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SIBF Welcomes 2.17 Million Visitors from 112 Countries

The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) concluded its 41st edition
The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) concluded its 41st edition
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SIBF Welcomes 2.17 Million Visitors from 112 Countries

The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) concluded its 41st edition
The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) concluded its 41st edition

The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) concluded its 41st edition, during which it welcomed over 2.17 million visitors from 112 countries, turning the hosting emirate into a hub for world’s cultures, and a wide space that embraces thought, art, creativity, and knowledge.
Embodying its vision of building new generations of readers, SIBF 2022 received 218,000 students over 12 days. For young pupils, the book fair is an important annual cultural destination that provides their libraries with new Arabic and foreign publications, and an opportunity to meet their favorite writers, content creators, artists, and social media influencers.

SIBF 2022, which celebrated Italy as the Guest of Honor, emphasized the meaning of this year’s motto 'Spread the Word', and told the world that books are not only for fans of literature, history, and thought, but also for all those who see reading as an interest, hobby, and passion. The fair brought together Arabic cinema stars, singers, media figures, and athletes, and placed culture in its right position in contact with people’s life, interactions, and daily life activities.

SIBF 2022 welcomed football legend and AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimović; actor Shah Rukh Khan - popularly known as the King of Bollywood; Egyptian actor Karim Abdul Aziz; Egypt’s renowned star Ahmed El Sakka, and Saudi Arabia's prized musician, Abadi-Al Johar, amongst a host of other cultural celebrities. It offered visitors the chance to meet those esteemed figures face to face, and then introduced them to books about intellect, art, music, drama, and sport.

Sudanese historian Yusuf Fadl Hasan was celebrated as the “Cultural Personality” of SIBF 2022 while the fair also hosted a distinguished group of regional and international guests in the 41st edition, including Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka, winner of the 2022 Booker Prize; Geetanjali Shree, Hindi-language author and winner of the International Booker prize; novelist Waciny Laredj; writer Ahmad Mourad; and author Sultan Al Amimi amongst others.

The forum halls opened doors for debates and discussions on some of the most prominent issues of literature, translation, the future of communication, the current situation of the Arabic and western intellect, as well as the challenges facing research, documentation and history. For 12 days, SIBF hosted more than 200 cultural discussions.

This year, the book fair shed light on the African experience in literature, and celebrated the contemporary, diaspora writers with a special program encompassing special activities. SIBF visitors also had the chance to explore the history and civilization of the Italian culture, not only through Italian books and writers, but also in art, cuisine, fashion, and music.

The annual book fair, which places publishers at the heart of the cultural event, opened the doors of the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone for professionals in the industry, and offered them special facilities and services that aren’t available in another place in the world. The fair hosted 26 publishing houses from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, India, the United Kingdom, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia that look forward to expand their work in the UAE.

The fair presented a model in supporting libraries and enhancing their influence in knowledge creation. In this context, H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council member, granted AED4.5 million to equip the emirate’s libraries with the latest titles from regional and international publishing houses who partook in the 41st SIBF.

The book fair also dedicated a space for social media content, hosting a number of content creators and influencers including Egyptian Youtuber Ahmed al-Ghandour, known as “Da7ee7”, and Dr. Khaled Ghattas. It also allocated a corner for social media platforms, which organized workshops on content creation techniques, and communication with the audience.

Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), said, “Curtains came down on the 41st Sharjah International Book Fair with over 2.17 million visitors. These are not mere visitors, but ambassadors who carry forward the message and vision of the SBA, and the emirate’s cultural project that was founded five decades ago by Sheikh Sultan, and has many achievements, the latest of which is the recognition as the world's largest book fair for the second year in a row.”

“One of the core goals of the book fair is to raise awareness on the importance of reading and build communities that believe in the value and impact of books. We have achieved this goal to a large extent. Our goal is to transcend the idea that reading is an activity for intellectuals only. At the SBA, we believe that reading is for all the community segments whose interests span across varied fields to enjoy books that satisfy their passion,” he added.

Khoula Al Mujaini, general coordinator of SIBF, said, “The SIBF’s vibrant agenda of activities in its 41st edition offered a comprehensive experience that attracted visitors and distinguished artists, sportsmen and authors from all around the world. The high footfall is a clear indicator of the status and importance of the international book fair in meeting the demands of its guests, regardless of age and nationalities.”

This year, SIBF 2022 hosted 2,213 publishers from 95 countries, alongside 150 distinguished authors, intellectuals and creatives from 57 countries, and organized 1,500 activities within 12 days.

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Varieties

Sumatra Rhino Pregnancies Nurse Hope for Endangered Species' Future

People commute along a road as haze from forest and land fires shrouds Palembang, South Sumatra on October 2, 2026. (Photo by AL ZULKIFLI / AFP)
People commute along a road as haze from forest and land fires shrouds Palembang, South Sumatra on October 2, 2026. (Photo by AL ZULKIFLI / AFP)
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Sumatra Rhino Pregnancies Nurse Hope for Endangered Species' Future

People commute along a road as haze from forest and land fires shrouds Palembang, South Sumatra on October 2, 2026. (Photo by AL ZULKIFLI / AFP)
People commute along a road as haze from forest and land fires shrouds Palembang, South Sumatra on October 2, 2026. (Photo by AL ZULKIFLI / AFP)

Two critically endangered Sumatran rhinos have fallen pregnant at an Indonesian sanctuary, boosting hopes for the survival of one of the world's rarest and most threatened mammals, the government said on Sunday.

Ratu, a female Sumatran rhino at the Way Kambas National Park on Sumatra island, has been pregnant with her fourth calf for 238 days -- nearly half the gestation period.

Ratu means "queen" in Indonesian.

Ratu's daughter, Delilah, is more than 250 days into a pregnancy with her second calf, and both should give birth in May next year.

"The pregnancies of these two Sumatran rhinos are not only good news for Indonesia, but also for the world," AFP quoted Indonesian forestry ministry official Ahmad Munawir as saying in a statement.

"The pregnancies of the two female rhinos are part of long-term efforts to ensure the survival of the Sumatran rhino population through planned breeding, reproductive health management, and intensive monitoring of individual animals," he added.

The ministry said the health and safety of the females were being closely monitored by a medical team, keepers, and national parks management.

"All five species of rhino face serious threats... This announcement marks a significant milestone in the fight to save this imperiled species," Nina Fascione, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation, said in a separate statement.

"Ratu and Delilah's pregnancies represent two more individuals that can help bring Sumatran rhinos back from the brink of extinction."

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies Sumatran rhinos as critically endangered, with fewer than 80 individuals remaining in the wild.

The species is found only in Indonesia, scattered across national park areas in North Sumatra, Lampung, Bengkulu, and East Kalimantan.

Varieties

Could Alien Life Exist on One of Saturn’s Moons?

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010. The shadow of the body of Enceladus on the lower portions of the jets is clearly visible (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010. The shadow of the body of Enceladus on the lower portions of the jets is clearly visible (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
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Could Alien Life Exist on One of Saturn’s Moons?

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010. The shadow of the body of Enceladus on the lower portions of the jets is clearly visible (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010. The shadow of the body of Enceladus on the lower portions of the jets is clearly visible (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Aliens could live on a moon in our solar system, scientists have announced.

Researchers have long been particularly excited about the possibility of life on Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. It not only is one of few places in our celestial neighborhood to have conditions that could provide a home for aliens, but also shoots out jets that mean that it could be easier for future spacecraft to examine.

Now, new research has found that specific organisms would actually be able to live there. It suggests that Enceladus might be even more supportive of life than we had realized, according to The Independent.

Enceladus is one of 293 moons around Saturn, and does not immediately appear hospitable. It is icy cold and has little oxygen, for instance.

But researchers have long been excited about what might be lying beneath the icy crust that encircles the planet. There is a vast ocean underneath it, leading researchers to believe that it could be one of the few places in our solar system that could actually support life.

In the new research, scientists conducted experiments to understand how specific organisms might be able to survive in that ocean. They recreated the conditions that are thought to exist on its seafloor in a laboratory – and found that a microorganism called archaea were able to adapt to live there.

“Enceladus is considered to be one of the most promising places to search for extraterrestrial life,” said Vanessa Helmbrecht, lead author of the study, in a statement. “Our experiments show that its unique geochemistry could create conditions that are even more favorable for microbial life than we had previously thought.”

The researchers were keen to stress that the study doesn’t prove that life exists on the moon. But it does show that the planet’s conditions are able to support one of Earth’s most ancient microorganisms, boosting their hopes that something could be found living there.

They hope that the study will give a further boost to attempts to head to Enceladus and bring back samples from its ocean that can be studies, they said.

The European Space Agency plans to do that with a space mission named L4 that is expected to launch in 2042.

The work is reported in a new paper, ‘Enceladus-like geochemistry fuels methanogenesis under extreme CO2 limitation’, published in the journal Science Advances.

It comes at the same time as another set of research that suggests that Enceladus could be a particularly convenient place to search for alien life.

It found that as water is sent out through the jets that spew out of the moon, its different parts separate – which would make it easier for future spacecraft to detect as they fly through those plumes.

Caption: NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010. The shadow of the body of Enceladus on the lower portions of the jets is clearly visible (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)

Varieties

A Pizza Renaissance in Rome

An array of slices of pizza al taglio at Frumentario (The New York Times)
An array of slices of pizza al taglio at Frumentario (The New York Times)
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A Pizza Renaissance in Rome

An array of slices of pizza al taglio at Frumentario (The New York Times)
An array of slices of pizza al taglio at Frumentario (The New York Times)

Rome: By Anya von Bremzen

The rectangles of pizza al taglio behind the counter of shoebox-size Frumentario, in Rome’s workaday San Giovanni district, resembled fantastical still lifes.

One was topped with softly scrambled eggs glowing saffron beneath a blizzard of chives; another had spindly wild greens called agretti looping over pink ribbons of ham. A third was a mosaic of earthy tones: cardoncelli mushrooms scattered across a golden crust and punctuated with ruby shards of tomato confit.

Then the young pizzaiolo Alessandro Santilli anointed each order with a last-minute flourish, dolloping onion-and-guanciale jam onto the eggs, drizzling demi-glace over a tableau of fried artichokes, beef and sheep’s milk ricotta. “Frumentario” alludes to the grain laws through which ancient Rome provisioned its masses. “I wanted to offer something creative, but at populist prices,” said Santilli, who usually offers some 20 toppings a day (from 3 euros, or about $3.50, per portion).

Welcome to the new golden age of pizza romana.

For years, the round, puffy-edged Neapolitan pie dominated the Italian pizza narrative. Today, Rome is eclipsing it by reinventing its own traditions, starting with the vernacular pizza al taglio — literally, “pizza by the cut” — those long rectangular slabs or oblongs hacked to order and sold by weight.

Pizza romana originated in bread bakeries as a humble snack, served bianca (plain) or red with tomato sauce, said Pierluigi Roscioli, the third-generation baker behind Antico Forno Roscioli, and part of the family that’s given us the celebrated Salumeria Roscioli.

In the 1960s and ’70s, immigrants from Abruzzo, he said, brought their pizza in teglia (pizza in an iron pan) to the Italian capital, and the two lineages merged.

Roscioli went on to transform pizza bianca into Rome’s most coveted carb unit, with long fermentations of dough and fanatical attention to detail.

In 2003, the star pizzaiolo Gabriele Bonci sparked his own movement when he opened Pizzarium with thick sourdough crusts and toppings like vanilla-scented potatoes.

Now a “Roman pizza 3.0” generation is shaking things up.

And so, during a recent stay in Rome, I succumbed to a delicious carb-on-carb overload in pursuit of the city’s most exciting pizza developments.

“Today, Rome’s best pizza al taglio isn’t just about a beautiful counter display,” said Sara Bonamini, the co-founder of Tulipane bakery and the former editor of Gambero Rosso’s Pizzerie d’Italia guide. “It’s about taking something simple and making it with tremendous care, so that every piece carries a story, a heritage.”

She could have been describing the work of Francesco Arnesano of Lievito.

The 31-year-old baker-pizzaiolo, with two shops in the EUR district, told me that great pizza al taglio is about coaxing the ultimate expression from just a few special ingredients.

I appreciated this wisdom while sampling his rectangles topped with white wine-braised meatballs and emerald seasonal peas, then fluffy Lazio potatoes slow-poached in butter, followed by pizza bianca filled with housemade Fassona roast beef, pickled giardiniera and citrusy mayo (from 3 euros per portion).

The secret to his deeply complex pizza crust? A cuvée of flours milled by the Sicilian grain guru Filippo Drago.

“There is soft wheat for structure,” Arnesano explained with professorial poise, “hard durum for crunch, and whole-grain spelt plus some rye for aroma and flavor.”

“Oh, and Drago’s soft wheat comes from an evolutionary population,” he added, a genetically diverse mix of varieties grown together so the plants adapt naturally to local conditions.

For those unwilling to trek to far-flung quartieri, two of the city’s most exciting addresses are found around Circo Massimo. During a June heat wave, the archaeological site was too scorching to wander. Instead, my partner and I perched on shaded stools outside tiny Ruver Teglia Frazionata, under a red-and-white banner proclaiming: LESS DRAMA MORE PIZZA.

A former Bonci disciple, Alessandro Ruver opened this spot in 2023 at age 29, quickly drawing attention with signature toppings like a ricotta-spinach raviolo reimagined as pizza, and a “Raguver” involving a soulful ragu of Chianina beef roasted for hours.

Inspired by recent visits to Istanbul, Ruver has created an Adana kebab pizza.

I marveled at cumin-scented lamb and veal scattered over roasted eggplant and green friggitelli peppers under drizzles of tangy sheep’s-milk kefir. Was it the coolest cross-cultural mash-up ever to happen to pizza? Or was that his croque madame riff with artisanal ham, organic eggs and a wickedly luscious melt of 30-month Comté cheese (from 2.5 euros per portion)?

By the other side of Circo Massimo, Fratelli Trecca is the latest venture from the brothers Manuel and Nicolo Trecastelli, whose Pantera Pizza Rustica and trattoria Trecca Roma, both in the Ostiense neighborhood, have legions of fans.

Their new pizzeria, all marble tables and AS Roma soccer memorabilia, replaced Circoletto, their natural wine bar. You can still order it here, tucked inside warm pizza bianca, an unctuous, gloriously messy bite.

“We’ve had lots of fun transplanting trattoria dishes onto pizza al taglio,” Manuel said gleefully, meaning tripe in bright tomato sauce, oniony chicken-gizzard ragu, and a faux coda alla vaccinara starring celery instead of braised oxtail (from 2.5 euros per portion).

Trecca’s crust was a small miracle of dough engineering: shatteringly crisp, almost mille-feuille-like, yet sturdy enough for the weightiest toppings. “It took years of tinkering,” Nicolo said, while I devoured a seasonal slice topped with a mélange of raw late-spring tomatoes.

If pizza al taglio is a lunchy snack, at night Romans dine on their own tonda (round) pizza.
The crust? Sottile (thin) and croccante (crispy) — adjectives utterly reviled in Naples.

Romans call this crust scrocchiarella, and they love it so much that it took some heroic maneuvers to score an impossible Saturday-night reservation at 180 Grammi, the current it pizzeria in far-flung Centocelle, a working-class quarter turned foodie enclave on Rome’s eastern edge.

Thirtysomething owner Jacopo Mercuro abandoned a legal career and opened 180 Grammi — named for the weight of a dough ball — in 2018.

Since then he’s won every accolade for his crust with deliciously singed edges that crackle, and toppings ranging from classic to iconoclastic.

We started with a witty creation involving dusky salami, buffalo mozzarella, and a spicy house sauce of honey, fermented chilies and ‘nduja. Just as I thought no carb can surprise, a pizza arrived deconstructing (gulp) ketchup, with a base of roasted tomatoes, blobs of mayo inspired by ketchup’s original ingredients — mushrooms, ginger and soy — plus smoky-paprika crumbs adding texture (pies from 9 euros).

Matilde Serao, the great turn-of-the-20th-century chronicler of Naples, described pizza as the pronto soccorso dello stomaco — the stomach’s first aid for the Neapolitan poor. I contemplated her words over a multicourse pizza degustation at Seu Pizza Illuminati, the sleek, slate-hued Trastevere spot run by the celebrity pizzaiolo Pier Daniele Seu and his wife, Valeria Zuppardo, fresh from launching a pizza bar at the luxe Bulgari Hotel in Paris.

Neither Roman-crispy nor Neapolitan-puffy, Seu’s auteurish creations — feather-light dough blistered in a wood-burning oven — ran to things like a Margherita featuring a 24-hour reduction of San Marzano tomatoes, and a slice topped with a deconstruction of carrots — Cajun-spiced carrots, carrot chips and cream (signature pies from 15 euros; degustation menu from 35 euros).

There was also a dessert pizza riff on tiramisù, along with a killer sparkling wine list, and staff discoursing on esoteric tomato varieties. Yet all around also were big Roman families devouring Margheritas and capricciosas with beer. “We’re still a neighborhood pizzeria at heart,” Seu said.

The New York Times