While announcing the winners of Souq Okaz prizes in Jeddah on Sunday, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, said, “Withholding the Okaz Poet and Okaz Youth Poet prizes does not mean that there are no poets in the Arab world who deserve the two prizes.” There were 30 poems brought before the judges and none of them were up to the standard required by an award of the caliber of Souq Okaz, which will be inaugurated on Sept. 21, he said at a press conference following its Supervisory Committee meeting, which was held at the Makkah Emirate headquarters in Jeddah. In the press conference, Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Muhammad, Minister of Education, announced the winners for the Arabic Calligraphy Prize and other prizes. Muhammad Farouq Haddad, a Syrian, won the top award and SR60,000, and Abdul Rahman Al-Shaher, from Egypt, was second, earning SR40,000. The SR60,000 Photography Prize for people over 18 years of age went to Raed Safar Al-Bgumi, a Saudi citizen, while Rif'at Al-Misri, an Egyptian, won the SR40,000 photography prize for people under 18. The subject for the photography contest was “The Pure Arabian Horse.” Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, announced that Sudanese plastic artist Awad Abu Saleh won the SR100,000 Painting and Poem Prize. Dr. Khaled Bin Muhammad Al-Anqari, Minister of Higher Education, announced the winners of the SR100,000 Creativity and Scientific Distinctiveness Prize, which was awarded for the first time. The prize was shared by Ahmad Saleh Al-Amoudi of King Abdulaziz University and Professor Abdul Adheem Farouq Jad. Winners of the two prizes for Folklore, worth SR100,000, and Handicrafts, worth SR150,000, will be announced during Souq Okaz, following its inauguration. Prince Khaled disclosed that as of this year, there is an endeavor to forecast the future from cultural, intellectual and scientific aspects. He said that while Souq Okaz is relatively new, its magnitude is already substantial and its organizers have high ambitions. Souq Okaz reflects the economic, commercial, industrial, and cultural development the Kingdom is witnessing, Prince Khaled added. __
