Sharjah hosts the Al-Warraqin Festival for Used Books
On Wednesday, February 1, 2023, the eighth Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) Al-Warraqin Festival for Used Books will be held in Palm Garden, on the banks of Khalid Lake in Sharjah. Public benefit associations, government and private agencies, schools, universities, diplomatic missions, as well as institutions and groups in society as well as individuals will participate in this festival.
Her Excellency Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Director General of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS), urged everyone to attend the festival, buy valuable books, and establish private libraries at very symbolic prices, noting that the festival’s proceeds will always go to help people with disabilities.
She said that the eighth session of the event was planned to coincide with the UAE’s “Year of Sustainability,” as the city prioritises adhering to sustainability principles in whatever it does.
She went on to say that the name “warraqin” itself harkens back to the Abbasid era, when the job of a “warraqin” included not only copying, editing, and publishing books, but also binding, gilding, and selling paper, pens, and inks; in other words, all the tasks that libraries and publishing houses do today, as well as printing and distributing books, paper, and the necessary writing tools.
With more than a million books displayed, the festival offers a wide selection of valuable books starting from two dirhams and not exceeding 20 dirhams.
