Oman

World’s largest floating book fair likely to visit Oman

logos hope
 
logos hope
The world’s largest floating book fair, MV Logos Hope, is likely to be stationed at the two main ports of the Sultanate of Oman between July 5 and August 3.

While the schedule is yet to be confirmed, the Logos Hope website says that the floating library will be stationed at Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat between July 5 and July 24 and at Salalah Port between July 27 and August 3.

MV Logos Hope previously visited Oman in 2011 and 2013, and received a large number of book-lovers and ship enthusiasts. The company has confirmed its schedule for the two ports in the UAE — Dubai (from April 17-23), and Abu Dhabi (May 10-June 5), but most likely the GCC tour will begin in Ras al Khaimah (April 10-23).

The ship’s schedule for Manama (Bahrain) is June 6-19, and Doha (Qatar) (June 20-July 3). Described as the world’s largest floating book fair, Logos Hope usually remains in each port for about two weeks and opens the gangways to thousands of visitors each day.

The company claims that on average, one million visitors are welcomed on board every year with over 5,000 titles on sale. The crew and staff are all non-salaried volunteers, including many serving in their professional capacity, such as seafarers, engineers, electricians, nurses, teachers and cooks. Sponsorship from friends, family members and civic organisations enables crewmembers to serve on board.

Prior to the GCC tour, the ship visited Port Said in Egypt (January 4-23), Aqaba, Jordan (January 25- February 16), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (February 21-23), Jizan, Saudi Arabia (March 1-4) and Basra, Iraq (March 26-April 7). So far, the ship has received over 9,000,000 visitors, sold over 10,000,000 books on board, called 214 ports, and visited over 140 ports in over 70 countries.