On the Doha seashore, rows of wooden dhow boats line a pier, with scores of fish on display -- part of a festival seeking to revive the country's long seafaring tradition.

Aboard the boats, men in customary sea gear -- a white t-shirt and towel -- pay tribute to the age-old tradition of line-fishing in the energy-rich Gulf emirate for the 11th edition of the Senyar festival.

"The feeling was amazing," competitor Mohammed al-Hail told AFP as he returned from four days out at sea to waiting friends and family at the close of the festival in Katara Cultural Village, a hub for arts and heritage preservation in Doha.

"As soon as we finished... here and there we saw our friends," said Hail, a naval officer.

Nearby, children dressed in traditional white thobes tried to measure themselves against three hefty fish, their scales glossy in the afternoon sun, strung up for crowds of onlookers.

The specimens -- each roughly 10 kilograms (22 pounds) -- were the largest caught........

© Al Monitor