#shjibf notes from Sharjah International Book Fair: 11/12/11

Coming up: Sharjah International Book Fair – we’ll be there! | R A Y A | agency for Arabic literature

For the 30th year, Sharjah is getting ready to welcome its international book exhibit. Starting on November 16th through the 26th, readers in the Emirates will be able to attend talks, events, and buy books from all over the Arab world and more.

This year, the fair’s international flavor is enhanced. An important delegation of publishers from non Arab countries is invited to meet with Arab publishers and agents (including RAYA!) during three days before the fair. Clearly, Sharjah’s ambition is to become the meeting point for the promotion of Arabic literature.

Along these lines, the creation of a subvention program for translating Arabic literature was announced. The details of the program, which will be presented during the fair next week, are awaited with great excitement!

Driving East | Jar of Juice (Most of drive was through Emirate of Sharjah)

Readability

Eid Al Adha’s timing was perfect: my sister was out of town, I was off from college and from work, I had no pending freelance photography to do, no family commitments, friends all busy with their families — it was the perfect opportunity to sit, relax, and do absolutely nothing for once. Even my exam, due on the 14th, has been put on hold because I really needed the break.

After spending the first day sick in bed and the consecutive days uneventful (but wonderful in being so), the clouds rolled in and thundered their way into the Emirates overnight. Early morning, I woke up to the gloomy skies and damp air. True to the weather reports, it was going to be a rainy day.

I had a few errands to run that day — little things like laundry, cleaning, and some other “item fetching” from several malls and places — but decided to take the opportunity to set out on a journey to the Eastern Regions that I have been planning for quite a while now. I visited the area a few years ago during summer, but have since loved to go again in the cooler months. I knew that the sky would make the trip much more memorable, and so I packed in some sandwiches and some water, armed myself with my camera (which I did not use) and my phone camera (which I extensively used) and headed east.

When I stopped by the gas station to fuel up, I thought of documenting this trip — why not? It was a ride of contemplation; I thought about many things on my way and enjoyed the ride. When I arrived at the mountainous areas, I felt I was in heaven; living in flat-Dubai makes you truly appreciate other forms of landscapes. Even the desert was different, with dunes dwarfing the Land Cruisers trying to conquer them.

It has been a refreshing journey — one I have been looking forward to for months. My soul felt refreshed; I really needed this. The whole journey took me around eight hours before I headed to Ajman to visit my best friend, after which I headed back to Dubai for a well deserved sleep!

Here are the tweets and some more photos — enjoy! (might take a bit to load, and if it doesn’t, refresh!)