Logos Hope: Ras Al Khaimah welcomes world’s largest floating book fair

Ship making waves in literature begins eight-week journey around UAE, with an ocean of stories to tell

Logos Hope returns to the UAE, first docking in Ras Al Khaimah as part of an eight-week tour. All photos: EPA

Visitors browse books aboard the world's largest floating book fair

The ship houses 5,000 titles spanning a wealth of genres and languages

During Logos Hope's first day in Ras Al Khaimah, 528 people visited

Logos Hope will sail to Dubai next before finishing its tour in Abu Dhabi

Attending the book fair is free

The book fair recently received a new container of Arabic books, which are available on board

Activities on board include a children’s play and cultural performances by the international crew

Families and young readers are welcome

The world’s largest floating book fair Logos Hope has docked in the UAE.

The ship, which has 5,000 titles on board, opened its doors to the public at Ras Al Khaimah Port on Tuesday, after setting sail from Basra, Iraq. More than 500 people visited within hours of its return to the country; it previously visited Dubai in 2011 and Abu Dhabi in 2013.

“The first day went well and we were surprised by the number of people who came,” Constanza Figueroa, advance preparation project manager of Logos Hope in Ras Al Khaimah, tells The National.

“We are happy because 528 people on the first day is a great number and from today until Friday we will also welcome schools and students, which will be great.”

Figueroa, who was also a project manager on Logos Hope when it was docked Aqaba, Jordan, earlier this year, said she was happy to see people were excited by the ship's arrival in the UAE.

“People were so excited to be here and this is one of the things that makes me happy in each port we go to,” she said.

Logos Hope will be anchored in Ras Al Khaimah until Sunday, before setting sail to Dubai’s Port Rashid, where it will stay from April 18 to 23. For the final stop of its UAE tour, it will visit Abu Dhabi’s Cruise Terminal at Marsa Mina, Port Zayed, from May 17 to June 5.

The fair also recently received a new container of Arabic books, which are available on board.

Entrance is free and titles on offer span a variety of genres, including science, sports, cookery, arts, medicine, languages and faith. There will also be children’s titles, academic texts, dictionaries and atlases.

The floating book fair will also host a number of activities on board, including a children’s play and cultural performances by the international crew.

Logos Hope has docked in seven countries this year, making stops in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where more than 65,000 visitors were welcomed on board in the first 10 days at Cairo’s Port Said.

The Logos Hope book fair launched in 1970, with the purchase of the original Logos, operated by the German non-profit group Good Books for All. It has since been to 480 different ports in more than 150 countries, welcoming 49 million people. The crew visiting the UAE is made up of 350 volunteers of more than 65 different nationalities

More information is available at www.gbaships.org