Hatta Honey Festival from December 27 to December 31; spotlight being UAE's special Sidr and Samr honey

The largest honey festival in the region started on Wednesday and involves over 60 Emirati beekeepers.  The main attractions of the Dubai Municipality's yearly event include on-site testing and tasting of several honey kinds as well as the creation of honey-based goods such as various food items, honey soaps, and honey candles.

Dubai Municipality Director General Dawoud Al Hajri officially opened the seventh Hatta Honey Festival at the Municipality's Hatta Hall. The public can attend the event from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through December 31. The show opened to a jubilant crowd of visitors and locals in the Hatta Hall.

Visitors will be able to enjoy:

• Visitors can sample a variety of honey from real beekeepers mostly from the Hatta region before buying any honey.
• Additionally, guests may take part in a variety of events, such as a workshop with recipes for some of the most well-known dishes and beverages produced with honey. Among the intriguing roster are workshops for creating honey candles and soap.
• The festival also offers a variety of entertainment events, such as contests centred around Arab and cartoon characters from the television series "Freej" and a performance by the Emirati traditional dance ensemble "Liwa."
• In addition to workshops including honey packaging, there's an art lesson for kids to assist them sketch on textiles.
• Children's games and activities have their areas, so the whole family may enjoy the festival together.

Quality and safety of Honey are assured: For exhibitors and visitors alike, Dubai Central Laboratory services provide immediate laboratory testing of honey samples to verify quality and compliance with recognised criteria. The lab is offering sample inspections of the honey products on exhibit, including measuring the proportions of glucose, sucrose, fructose, total sugars, and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF).

The Dubai Smart Mobile Laboratory is testing for the presence of yeast and other fungus in honey products and inspecting ready-to-eat meals provided by festival-affiliated restaurants to ensure their safety and quality.

Expensive Varieties of Sidr and Samr Honey:

The Sidr and Samr varieties can be priced up to Dh1,200 per kg. 

The Sidr and Samr honey are made by bees specific to the region, in bee hives that are much smaller than regular ones. Sidr and Samr honey are expensive because they are made without human intervention.

Sidr honey

• The honeybees find the Sidr plant, extract the nectar out of it, and deposit it in the hive. Because of the short time frame and medicinal properties of the honey, the price shoots up.
• The Sidr honey is antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral, and is effective in treating many health conditions, such as stomach ulcers, and respiratory infections. It can even heal wounds.

Samr honey

• The time frame for producing Samr honey is very short as well - it only lasts from May to June, when the flower of the Samr tree blossoms.
• Samr honey, derived from the nectar of the Samr tree flourishing in remote areas, emerges as a precious mixture with distinct health benefits. The growth environment of the Samr tree, away from pollution, contributes to the honey's purity. 

This year's Hatta Honey Festival is a part of the first Hatta Festival, a grand 17-day winter festival. A variety of honey kinds from Turkey, Somalia, and Egypt are featured at the Hatta Honey Festival, providing a varied and international honey experience.