Makkah governor opens 11th Souk Okaz

The 11th year of Souq Okaz gets under way. (AN photo)

TAIF: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal inaugurated the 11th Souq Okaz in Taif under the theme “Renewable Creativity” with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) supervising the event.
The governor, received by SCTH head Prince Sultan bin Salman at the event in Al-Arfa area, watched a documentary relating the story of the revival of the ancient Okaz market over the last 10 years.
Held under the patronage of King Salman, the opening ceremony was attended by a number of statesmen, intellectuals, poets, academics and artists from the Kingdom and the Arab world.
Prince Khaled, who honored the winners of the Souk Okaz contests, said that the festival has reached the level of excellence and creativity in every aspect. He also praised the efforts of Prince Sultan for its continuous development.
“What I saw was creativity, excellence and a fruitful effort that reached the level of excellence in everything; what we saw was a qualitative leap in the development process of Souq Okaz. I hope you will continue this trend and direction, because our country and our people deserve this from us,” he said in a statement after the opening ceremony.
Prince Sultan said: “The souk, this night, launches with the start of Souk Okaz City, which will host many cultural and economic activities. We move forward in accordance with a vision set by King Salman and the late King Abdullah, who saw Souq Okaz as an international occasion in light of Kingdom’s international importance.”
This year’s edition will witness more than 100 functions including contests and tourist journeys that will provide a unique experience to visitors. The cultural programs and their events will be held in different locations in Souq Okaz and Taif city.
The winners of this year’s contests received their awards from the governor. The classical Arabic poetry prize of SR300,000 ($79,994) was awarded to Mohammad Abdullah Al-Turki from Saudi Arabia, and the Arabic narration prize of SR100,000 went to Mohammad Saeed Al-Rashdi from Saudi Arabia. The SR100,000 prize for Arabic calligraphy was distributed to three winners: Masoud Hafiz Mohammad from Bangladesh received SR50,000; Ahmad Rafat Ahmad from Egypt received SR30,000; and third-place winner Yaser Mahmoud Ibrahim received SR20,000.
The Okaz innovation award went to Iman Saad Al-Zahrani of Saudi Arabia who received SR100,000.