This year, Hadeel Al-Shalchi went to the Cairo Book Fair for the first time in her life It's a good thing I didn't know what to expect before visiting the Cairo Book Fair in the Fair Grounds of Nasr City. Having lived in the city for six months I should have known it would involve massive jostling and lots of everything. When I asked colleagues and friends about it, they had mixed feelings. Some thought it was the best thing to hit Cairo all year -- the books, the atmosphere and the culture -- just out of this world. Others thought it was a horrible, crowded fish-market type affair with overpriced books inaccessible to the public. At least, I had the common sense to go during the morning of a weekday. I didn't have much trouble buying a ticket, and I managed to enter the grounds with a minimum of shoving and pushing. Once inside the Fair Grounds, I was hoping to be greeted by a smiling someone in uniform with a stack of maps, perhaps a booklet to tell me where to go and how to go about browsing books. Well, there was no one wearing a uniform, but I did find a map. Lying on top of a pile of garbage in a trashcan. Unfortunately, I was forced to chuck it back into the garbage where it belonged; the map, printed on high-quality orange paper, made it clearer by far that Mobinil was the fair's sponsor than where the different stalls were. A diagram of the grounds was drawn and numbered, but there was no legend indicating what the numbers might stand for -- no way of knowing what was what or where. You were basically left to your own devices, strolling throughout the displays and halls begging directions from anyone who will listen. It only takes a single visit to the Fair Grounds to understand this momentous task. Without a map or any idea of which publishing houses were available, it felt like I was making my way in a foreign country having forgotten the purpose behind my being there in the first place. Minibuses free of charge shuttled people from one gate to another within the grounds -- and this did help with the walking, but without a map, I had no idea where I was going. Plus, it felt like a public city bus with boys hanging out of the doorway and shoving their way through the aisles. On the grounds itself, there were no information booths or stalls to direct you. Inside the halls, the crowds were bearable, until the afternoon hit. At one point I caught myself thinking, "This is what pilgrimage in Mecca must feel like..." By chance, I discovered an area in one of the main halls dedicated to public lectures. But there was no sign advertising what the next discussion was to be or what later events one might expect. Walking through the display halls, I have to admit I was impressed with the variety and sheer number of Arabic publishing houses and the selection of books available -- novels, religious books, multimedia programs, and educational tools galore. Dar El-Shorouk publishing house sold books by controversial authors like Sayyid Qutb and Yusuf Al-Qaradawi. Novels by almost every Arab novelist under the sun were also available. There was definitely a lot of repetition with different publishing houses selling the same books by the same authors. But the sheer volume was daunting. I didn't know where to start, and didn't know what to buy. But, strolling down amid the stalls, I realised there were some people more organised than I was, crossing off books on a list they had cleverly created before leaving the house. But I was deeply disappointed with the choice of English books available. If you were looking for medical textbooks or engineering references, this is probably the place to go. But besides Stephen King paperbacks and dog-eared editions of Harlequin romance novels, there was nothing approximating a rich selection in terms of English-language fiction or non-fiction. I would have loved to see British, American or Canadian publishing houses display their wares. Otherwise, there was nothing at the Fair you couldn't find at Zamalek's Diwan Bookshop or the AUC bookstore. I talked to one man selling English texts and he told me his sales were quite disappointing this year. He said most people coming to the fair were interested in Arabic books only and skimmed through English language books. This may be a reason for Anglo publishing houses to stay away from the fair. Other foreign books were relegated to the 6th of October Hall, which was neatly manicured and carpeted. Clean, well- organised stalls of Greek, Chinese, Turkish and other Arab countries' books were displayed. And since Italy is the guest of honour this year, there was also a prominent display of Italian works (some translated in Arabic). Behind the giant display hangars, the sounds of men selling their wares in the open-air market filled the fair. "Any book -- two guinea," they cried out, as if trying to convince you of a tasty tomato or a juicy cucumber. And even though there was nothing edible, a tempting variation of English and Arabic novels did exist. Sure, they were used and dusty, but who could resist a John Grisham paperback for a couple of pounds. My favorite thing was the chest-high stacks of English magazines for as cheap three pounds: outdated Good Housekeeping, Cosmo, ELLE, and Vogue. And of course, none of this would be complete without old versions of department-store catalogues from stores that don't even exist in Egypt. Walking from one display hall to another, it was evident that many people were using the Book Fair as a family outing. For one pound each, they could spend the whole day frolicking on the grounds enjoying the sun, drinking Pepsi or munching on a beef shawerma. Young boys played football on the grass between the hangars, and there was definitely a weekend spirit to the whole Book Fair. Men trying to attract customers to their ice-cream stalls or attempting to lure you with ice cold water (much needed after hours of trekking through the grounds). I think the Book Fair is definitely an important cultural experience to go through in Cairo, and especially if you've never been before. It's the largest one in the Middle East, and honestly the only thing of that scale that celebrates the Arabic word. I even went back to the Book Fair one more time this week. It was a bit easier to navigate once I had memorised some landmarks, and learnt that X publishing house is behind the café, not to its right. I want to go again because I did find some books that caught my eye. But the mere thought exhausts me. I think a preparatory nap should be in order.
