetables, plants, and soil fertilization, in addition to an educational, explorative experience of wandering around the oasis gardens and interacting with animals.

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In Music and Dance, Sudanese Performers Transport Refugee Audiences Back Home

Sudanese Camirata troupe dancers, who lost some of their relatives during the conflict in Sudan, Hoda Othman, right, and Kamal perform Al Saysaed dance from East Sudan during a rehearsal, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (AP/ Amr Nabil)
Sudanese Camirata troupe dancers, who lost some of their relatives during the conflict in Sudan, Hoda Othman, right, and Kamal perform Al Saysaed dance from East Sudan during a rehearsal, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (AP/ Amr Nabil)
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In Music and Dance, Sudanese Performers Transport Refugee Audiences Back Home

Sudanese Camirata troupe dancers, who lost some of their relatives during the conflict in Sudan, Hoda Othman, right, and Kamal perform Al Saysaed dance from East Sudan during a rehearsal, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (AP/ Amr Nabil)
Sudanese Camirata troupe dancers, who lost some of their relatives during the conflict in Sudan, Hoda Othman, right, and Kamal perform Al Saysaed dance from East Sudan during a rehearsal, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (AP/ Amr Nabil)

As the performers took the stage and the traditional drum beat gained momentum, Sudanese refugees sitting in the audience were moved to tears. Hadia Moussa said the melody reminded her of the country's Nuba Mountains, her family's ancestral home.
"Performances like this help people mentally affected by the war. It reminds us of the Sudanese folklore and our culture," she said.
Sudan has been engulfed by violence since April 2023, when war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke out across the country. The conflict has turned the capital, Khartoum, into an urban battlefield and displaced 4.6 million people, according to the UN migration agency, including more than 419,000 people who fled to Egypt.
A band with 12 Sudanese members now lives with thousands of refugees in Egypt. The troupe, called “Camirata," includes researchers, singers and poets who are determined to preserve the knowledge of traditional Sudanese folk music and dance to keep it from being lost in the ruinous war, The Associated Press said.
Founded in 1997, the band rose to popularity in Khartoum before it began traveling to different states, enlisting diverse musicians, dancers and styles. They sing in 25 different Sudanese languages. Founder Dafallah el-Hag said the band's members started relocating to Egypt recently, as Sudan struggled through a difficult economic and political transition after a 2019 popular uprising unseated longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir. Others followed after the violence began. El-Hag arrived late last year.
The band uses a variety of local musical instruments on stage. El-Hag says audiences are often surprised to see instruments such as the tanbour, a stringed instrument, being played with the nuggara drums, combined with tunes of the banimbo, a wooden xylophone.
“This combination of musical instruments helped promote some sort of forgiveness and togetherness among the Sudanese people,” el-Hag said, adding that he is eager to revive a museum in Khartoum that housed historic instruments and was reportedly looted and damaged.
Fatma Farid, 21, a singer and dancer from Kordofan, moved to Egypt in 2021. Her aunt was killed in 2023 when an explosive fell on their house in al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan.
“The way I see art has changed a lot since the war began," she said. "You think of what you present as an artist. You can deliver a message,” she said.
Kawthar Osman, a native of Madani city who has been singing with the band since 1997, feels nostalgic when she sings about the Nile River, which forms in Sudan from two upper branches, the Blue and White Nile.
“It reminds me of what makes Sudan the way it is,” she said, adding that the war only “pushed the band to sing more for peace.”
Over 2 million Sudanese fled the country, mostly to neighboring Egypt and Chad, where the Global Hunger Index has reported a “serious” level of hunger in Chad. Over half a million forcibly displaced Sudanese have sought refuge in Chad, mostly women and children.
Living conditions for those who stayed in Sudan have worsened as the war spread beyond Khartoum. Many made hard decisions early in the war either to flee across frontlines or risk being caught in the middle of fighting. In Darfur, the war turned particularly brutal and created famine conditions, with militias attacking entire villages and burning them to the ground.
Armed robberies, lootings and the seizure of homes for bases were some of the challenges faced by Sudanese who stayed in the country's urban areas. Others struggled to secure food and water, find sources for electricity and obtain medical treatment since hospitals have been raided by fighters or hit by airstrikes. Communications networks are often barely functional.
The performers say they struggle to speak with family and friends still in the country, much less think about returning.
“We don’t know if we’ll return to Sudan again or will see Sudan again or walk in the same streets,” Farid said.