The Islamic Festival of Mértola, that was scheduled to take place this year, was postponed to May 2022, due to the covid-19 pandemic, revelation made this Friday by the city council.
The municipality justifies that the decision is due to the "unstable epidemiological situation" that is currently experienced and the "impossibility of safely carrying out what is, admittedly, the biggest cultural event in Mértola”.
The festival will return to the “Vila Museum” with its Islamic heritage in May next year and, keeping its biennial character, starts "to take place in the future in even years", revealed the city.
"The nature of the event, the difficulty" of ensuring "the safety of all, without compromising the essence of the festival, the balance between the investment to be made and the return in terms of visitors" and the "adherence of exhibiting partners" were some of the criteria that "weighed" in the decision to postpone, according to the municipality.
Along with these factors, was “the imponderable in terms of the evolution of the epidemiological situation” related to “the covid-19 pandemic”, he added.
"We all ask for the best understanding, expressing confidence that, in the next year, the necessary conditions will be met so that we can carry out our Islamic Festival of Mértola in full and without restrictions”, also pointed to the camera.
Promoted by the Municipality of Mértola, the festival “celebrates the Islamic heritage” and links with North Africa and revives the village's experiences in those centuries, when it was called “Martulah” and was the capital of an Islamic kingdom and an important commercial port on the Mediterranean routes.
One of the main attractions of the festival is usually the Moroccan street market, o ‘souk’, scattered through the narrow and steep streets of the labyrinthine historic center of Mértola, which are covered with fabrics, remembering the medinas of Morocco.
street entertainment, conferences and workshops, handicraft, music or exhibitions are usually another of the usual aspects of the event, what, in 2019, I was already in the 10th edition.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
