• Home

WHAT’S ON IN THE CAPITAL

REGISTRATION FOR the fourth session of Arabs’ biggest classic poetry competition, “Prince of Poets”, has just been extended to September 15.

Already thousands of applications have been sent to the Poetry Academy of Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, organiser of the competition, since registrations opened last June.

The competition, broadcast on Abu Dhabi TV weekly, serves to enhance Arabic poetry and reinstate the popularity of Arabic literature.

The ‘Prince of Poets’ is renowned as a cultural competition and was launched in Abu Dhabi in April 2007. Poets compete in all forms of classical poetry. They can enter poems in a variety of styles, whether it is a metric (traditional) poem, or a free verse one.

So if you have a talent for Arabic verse, your age is somewhere between 18 and 45 years old, put down your best 20 to 30 lines and send it to poets@adach.ae.

Click and win

IF YOUR talent is on the visual side, then the ‘Date Palm Through the Eyes of the World’ might trigger your interest. This new photographic competition in Abu Dhabi is organised by Khalifa International Date Palm Award in collaboration with Abu Dhabi International Photographic Society (ADIPS), so details for entries are available from either organisations.

The competition is meant to engage the art of photography to raise public awareness on the importance of the date palm. Therefore, all things palm tree, from the tree itself to its fruit harvesting or use of its leafs, could be the subject of the winning photograph.

Date palm products, agricultural tools and conditions are also possible subjects for the competition. Entries are opened to both professional and amateur photographers from anywhere in the world. Deadline for applications is December 31 and results will be announced in February next year.

Full details and application

forms are available on
www.kidpa.ae.

Take your pick

SEVERAL ART and heritage related competitions will also take place during The Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition including painting, photography, Nabati poetry and, for owners of pretty good looking Arabian dogs, a saluki competition.

Deadline is not pinned down, but it is somewhere around mid-September, as C will start on September 22. Full details are available on www.adihex.com.

Fast breaking invitations

ELSEWHERE IN town, the spirit of Ramadan continues and the capital’s landmark hotel is inviting all to a highbrow fast breaking experience. At Emirates Palace Iftar is happening in one of the largest Ramadan pavilions here, set in the hotel’s Ballroom terrace.

It is said to ooze an Eastern spiritual atmosphere and be able to hosts about 650 people for either Iftar or Suhoor.

“The Ramadan Pavilion is directly connected to ‘Mezlai’, our latest restaurant serving the first authentic and traditional Emirati cuisine in the UAE, and it is also directly connected with the Ballroom, another venue for further Ramadan activities,” said Janet Abrahams, executive director of Sales and Marketing at Emirates Palace.

Iftar prices in the Ramadan Pavilion are Dh215 and Suhoor starts from Dh 95, both excluding taxes and tourism fees. —silvia@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE