A new competition that aims to celebrate and revive Bahrain’s long-standing connection to the palm tree as a symbol of heritage is being launched, it was announced yesterday.
The Bahrain Inherited Traditional Sports Committee (Mawrooth) announced the launch of the ‘Nakhlat Al Mawrooth’ (Heritage Palm) contest.
It is being held in line with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
Details of the competition will be announced shortly but it will feature three main categories: Palm pruning, offshoot separation and best palm farm.
“It is designed to renew appreciation for the palm tree’s role in Bahraini culture and daily life, a legacy that earned the kingdom the title ‘Land of a Million Palm Trees’ in earlier times,” said the organisers.
As part of preparations for the event, committee chairman Khalifa Al Qou’oud met national agricultural expert Dr Abdulaziz Abdulkarim, who will head the judging panel, and National Initiative for Agricultural Development public relations and marketing director Mai Al Ghatam.
The meeting was also attended by the committee’s chief executive, Tareq Salem, who will serve as competition director.
Mr Al Qou’oud highlighted the importance of collaborating with agricultural bodies in the kingdom to ensure the initiative’s success, noting that “it reflects the broader strategy of Shaikh Nasser to reconnect younger generations with their roots and foster pride in Bahrain’s rural and cultural traditions”.
Action from a rowing race of the 30-foot heritage boats during a previous event
Palm trees are native to the kingdom which is why Bahrain is known as the land of a million palm trees.
The beauty of the tree is that, aside from the dates, every part of it can be turned into something useful. For example, cut fronds are used for fishing nets, the leaves are used to weave baskets and pollen is scraped from the leaves to produce pollen water for medicinal purposes.
Dates are also considered a holy fruit in the Middle East, which is why the date palm is regarded as the ‘Tree of Life’.
Historians believe that dates are ancient fruits that were cultivated around 8,000 years ago and that there are more than 200 varieties of dates with different shapes and flavours. However, all of them are the same in nutrition.
Earlier this month, Mawrooth announced the eighth and largest edition of the Nasser Bin Hamad Marine Heritage Season that starts on July 25 and continues until mid-November.
The upcoming edition is set to feature participants from across the GCC and will showcase a rich array of competitions, including traditional swimming, pearl diving (Heir), breath-holding and sea-chanting (Nahham), alongside heritage rowing races and traditional fishing contests. Held annually, the season celebrates Bahrain’s maritime legacy through cultural and sporting events.
The season was launched years ago to revive traditional sea sports, and the mission is to preserve the pride and heritage of Bahraini sporting events continues as it is now in its sixth edition.
This year’s event will conclude with a traditional boat parade, reflecting Bahrain’s commitment to preserving and promoting Gulf maritime heritage.
Mawrooth, a committee set up in 2018 to preserve Bahraini traditional games and sports, has organised several traditional events in the past few years that were popular among locals and GCC nationals.
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