What would you write down about a voyage so that another captain could follow you? That question gives children a way into the House of Wisdom stand at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Start with an open manuscript: where does the writer use words, where does a diagram take over, and what would be hard to explain using either one alone?
House of Wisdom and the Oman Across Ages Museum have brought together material about Ahmad ibn Majid, the 15th-century navigator from Julfar, and the wider tradition of al-rahmaniyyat, records kept by Arab sea captains. A short film accompanies the display. Alongside the story of one navigator, the notebooks offer something more ordinary and just as interesting: a way for knowledge gathered at sea to reach someone who had never made the journey.
Two stops with different plans
The manuscripts are at Expo Centre Sharjah in Al Khan through Sunday 15 November. Use the book fair’s visitor page to plan that trip.
The clay map workshop takes place separately at House of Wisdom in Al Juraina 1. Its programme describes Map of the Great Voyage for Sunday 15 November, from 4:30 to 6pm, for ages five to twelve. Children shape islands, mountains and sea routes into a three-dimensional map. The listing shows AED 50 for an individual and has a conflicting date range in its summary, so confirm the Sunday session and remaining places directly before heading over. House of Wisdom workshop details.
Photographs supplied by House of Wisdom. Lead image: a manuscript detail from the maritime display.
