day Souq Okaz festival will be opened by the Emir of Makkah, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal on behalf of King Abdullah Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on Aug. 19. “The new location of the opening ceremony will be to the east of the original location,” said Mohammad Al-Thubaiti, member of the Souq Okaz media committee. “This year there will be new participants and new construction which will help visitors around the area.” Organizers have said the Souk will be divided into different sections such as a section for traditional handcrafts, cultural and literacy activities which will be participated by poets and lecturers from around the region as well as outside the Kingdom. Efforts are being made to make Souq Okaz a major Arab cultural center, similar to Carthage in Tunisia and Jarash in Jordan. Secretary general of the Souk Okaz, Juraidi Al-Mansouri said this year's opening ceremony would be different from last year's. “The program consists of a Souq Okaz epic. In this heroic poem the history of Souk Okaz will be depicted vividly.” He also said competitions for painting and poetry will be held and the winner will be awarded a prize. Last year more than 2,000 Arab writers, poets and historians from inside and outside the Kingdom, participated in the festival. The Emir, himself a well-known poet, has previously stated his intention to revive the festival because of its cultural significance as the birthplace of Arabian poetry. In a previous Saudi Gazette report Prince Khalid said the Saudi leadership has given the utmost importance to the historical market, which dates back to 500 B.C. __
