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‘Dar Akwan’ Sponsors 1st Edition of Mohammad Abdul Moneim Zahran Short Story Award

Mohammed Abdul Moneim Zahran.
Mohammed Abdul Moneim Zahran.
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‘Dar Akwan’ Sponsors 1st Edition of Mohammad Abdul Moneim Zahran Short Story Award

Mohammed Abdul Moneim Zahran.
Mohammed Abdul Moneim Zahran.

Sponsored by Dar Akwan Publishing, the first edition of the Mohammed Abdul Moneim Zahran Award for Short Story kicked off in Cairo, with a jury headed by novelist Ibrahim Abdul Majid, winner of the Nile Award for Literature.

Zahran died in March, he was in his 50s, and left various literary works such as stories, plays, novels, and children literature, including “Things of the Night”, “Confusion of the Creature”, “Next to You When it Rains”, “Seven Traveling Carriages”, and “The Rabbit and The Parrot”.

He received several awards including the “Souad al-Sabah Award for Best Play” (Kuwait, 2001), and Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity - short story (2002).

The jury announced in a statement that applicants for the award should be Egyptians who have never had their work published and have never received an award before.

The award includes two categories: the “Full Story Collection” targeting writers aged 30 years and older; and “The Individual Short Story” targeting writers between 18 and 30 years.

The winner will receive a small cash prize, and their winning work will be published by Dar Akwan. Hopefuls should submit their application before mid-August.

Author Sumaya Abdul Moneim, wife of the late writer and secretary general of the award, said this award is a merited tribute to Zahran’s creative and unique journey.

She added that the idea was inspired by Zahran himself, who sponsored and oversaw many literary awards in the Upper Egypt district. The award aims at crowning the journey of a writer who devoted himself to story writing despite his remarkable talent in other literary forms.

Mahmoud Shawki, director of Dar Akwan, said: “Storyteller Mohammed Abdul Moneim Zahran is a distinct, pioneering talent in the world of storytelling that can be compared to Youssef Idris and Yahya al-Taher Abdullah.”

The coming editions of the award will be expanded with a bigger cash prize, and other categories alongside the short story, he revealed.

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Culture

AlUla Revives Tantora Ceremony as Annual Cultural Tradition

AlUla will celebrate the revival of the Tantora Ceremony on Monday in AlUla Old Town. (SPA)
AlUla will celebrate the revival of the Tantora Ceremony on Monday in AlUla Old Town. (SPA)
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AlUla Revives Tantora Ceremony as Annual Cultural Tradition

AlUla will celebrate the revival of the Tantora Ceremony on Monday in AlUla Old Town. (SPA)
AlUla will celebrate the revival of the Tantora Ceremony on Monday in AlUla Old Town. (SPA)

AlUla will celebrate the revival of the Tantora Ceremony on Monday in AlUla Old Town, one of the region’s most distinctive heritage markers and a defining element of its intangible cultural legacy.

The Tantora is a historic solar timekeeping device that generations of AlUla’s residents relied upon to mark the beginning of the agricultural season and the arrival of Al-Marba’aniyah, becoming an essential guide for daily life and seasonal farming cycles, said The Saudi Press Agency.

This year’s ceremony is part of the Royal Commission for AlUla's (RCU) ongoing efforts to elevate cultural heritage and strengthen its presence in the public realm. The program includes a rich array of cultural and heritage activities that highlight the historical significance of Tantora and its role in shaping the community's relationship with its oasis environment.

Visitors will enjoy traditional performances, artisan showcases, and interpretive sessions on the history and uses of the Tantora, alongside demonstrations that evoke aspects of AlUla’s past.

The ceremony reinforces awareness of this cultural marker as one of the region’s most notable expressions of intangible heritage. It also underscores its importance in understanding the seasonal practices that formed a central part of life in AlUla, particularly its connection to the onset of winter and the agricultural preparations associated with the peak of winter.

Reviving the Tantora Ceremony reflects RCU’s commitment to conserving heritage and reactivating it through contemporary approaches that strengthen cultural identity, foster community belonging, and connect new generations with AlUla’s historic legacy.

The event also enriches AlUla’s cultural and tourism offering by providing experiences that deepen visitor appreciation of Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage.

The RCU affirmed that celebrating this tradition demonstrates AlUla’s dedication to protecting its cultural and natural treasures and enhancing their role in sustainable development, fully aligned with AlUla’s long-term vision and the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, which positions culture as a core pillar of quality of life and balanced national growth.

Culture

Rome to Charge Tourists to Get Close to the Famed Trevi Fountain

A visitor takes a photo of Rome's Trevi Fountain, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, as the city municipality announced that, starting on Feb. 1, it will impose a 2 euro fee for tourists to visit the recessed fountain edge. (AP)
A visitor takes a photo of Rome's Trevi Fountain, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, as the city municipality announced that, starting on Feb. 1, it will impose a 2 euro fee for tourists to visit the recessed fountain edge. (AP)
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Rome to Charge Tourists to Get Close to the Famed Trevi Fountain

A visitor takes a photo of Rome's Trevi Fountain, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, as the city municipality announced that, starting on Feb. 1, it will impose a 2 euro fee for tourists to visit the recessed fountain edge. (AP)
A visitor takes a photo of Rome's Trevi Fountain, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, as the city municipality announced that, starting on Feb. 1, it will impose a 2 euro fee for tourists to visit the recessed fountain edge. (AP)

Tourists who want to get close to Rome's Trevi Fountain will soon have to pay a two-euro ($2.34) fee, the city mayor said on Friday, as authorities look to profit more handsomely from Italy's many attractions.

Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told reporters the new payment system would start on February 1, adding that the measure was expected to raise 6.5 million euros a year.

"Two euros isn't very much ... and it will lead to less chaotic tourist flows," Gualtieri said, stressing that citizens of Rome will continue to have free access to the fountain.

Tourists will ‌have to ‌pay if they want to get ‌onto ⁠the stone steps ‌surrounding the fountain's basin, while the small surrounding square offering a view of the imposing monument will remain open for everyone.

The Trevi Fountain, where tradition dictates that visitors toss a coin into the water to guarantee their return to Rome, has long been a major tourist attraction, even for visiting world leaders.

Completed in 1762, the monument is ⁠a late Baroque masterpiece depicting Oceanus and symbolizing the varying ‌moods of the world's seas and ‍rivers.

It has received nine million ‍visitors so far this year, Gualtieri said, suggesting that he ‍expects many people will opt to view the fountain from afar in future, rather than pay to get near the water.

Visitors on Friday said they would be willing to pay if the money was put to good use.

"If it means that money is used to keep it maintained, then yeah, that's fine," said British ⁠tourist Yvonne Salustri.

Gualtieri said five other relatively unknown sites in Rome that are currently free will start charging five euros for access from February, continuing the recent trend aimed at squeezing profits from Italy's cultural heritage.

In 2023, a five-euro entrance fee was introduced for Rome's ancient Pantheon. As a result, the square outside is often crammed with people waiting for their turn to pay and enter.

Venice has introduced a tourist entry-fee system during the peak travel season, while Verona this month began charging for access to the balcony in ‌the northern Italian city that is associated with Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet".

Culture

ICAIRE Launches Data, AI Glossary to Mark World Arabic Language Day

The interactive edition enables users to easily browse AI- and data-related terminology in Arabic, English, and French
The interactive edition enables users to easily browse AI- and data-related terminology in Arabic, English, and French
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ICAIRE Launches Data, AI Glossary to Mark World Arabic Language Day

The interactive edition enables users to easily browse AI- and data-related terminology in Arabic, English, and French
The interactive edition enables users to easily browse AI- and data-related terminology in Arabic, English, and French

The International Center for Artificial Intelligence Research and Ethics (ICAIRE) announced the launch of an interactive edition of the Data and Artificial Intelligence Glossary, in cooperation with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language (KSGAAL), and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO).

The launch coincides with World Arabic Language Day, observed annually on December 18.

The dictionary aims to preserve the Arabic language, enrich Arabic digital content with technical terminology and concepts, raise awareness of modern concepts, and facilitate access to information for researchers and practitioners.

It seeks to unify technical terminology in support of the development of the digital economy and the building of a sustainable knowledge-based future.

The interactive edition enables users to easily browse AI- and data-related terminology in Arabic, English, and French, and allows users to interact with the dictionary by adding terms in various dialects.

These enhance knowledge exchange and help ensure the unification and integration of efforts among scientific and technical institutions both regionally and internationally. The dictionary includes more than 1,200 technical terms.