Kaaba Kiswa Calligrapher Wins First Place at Cairo International Arabic Calligraphy Forum

The kiswa covering the Kaaba in the Holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
The kiswa covering the Kaaba in the Holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Kaaba Kiswa Calligrapher Wins First Place at Cairo International Arabic Calligraphy Forum

The kiswa covering the Kaaba in the Holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
The kiswa covering the Kaaba in the Holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Maliki, a distinguished calligrapher from the King Abdulaziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, has won first place at the Cairo International Forum for the Art of Arabic Calligraphy, receiving the prestigious Authentic Trend Award for Arabic Calligraphy.

Al-Maliki won the award at the forum’s ninth session, where he competed with a group of talented calligraphers from around the world, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

The Cairo International Forum for Arabic Calligraphy honors the significance of Arabic calligraphy as an integral part of Arab and Islamic cultural heritage.

The event celebrates the diversity and creativity of calligraphers, encouraging ongoing development and innovation in this art form.

This year’s competition featured 80 contestants from Arab and international backgrounds, along with renowned calligraphers and honored guests.



Chopin Waltz Unearthed after 200 Years

The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
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Chopin Waltz Unearthed after 200 Years

The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)
The birthplace of the Polish composer Frederic Chopin, May 7, 2010 in Wola, near Warsaw. (AFP)

An unknown waltz by Chopin, written nearly 200 years ago, has been discovered in the vault of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York.

The score, on a card bearing Frederic Chopin's hand-written name, was found by a curator in the spring, the New York Times reported Sunday.

"I thought, 'What's going on here? What could this be?' I didn't recognize the music," curator Robinson McClellan told the paper.

He was at first unsure that the piece was actually Chopin's after photographing the score and playing it on a keyboard at home.

He conferred with an academic at the University of Pennsylvania who is an expert on Chopin, before the Morgan concluded the find was genuine after testing the ink and paper.

The penmanship was also found to match Chopin's, including the reproduction of a stylized bass clef symbol as well as doodling characteristic of the composer.

"We have total confidence in our conclusion," McClellan said.

The museum believes that the music is from between 1830 and 1835, when Chopin was in his early 20s.

The tune features a stark opening and was described by pianist Lang Lang as containing "dramatic darkness turning into a positive thing."

Chopin, who wrote mostly piano solos, died aged 39 in France in 1849.