There will be camels, salt dunes, typical cuisine and genuine products from the Arabians, street artists and even the possibility of learning to write in Arabic. The Village-Inside of Faro it will «become an Arab Souk [market]», with the arrival of the «Arabian Days» festival, which starts today, Wednesday and continues until Sunday.
Over five days, the Old Town of Faro will be closed to become the venue for this event. «The vendors are already arriving, who will set up tents, to sell the most diverse products, from gastronomy, clothing, silks, handicrafts. The main stage is being built [in Largo da Sé], which is a sand dune. A stage and tents will also be set up at Largo Afonso III», revealed the event's producer Cristina Arvelos this Tuesday to Sul Informação and to RUA FM.
At the same time, there will be shows and varied activities. In this field, emphasis is placed on the presence of José Eduardo Agualusa, on Friday, who will play the role of a storyteller, in a session aimed at children based on the story «Sábios como Camelos» from the work «Estranhões e Bizarroucos », written by the renowned Angolan writer.
«Wednesday [today], there will be a great show by the dancer Youssef Batanero, who is one of the few men in the world who does Belly Dance», he announced. On Thursday will be in Faro André Sardet, on Saturday the main attraction is the «balloon of captive flights» and on Sunday the «great final party» will take place.
In the activities that take place every day, there will be Belly Dance in the most traditional female version, as well as «children's theatre, fire shows, pampering and a huge list of animation». There will not even be a lack of cinema, shown “on a wall in Vila-Adentro”. "Today [yesterday], a calligrapher arrived from Brussels, who will teach people to write their name, or other words, in Arabic calligraphy," he added.
The entrance to the enclosure, which covers the entire Vila-Adentro de Faro, it is paid, but membership to animation inside is free. There is also the possibility of joining a gourmet dinner, with the price of 25 euros per person. Still in the field of gastronomy, there will be two daily show-cookings, where visitors will be shown how the most varied Arab delicacies are cooked, many of them available at the festival.
Inner-Village of Faro it's like "an Arab market"
According to Cristina Arvelos, Faro was chosen “because of how Vila-Adentro is”. «Vila-Adentro is very similar to the Arab markets of several countries I have visited. From there, I had this idea, which I've been working on for two years. Basically, it's about putting together in one place what we find when we go to the Arab countries, without having to leave the country», he summed up.
Many of the exhibitors are from Arab countries, but «there are also Portuguese, possibly fascinated by this culture». "There are several sellers from the Algarve, who will be dressed to the nines and who will sell Algarve products with an Arab touch," he added.
Cristina Arvelos assured that the idea is to keep betting on Faro, in years to come. "I like to continue betting on the places where I start, regardless of whether I can also take this project to other places in the country," he said.
Even so, the capital of the region should be the only place to host this event, in the Algarve, not least because other historical centers "already have very good events", namely, the "medieval fairs of Silves and Castro Marim and the Med festival". “There is not even a comparison. They have many years of advantage and we are getting started. We are still a mini and they are already a Ferrari», he illustrated.
A problem that often arises associated with events in the historic zone of Faro are the complaints of the locals. “We had meetings with all the people who have establishments here, as well as conversations with all the residents, so that no one would be harmed. And I think we reached an agreement», he considered.
The event has the support of the City Council of Faro, Algarve Tourism, Hotel and Tourism School of Faro, Antenna 1, Fagar, Emirates, Sagres and Continente. the sponsorship of the thriving air carrier came as a result of a contact made by Cristina Arvelos. “I presented the project to them and they wanted to support it,” he revealed.
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