His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, on Sunday evening witnessed the 15th edition of the Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival at Sharjah Culture Palace. 

The festival is organised by Bait Al Shi’r “House of Poetry” of the Department of Culture and Information and will continue until Jan.13 hosting a number of Emirati and Arab poets.

Activities of the festival commenced with a documentary film about the early beginnings of Bait Al Shi’r in the Emirate of Sharjah that was founded in 1997. 

The film showed how it was the nucleus for this festival. 

It began as a forum for Arab poets and how it then adopted the march of developing the Arab poetry.

The opening ceremony also included another documentary film that focused on contributions of the Emirate of Sharjah and initiatives of its Ruler in the establishment of houses of Arab poetry in various countries.

It showed the moments of jubilation that filled the poets of those cities, which provided them with a sanctuary to innovate. 

Those houses were established in each of Mafraq in Jordan, Luxor in Egypt, Kairouan in Tunisia, Nouakchott in Mauritania, Tetouan in Morocco and Khartoum in Sudan.

After that, Dr Sheikh Sultan honoured the personalities of the festival, Moheieldeen Al Fateh from Sudan and Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahim from the UAE, with the 7th Sharjah Award for Arab Poetry. 

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Sheikh Sultan received a commemorative shield from the Moroccan Ministry of Cultural in recognition of his role in the support of Moroccan poets. He was handed over a book documenting the historical and archaeological sites of Morocco.