UAE- 2 Egyptians Moroccan win prestigious photography awards

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)Two Egyptians and a Moroccan were named winners of one of the Arab world's most prestigious photography awards on Tuesday for pictures portraying Arab cities.

The National Geographic Abu Dhabi's Moments Awards given annually for the past five years attracted 21000 entries from across the Middle East and North Africa. Among the finalists were photographers from the UAE Egypt Morocco Algeria Iraq Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

This year's theme was "Arab Cities: the City Through Your Eyes."

The overall winner honoured in an event in downtown Dubai was Egyptian photographer Hussein Mahmoud Mohammed who captured the moment a traditionally dressed Nubian man walked up the steps of a brightly-coloured home in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan.

Speaking through an interpreter Mohammed - who's been taking photographs for over 20 years - told Khaleej Times he went to Aswan specifically to seek out such a scene."I went to Aswan on purpose because I know that Nubian culture is so colourful so visual. I had anticipated capturing a strong image. I wanted to do something quite different and let the colours and the architecture speak for themselves" he said. "So I drove down there. The culture is quite different in terms of its colours its themes and its history. That's what I was aiming for."

Hussein Mahmoud Mohammed (centre) Ahmed Sayed Abdellatef Abdelhamad (second from right) Ahmed Baidou (second from left) Hussain R Abdul Qadir head communication and public relation Al Marai (extreme left) and Sanjay Raina GM Mena region and Pakistan Fox International Channel (extreme right) at the exhibition. In addition to winning the award Mohammed won $7500 and an 11-day photography expedition to Tanzania. Photo - Mohammed Mustafa Khan

"I'm very very proud to have made it through the over 20000 entries. To make it to the top 50 on its own was a sort of proud moment for me" he said. "Everyone here is a winner. I can't express how happy I am to have been named number one. It's National Geographic and all the photography that comes from National Geographic is really something."

The second place winner was another Egyptian newspaper photographer Ahmed Sayed Abdellatef Abdelhamad who took an overhead shot of a group of people enjoying an Iftar meal during Ramadan. Also speaking through an interpreter Abdelhamad said he was trying to convey the sense of community one feels during the Holy Month. "I worked on the different angles to be able to capture the moment of everyone eating on that special occasion" he said. "I tried find the best way to evoke that emotion that someone gets when they look at that picture for them to understand the significance of the gathering and the feast."

The third place winner was Moroccan Ahmed Baidou with his photograph of a festival held southern town of Sidi Ifni. Abdelhamad and he won $5000 and $2500 respectively.

Representatives from National Geographic Abu Dhabi said the theme for the 2016 edition of the competition will be announced in the next few weeks.

Since the first competition was held in 2011 over 170000 entries have been submitted from across the Arab World.

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Bernd Debusmann Jr. Originally from Mexico City I've been in Dubai since January 2015. Before arriving in in the UAE I worked as a general news reporter in TV and print in Mexico City NYC and Washington DC. I'm interested in defence issues politics technology aviation and history. In my spare time i enjoy traveling and football - I'm a keen fan of Chelsea FC. I developed an interest in the Middle East traveling through Jordan and the West Bank. I have a BA in Political Science from Dickinson College in the USA and an MA in International Journalism from City University London.