The second Asir Honey Festival in Al-Hubeil closed on Wednesday after 15 days of what organizers said was a “hugely successful” event. “We saw over the two weeks of the festival sales worth more than 1.5 million riyals, with over 20,000 kilograms of honey on display,” said festival manager Ibrahim Misfir Al-Alma'i. The 2009 Honey Festival was more than just for the sweet-toothed, however, as this year witnessed a range of cultural activities to attract visitors, including a folk market and various displays of heritage interest. “We also had display halls, packaging and bottling workshops along with heritage and cultural displays,” Al-Alma'i said. “We also held courses on honey-making and beekeeping showing the correct ways of breeding bees.” Al-Alma'i provided no concrete details on the nature of the popular “honey race” in which some 450 school pupils were said to have taken part. The “Sheikh of the Honeymakers”, Mohammed Al-Barqi, was equally pleased with the success of the event, however. “We've see lots of people turn out this year from all over the Kingdom, and sales have been very good,” Al-Barqi said. “This year's event has coincided with the seasonal collection of honey from the hives in the Tihama.” According to the honey sheikh, Asiri honey is commonly of three types – Sadra, Shawka (also known as Samra) and Majra – which can be distinguished by their various differences in color, respectively cited as light red, almost black, and the rare Majra honey verging on white. Al-Barqi said that this year's produce had been particularly good due to plentiful seasonal rains, with prices “reasonable” at between 250 and 300 riyals per kilogram. “Honey is a precious resource and a good source of income for many beekeepers,” said honey salesman Mohammed Al-Suweiqi. “The honey festival has become a great center of tourist attraction in the winter for people from all over the country.”
