DUBAI // For visitors to the largest floating book fair docked at Port Rashid, the novels and non-fiction titles for sale are a secondary attraction.
The travel stories of the volunteers of the Logos Hope, which they willingly share as they assist book lovers, is what makes the liner a major draw.
The ship sailed into the emirate on Friday, replete with 400 volunteer crew from all over the world and an impressive display of 7,000 titles. The sale opened to the public yesterday afternoon.
Logos Hope is the fourth vessel belonging to GBA Ships, a not-for-profit organisation based in Germany. Its journey began two years ago in Europe and it has been in the Middle East for the past six months.
"There are many facets to the ship and its appeal differs from country to country," said Jessie LaPlue, the media relations officer of the fair.
"In some lower developing countries, like in Africa, we have scores of people standing in line for hours to gain access to the books, because education for some is a luxury there," she said. "But in many other countries, people are fascinated by the volunteer work.
"It surprises people how the members have left their jobs and life to be on a ship … and they aren't even being paid for it."
Crew members enrol with the shared goal of making a difference through charity projects and spreading the word of cultures existing in harmony.
Ms LaPlue, a university graduate, has been on the ship for a year and has already visited 15 countries. For her, the adventure has been a crash course in cultures. "As a crew we see this as an opportunity to build relationships with the locals and share our experiences."
Every member, from engineers to the cooks, commits to a non-paid service on the ship for a certain number of years. During that time, they have the opportunity to learn life skills and serve the community they are based in.
Matthew Dent joined the team when he was 18. Although he aspires to continue his education in the audio-visual field, the past three years aboard the ship have broadened his perspective of the world.
"On the ship I have received a lot of training in various areas and have got qualifications that will be beneficial when I go back," the Australian crew member who works in the control room said. "I have been able to step into different leadership positions as well."
Volunteers who are assigned to the book fair are well informed about the titles and can assist visitors with the English as well as Arabic books, which they have added for people in the Emirates.
"When we go to ports where the primary language is something else, we source books from local distributors," Ms LaPlue said.
"We work with the country's officials to bring books that are relevant and make sure they are not offensive to the culture." She said the children's section was the largest as the crew planned to host school visits.
Caroline Geluk, a Dubai resident from the Netherlands who was at the fair with her three children, said she wasn't planning to buy too many books, but wanted to meet some of the crew members.
"I know the mission of the ship and find it interesting," Mrs Geluk said. "We get to meet so many people and the fact that they are volunteers has aroused my curiosity.
"In fact, we met a Dutch lady on the ship and coincidently we have a common friend in Lebanon, which is so exciting."
Another resident, Nita Ved, 46, said interacting with the people behind the fair was a good lesson for youngsters. "It teaches them about being selfless and the members provide a good example of unity," she said.
Ms LaPlue said about 40 to 60 new members would fly into Abu Dhabi next month to replace retiring crew members. "We encourage UAE residents to sign up for the cause as well."
The Logos Hope will be open in Dubai at Port Rashid until February 5. Opening hours are 1pm to 10.30pm from Saturday to Wednesday, and 4pm to 10.30pm on Thursday and Friday. Logos Hope will be open in Abu Dhabi from February 7 until February 19.
aahmed@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
SCORES
Yorkshire Vikings 144-1 in 12.5 overs
(Tom Kohler 72 not out, Harry Broook 42 not out)
bt Hobart Hurricanes 140-7 in 20 overs
(Caleb Jewell 38, Sean Willis 35, Karl Carver 2-29, Josh Shaw 2-39)
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Book%20Details
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