Sharjah is home to numerous manuscript libraries, archaeological centres, scientific research facilities and museums such as the Museum of Islamic Civilisation, the Maritime Museum and the Calligraphy Museum among many others.

With a unique cultural radiance supporting, it is unsurprising that Sharjah was crowned the Islamic Culture Capital 2014.

All credit goes to His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah (“Sheikh Sultan ramps up Sharjah’s cultural heft, opens 2 exhibitions,” Gulf Today, Nov.3).  Being a resident of Sharjah, I always love to attends exhibitions and good to read that His Highness inaugurated on Saturday, the art exhibition “The Other Side of Silence” by Hrair Sarkissian in the Sharjah Art Foundation.

The Ruler of Sharjah also inaugurated the 40th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF).

The event was organised by the Sharjah Book Authority at the Expo Centre Sharjah, under the slogan ‘There’s always a right book.’ Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, attended the inauguration, in which 1,632 Arab and foreign publishers, and 85 writers, creators and artists from different countries took part.

Sharjah was first recognised in 1998 by UNESCO for the emirate’s role in the cultural environment of the Arab world.  After the opening ceremony, The Ruler of Sharjah toured the exhibition with the attendees, inspecting the participating pavilions and publishing houses.  He stopped at the pavilion of Spain, the Guest of Honour for 2021’s exhibition, where he was briefed on its activities. Since then the emirate has maintained its commitment to culture, both historical and contemporary making it an ideal candidate for the 2014 title.

Abul Ghani
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