Daily Times

Sharjah’s pavilion at the Moscow International Book Fair is attracting Russian and international crowds seeking to try out traditional Emirati rituals put together by Sharjah’s cultural entities. Book lovers are taking their pick from a collection of 59 Arabic language books published in Russian for the first time. Female visitors are having pictures taken in burqas and Emirati folk attires accessorised with traditional pieces of jewellery. Their male counterparts meanwhile are trying on the kandura, gutra and Iqbal. Another section of the pavilion hosts Emirati artists drawing henna designs on the palms of visitors as they sip on hot gahwa being served to them in the traditional handle-less cups, called finjaan. Also present is Emirati calligrapher Khalid Al Jallaf, who is taking no more than a few seconds to etch their names in the three Arabic calligraphy styles of Thuluth, Naskh and Diwani.