Islamic Book Fair Opens At Sharjah Ramadan Fest

The Sharjah Ramadan Festival Book Fair, showcasing 60,000 exhibits highlighting Islamic culture and heritage.

An Islamic book fair to mark Ramadan, bringing 128 publishers from 12 countries together, has kicked off in Sharjah.

The Sharjah Ramadan Festival Book Fair, showcasing 60,000 exhibits highlighting Islamic culture and heritage, was inaugurated by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, at Expo Centre Sharjah on Monday night.

The Sharjah Ramadan Festival, featuring a slew of shopping, cultural, religious and entertainment activities, is running parallel to the month-long Ramadan and Eid Fair, which opened at Expo Centre Sharjah on June 28.  Both events have drawn nearly 33,000 visitors.

The Ramadan and Eid Fair is open from 8.30pm to 1.30am daily during week days. The hours are extended till 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. During the Eid holidays, the visiting hours will be from 5pm to 11pm.

“This year the Ramadan and Eid Fair is truly special, being held as part of the Sharjah Ramadan Festival and the Islamic Culture Capital celebrations,” said Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO, Expo Centre. “Going by the visitor response in the first week, we can say that Expo Centre has become the centre of all attraction this Ramadan.”

While the Ramadan and Eid Fair will be held until July 28, the Sharjah Ramadan Festival events will continue till July 31. Over 100 companies are participating in the exhibition of lifestyle products while there are several entertainment and amusement activities targeted at the entire family.

“The ‘Taste of Ramadan’ is the toast of the show where visitors can enjoy fine food dished out by well-known chefs.

Besides the book fair, other activities popular with visitors include the Islamic lectures, Ramadan night market, games and workshops for children, the Heritage Village and raffle draws.

 TheArt Bazaar, dubbed the “Lure of the Eye”, is drawing people to the astounding art pieces on display in Hall 4. Pride of place at the expo has been given to 30 pages of a huge edition of the Holy Quran on display, written in Al Thuluth script by Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Mahmoud Al Hamdani by order of Al Malak Al Haser Muhammad in 713.

Originally published on http://khaleejtimes.com