The Ibn Battuta Prize for Travel Literature has announced the winners of its nineteenth edition, which awarded 11 writers and researchers from Tunisia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Libya, and Morocco. Established in 2000, the prize is awarded annually by the Arab Center for Geographical Literature - "Irtidad al-Afaq" in Abu Dhabi and London for the best works written and researched in the field of travel literature.
In the category of travel research, Ahmad Ibrahim Al-Nassan from Syria won for his edition of the book "Masilia Al-Gharib Fi Kull Amr Gharib - A Journey to Brazil" by Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah Al-Baghdadi Al-Dimashqi Al-Madani Al-Hassani, while Ahmad Jum'a Abdul Hamid and Yahya Zakariya Al-Suda from Egypt won for their edition of the book "Safi Al-Murtad Wa Raed Al-Is'ad" by Ali bin Yahya bin Ahmad Al-Kilani Al-Qadri Al-Hamawi.
In the contemporary travel category, the award went to Abu Al-Harith Mousa Ibrahim from Libya for his book "Journeys Around the World" and Muhammad Khalil from Morocco for his book "This Is How I Came to Know China." The award in the diaries category was given to Hassouna Al-Masbahy from Tunisia for his book "Days in Istanbul."
In the studies category, the winners were Nour Al-Din Belkoudri from Morocco for "Imagination in Contemporary Arab Travel," Muhammad Reda Boudchar from Morocco for "The Late Andalusians in European Travels to Spain," and Athba Al-Muslimani from Qatar for "Narrative Discourse in the Travels of Al-Ghassani and Al-Wardani."
The translated travel category awarded Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-Batshan from Saudi Arabia for his translation of the book "Morocco: The People and the Country," Ihsen Hamid Ihsen Mahmoud from Libya for translating "In Search of the Veiled Tuareg," and Imad Al-Ahmed from Syria for translating "Blood Stone."
Nouri Al-Jarrah, General Director of the Arab Center for Geographical Literature and supervisor of the prize, stated in a release, "This year's competing works were characterized, as usual, by the abundance of manuscripts belonging to the fields of studies, contemporary travel, and translated travel, indicating a growing interest in travel literature through research and study, with an increasing awareness of the significance of this literature in exploring the Arab perspective on itself in relation to its culture and to the other in its cultural differences."
A ceremony for the award presentation is set to be organized in two phases in Tangier and Abu Dhabi at dates to be determined later.
