Sharjah lights up to enthrall visitors

Sharjah lights up to enthrall visitors
Updated 23 February 2013
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Sharjah lights up to enthrall visitors

Sharjah lights up to enthrall visitors

Sharjah has become a center of attraction with its spectacular visual effects and fusion of lights and colors as it hosts the Sharjah Light Festival this week. Many iconic spots have lightened up and are enthralling spectators with their mesmerizing colors and shows. Three famous mosques are transformed every night as they gleam and sparkle in the magic interplay of lights and colors.
The festival will run until tomorrow and has been especially crafted and created for Sharjah’s monuments, to bring out the brilliant details of the sublime Islamic architecture and civilization.
For the last several years, Sharjah has been attracting a heavy flow of local and regional visitors on different occasions. “Last year we received over 195,000 visitors from Saudi Arabia alone,” a top Sharjah Tourism Board executive told Arab News yesterday.
According to the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, which is hosting the light festival for the third year, the public response to the light and sound shows has been overwhelming.
“We have put the right plans in place and continue our efforts to promote Sharjah at home and around the world through international events that have played a key role in making Sharjah the capital of Arab tourism,”said Mohamed Ali Al-Noman, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority,
Currently, fourteen locations in the Emirates have been transformed by the artistry and technical wizardry of international professionals and experts associated with the festival giving them totally new dimensions.
A video show composed of maritime motifs and oriental designs has transformed the Consultative Council into a magical body of light. The Kuwait Square presentation includes shells, corals, sea flora and algae from a long gone era when Sharjah’s sands were still beneath the sea.
The festival sites also include Al-Qasba Sharjah Hisn, Al-Noor Mosque, Al-Majaz Waterfront, Al-Majaz Mosque, Khalid Lagoon, the Courthouse Complex, Central Souk, Sharjah International Airport, Omar bin Al-Khattab Mosque in Khorfakkan and University of Sharjah Campus in Kalba.
Sharjah has more than 600 mosques. Al-Noor Mosque is famous for its architecture as it resembles the ‘Blue Mosque’ in Turkey. Currently the illuminated Al-Noor mosque attracts a huge crowd with its dazzling beauty.
The other two magnificent mosques in the Light Festival itinerary, include Al-Majaz Mosque overlooking the Khalid Lagoon in Sharjah City and the historical Omar bin Al-Khattab Mosque in Khorfakkan on the East Coast, truly justifying the title, the ‘Capital of Islamic Civilization for Year 2014’ conferred by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Using special techniques of lighting, video technology, computer graphics and a riot of colors, internationally acclaimed experts and artists have created a fascinating mosaic, playing up with the columns and arches and highlighting domes and minarets in a tribute to the beauty of Islamic architecture.
According to the SCTDA, the goal of the festival is not just to entertain and enthrall but highlight the richness of the Islamic heritage and culture and diversity of Sharjah.
“The brilliance of the Sharjah Light Festival is only a minor expression of all that the Emirate has achieved and proudly celebrates today— its legacy of science, culture and civilization to architecture that sparkle with the light of intellect, scientific progress and culture,” added Mohamed Ali Al Noman
The festival, received huge response last year with more than 200,000 visitors from across the country and beyond, watching it.