Sheikh Sultan arrives at Krakow John Paul II International Airport in Poland on Tuesday. WAM

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, arrived on Tuesday in Krakow John Paul II International Airport, beginning his official visit to Poland.

Dr Abdul Rahim Yousef Al Awadi, UAE Ambassador to Poland, and a delegation from Jagielski University received the Sharjah Ruler at the airport.

Accompanying Sheikh Sultan on the visit are Abdullah Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Culture, Ali Bin Shaheen Al Suwaidi, Chairman of Sharjah Directorate of Public Works, and Dr. Amr Abdulhamid, Director of the Sharjah Research Academy.

Later Sheikh Sultan visited the Jagiellonian Library affiliated with the Jagielski University in Krakow, Poland, where he reviewed the rare collections of the library and inspected a number of atlases dating back to the 15th century.

Sheikh Sultan began his visit by reviewing the exhibition held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Oriental Studies Department at the Jagielski University, and heard about the exhibition's rare collections of the Islamic Quran copied since the 17th and 18th centuries, manuscripts and historical volumes in several languages, including Arabic.

The exhibition includes a copy of Sahih Al Bukhari 's book, Part V, dating back to 1535; the Al Hariri Publication by Qasim Bin Ali Bin Mohammad Bin Othman Abu Mohammad Al Hariri, dating back to 1741; and the Al Rawdateen book by Abu Shama Al Maqdesi.

The Ruler of Sharjah wrote a note in the golden register of library visitors saying, "We were delighted to visit this ancient library of precious manuscripts of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and other languages, and we thank them for giving us the opportunity to view these manuscripts." The Jagiellonian Library is one of the largest libraries in Poland and was founded in 1364, with more than six million books, volumes and manuscripts in various scientific fields.

The library contains a rare manuscript from the 15th century, which chronicles the Polish military's victories at Grunwald between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

WAM