Tradesmen of the Middle East in focus for National Geographic Abu Dhabi's Moments photography competition

The ninth staging of the competition was won by a budding 17-year-old Omani photographer and a 26-year-old woman from Lebanon

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  Rodi, Syria: In the Syrian town of ‘Afreen, Rodi captured an image of a young Syrian girl amidst a scenic array of green olives during the olive harvesting season, before it is ultimately sold in the local market.

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  Mohammed El Arkam, Morocco: A lady is seen happily picking out oranges in the local souq of Ijjoukak in Morocco.

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  Adel, UAE: Adel pays a visit to the Deira Grand Souq as he takes a photo of the entrance of the traditional market.

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  Adham, Egypt: This photo shows two brothers working in their family’s century-old business of weaving colored cotton in the Darb El Ahmar souq in Cairo

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  Amal, Kuwait: In the old Mubarakiah souq in Kuwait, Amal captures a traditional clothes shopkeeper and his friends as he opens up shop.

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  Ali, Saudi Arabia: Ali captures a fantastic image of ‘Uncle Abdullah’, an old vegetable seller counting his money in the Bab Makkah souq in the coastal city of Jeddah. Uncle Abdullah is considered to be one of the oldest merchants in the souq and is revered for keeping traditions alive amid the nation’s globalised advance.

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  Ahmed, Oman: Ahmed showcases Al Buraimi’s seasonal fruits and vegetable market in this colourful shot as the seller auctions his produce to incoming buyers.

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  Badr Hashem, Saudi Arabia: An artist is shown with his completed craft of fashioning the almost impossible task of building a tiny ship inside a clear glass bottle in the Okaz Souq near the Saudi city of Ta’if, where a large, diverse group of artists display their crafts.

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  Mohamed Fathy, Egypt: This photo was taken in Souq Al Fakhareen – The Pottery Market in the Old City in Cairo, where a child is seen posing in a shop selling pottery ornaments.

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  Khawla, Palestine: Khawla takes a well-timed photo of an old man shopping for groceries in the local vegetable market in Hebron, Palestine.

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  Mohammed, Saudi Arabia: This photo was taken in the eastern Saudi town of Al Awamiah, where Mohammed takes a trip to the local souq to meet a man crafting saddles out of palm strings before displaying it to the local market’s visitors.

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  Khalid Harthi, Saudi Arabia: A woman is shown practicing the traditional art of embroidery as she knits and weaves her art into a frame to be displayed in the Okaz Souq near Ta’if.

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  Saleh, Saudi Arabia: Saleh paid a visit to the Thursday Souq in Syadat Bani Malik, a town near Ta’if and part of the Makkah province, to capture an old man patiently displaying his produce in the town’s open market.

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  Ramy Hikal, Egypt: The making of carpets is an age-old tradition in the region, with a plethora of variations in the design of each carpet. Ramy captures an old man in Aswan, Egypt keeping this tradition alive as the craftsman devises his latest creation.

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  Mohammed, Yemen: Mohammed takes an image of an old man selling rotary beads in Souq Al Melh,The Salt Market, in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a.

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  Nora Ra’oof, Egypt: Nora captures an old man specialising in making traditional handmade crafts in Aswan, Egypt.

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  Amal, Palestine: This exquisite image showcases a multitude of pots in Gaza City, where traditional ornaments are still in high demand.

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  Abdulrahman Hamoud, Syria: Abdulrahman pays a visit to the local market to capture a colorful image of a vast array of pickled vegetables.

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  Mujtaba Al Awami, Saudi Arabia: Mujtaba captures an old man fashioning traditional household items, including baskets, chairs, and small tables, using threads of palm trees in the Ahsa’ province in eastern Saudi Arabia.

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  Razy Mukarker, Palestine: Razy captures an artist crafting shapes of cities and names of buyers using coloured sand in the Palestinian city of Hebron.

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  Hussein Hendawi, Egypt: This photo is taken in The Pottery Market in the Old City in Cairo, Egypt’s capital, where ornaments appear lined up systematically.

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  Sarah Al Hanbali, Jordan: Sarah captured this image of a fruits and vegetables merchant as he organises his shop in the local souq in Al-Salt city in Jordan.

Seventeen-year-old Wafa Abdulmajeed has wanted to become a photographer ever since she discovered renowned National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry when she was younger.

When she later met McCurry in person, she was ostensibly hooked. Her father gave her her first Canon 700D camera as a gift, and the rest was history.

Abdulmajeed is the winner of the kids category for the National Geographic Abu Dhabi's Moments photography competition for 2019. Her winning photograph is a colourful picture of an Omani trader decked out in traditional clothing, surrounded by precious memorabilia and wares which "represents the strength and prestige of the Omani man".

Wafa Abdulmajeed, 17, from Oman, won the children's category of the competition with this photo. Courtesy National Geographic Abu Dhabi

Over 50,000 photographs capturing the "diversity and stories of markets from around the Arab world" were submitted to judges for this year's competition.

Open to photographers of all skill levels, it has now been running for nine years, and aims to help budding photographers with exposure and mentoring. It's open to entrants from all ages 13 and up, and featured a returning category this year for those aged 13 to 17. This year's theme was "Souqs of the Middle East".

Lebanese photographer Zeinab Khalifeh won the adult's category with this picture of a tailor in Saida. Courtesy National Geographic Abu Dhabi

The winner of the adult category of the competition is Lebanese photographer Zeinab Khalifeh, who took out the top prize for her moody picture of a tailor in ancient Saida who has been in his job for 40 years. Khalifeh has long been an avid photographer, and has "always appreciated images that told stories about the personal lives of people from a simple moment". She used her first-ever paycheck to buy a new Nikon camera, and has been documenting the world around her ever since.

Abdulmajeed wins $5,000 (Dh18,365) worth of photography equipment, a trip to the awards ceremony in Dubai and her winning photo will be published in National Geographic's Arabic magazine.

Khalifeh will also have her photograph printed in the Arabic National Geographic and receive $5,000 worth of photography equipment. She will then head on a 10-day international photography expedition trip along the Danube winner from Budapest, Hungary, to Nuremburg in Germany, worth $10,000, where she will be mentored by National Geographic expert photographers.

For this year's awards, there was an increase of 10,000 entries on last year.

The competition proved increasingly popular with GCC, and UAE, photographers this year, who constituted one-third of all entries in this year’s edition, doubling last year’s entries from the region.

UAE photographers showed the highest increase in submissions in the GCC, with a 62 per cent rise over last year.

Last year, 22-year-old aspiring photographer Mohammed Al Baraway, from Gaza, picked up the top prize at the competition. Over 40,000 entries were received, and 64 finalists were shortlisted.

Take a look at our gallery above of a selection of 22 entries from the competition.