With Qatar National Day 2020 just around the corner, we are taking a look back at last year's celebration of the special occasion, which is marked with full fervor and patriotism. 

QND 2019 festivities took place at popular locations around Doha including Katara Cultural Village and the dedicated celebration ground, Darb Al Saai. 

The celebrations at Darb Al Saai, in Al Sadd, kicked off with the raising of Qatar's flag. Several stalls are set up across the venue showcasing Qatari culture and heritage. 

Visitors of all ages enjoyed a host of fun-filled activities including horse and camel riding, basketball, science and technology games, coloring activities, a miniature traffic village, different police exercises presented by the Police College and other military activities and shows by the Ministry of Defence, among others. 

In addition to this, Darb Al Saai featured a variety of retail outlets including shops selling groceries, meals, herbs, perfumes, toys, souvenirs and gifts, as well as local traditional dishes.

The participating entities at last year's Darb Al Saai QND celebrations comprised Qatar Foundation, Qatar Rail, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Qatar University, Qatar Charity, Souq Waqif, Doha Film Institute, and several other public and private entities covering a wide range of fields and activities.

For the convenience of visitors, the venue had multiple entrance and exit points from different directions with proper signage to guide the visitors.

Darb Al Saai, which means ‘Route of the Messenger,’ was used by delegates whom Qatar’s founder would entrust to deliver his instructions and directives. These men were known for their outstanding character 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.

QND celebrations at Darb Al Saai continued until December 20. Specific slots were allotted to families and women, besides the general public.

QND 2019 celebrations were held under the slogan 'Al Maali Kaydah,' which means "supremacy is hard to reach."

The slogan was inspired by a poem by Qatar's founder Sheikh Jassim describing his son Sheikh Ali bin Jassim (Joaan) and gives a clear picture of a whole generation of Qatari youth in the founding period.

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Source: Gulf Times

Cover, Inline Image 1 Credit: Twitter/@alkasschannel