Souk Okaz: A meeting place for Arab poets, intellectuals

JEDDAH: The historic Souk Okaz, which was established 12 centuries ago, has been revived in the tourist resort of Taif thanks to the efforts of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal. The newly established Souk Okaz is marking its sixth anniversary this year with a variety of cultural events including seminars, poetic evenings and folk performances.
According to Prince Khaled, the Souk Okaz was revived to become a glittering torch for culture and literature. “We celebrate Souk Okaz, which began during the pre-Islamic period, continued during the Islamic era, and revived during the Saudi era to promote culture, thinking and creativity in our country,” the prince said.
For the last five years, Souk Okaz in Taif has been an annual meeting point for Arab poets, thinkers and men of letters, as it provided them a suitable venue to exchange their views and thoughts and creative ideas. Souk Okaz is located 40 km northeast of Taif. On the initiative of Prince Khaled, a number of prizes with cash awards have been introduced to honor outstanding poets, craftsmen, folk artists, photographers, calligraphists, and painting and sculpture artists. Juraidi Al-Mansouri, secretary-general of the organization, said the Souk Okaz Prize had become one of the competitive prizes in the Arab world, adding that it covers vast areas of intellectual, cultural and heritage activities.
“During the past five years, the Souk Okaz Prize has made a lot of progress. Earlier it was only for the best poet and best folklore artist. Now there are eight prizes with cash awards totaling SR 1.1 million,” Al-Mansouri pointed out.
Prince Khaled recently announced Souk Okaz prizewinners in different categories. Rowdah Alhaj Othman of Sudan won the prize for the best poet of the year. She will receive a cash prize of SR 300,000 and an overcoat. About 35 poets from Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Sudan and Mauritania participated.
Other winners were Hussam Al-Matar of Syria, Muhammad Al-Hawari of Egypt, and Muhammad Al-Nouri of Iraq (Arab calligraphy); Shuaib Khattab of Iraq, Faisal Al-Shahri and Fahd Al-Aqeeli of Saudi Arabia (photography). Iyad Hekami of Saudi Arabia won the prize for the best youth poet and a cash prize of SR 100,000, and Ahmed Al-Qarni of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals won the prize of scientific innovation. Al-Qarni will receive a cash prize of SR 100,000.
Abdu Areeshi of Saudi Arabia won the first prize for the best painting contest. Abdul Aziz Bubi Ashar of Somalia and Fahd Al-Ghamdi of Saudi Arabia were other winners. The prizes for the best handicraft and best folklore performance would be announced during the inauguration of Souk Okaz, the organizers said.
Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, has instructed authorities to raise the value of the Souk Okaz Prize for the best handicraft from SR 150,000 to SR 350,000. Majed Al-Sheddi, media center director at the SCTA, commended the prince’s gesture and said it would encourage Saudi artisans. “Such gestures will encourage more Saudi nationals to work in the handicrafts sector,” he added.