Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz- May Allah protect him; the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdelaziz, Prince of Makkah, inaugurated the 12^th session of Souq Oukaz, which is supervised by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, and lasts from 27 June to 13 July 2018. The inauguration was attended by Prince Sultan bin bin Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage.

Dr. Abdulmajeed bin Saeed Al-Ghamdi, UQU vice president for branches, attended the opening ceremony on behalf of HE Prof.Abdulla bin Omar Bafeel, UQU President.

During the ceremony, the winners of Souq Okaz Competition were announced. The winner of Souq Okaz International Award for Literature this year is Naser bin Saad Al-Rashid, while the winner of Souq Okaz International Award for Arabic Poetry is Jasim Mohammed Al-Sahih from Saudi Arabia; the award is worth SR 300.000. Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Al-Naghi, from Egypt, has won Souq Okas International Award for Arabic Narration “writing scripts for narrative work”; it is worth SR 100.000.  Abdel-Majuid Mohammed Al-Ahdl, from Yemen, has won the first place in Souq Okaz International Award for Arabic Calligraphy “font formation”; the award is worth SA 40.000.

With regard to the same prize, the first place was won by Saud Shaker Khan (Saudi Arabia), with a value of SA 25,000. Third place was won by Mohammed Abdullah Abu Naji (Jordan), the award is worth SA 15.000.  The first place in Souq Okaz Award for Fine Art was won by Thamer Mohamed Ibrahim Rebat (Saudi Arabia); it is worth SA 50.000. The second place was won by Saleh Salem Al-Shahri (Saudi Arabia), SA 30.000, while the third place was won by Rasha Mohamed Sadiq (Myanmar) with a value of SA 20.000.

Additionally, Dr. Fares bin Dabas Al-Suwailem (Saudi Arabia) has won the SA 100.000 Souq Okaz Award for Innovation, while Majid Mohammed Fayez (Saudi Arabia) has won the SA 100.000 Award for Entrepreneurship. Belal Mukhtar Attia (Egypt) has won the first place in Souq Okaz Calligraphy Competition “Font Authenticity”, while the second place was won by Ahmed Adel Mohamed Amin (Egypt).

For his part, Dr. Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Sherif, Professor at King Salman bin Abdulaziz Chair for the Study of Makkah History, participated in the symposium organized by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage with the events of Souq Okaz, under the title “Souq Okaz: Adaptation between History and Vision of Future” during which the history of Souq Okaz was addressed; indicating that it is the greatest and most famous old Arab market, and its historical relationship with the Prophet, peace be upon him, which he attended in his childhood and youth. He added that the market was a platform of advocacy, and that the Prophet (peace be upon him) visited it along with other markets, such as Al-Mujena and Zi Al-Majaz, calling people in their seasons and homes to Islam, and presenting himself to the tribes in order to support until spreading the message of his God. Moreover, Muslims were trading during the beginning of Islam, and they were allowed to do so until the year 129 AH (late Umayyad era) was destroyed by the Kharijites, and was replaced by permanent markets and emerging markets such as Almarbed in Basra.

He emphasized that the Souq Okaz was revived in the Saudi era as a result of the government's- May Allah support it- interest in history, archeology, heritage and culture for its importance in developing a spirit of loyalty and belonging, preserving religious and national identity and development, and building the future after a halt that lasted 13 centuries.