Dubai: British historian and novelist Robert Irwin believes Dubai's image worldwide will improve further if the city continues to host events such as the inaugural Emirates Airline International Festival of Literature (EAIFL).
Irwin, who specialises in Arabic literature, visited the Repton School in Nad Al Sheba on Sunday as part of the festival's Education Day, which brought the event to a close.
He said: "Things like the EAIFL will definitely help the image of Dubai abroad. There are certainly many people in this region who are interested in Middle Eastern literature and culture."
Irwin, who has been fascinated with Arabic culture from a young age, reminisced yesterday about watching a pantomime version of Aladdin at his father's school. He decided to read history at Oxford University because he was interested in the Crusades before spending time living in Algeria. He was also a lecturer in Medieval History at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland before becoming a novelist.
His debut novel The Arabian Nightmare was set in medieval Cairo It is due to be relaunched soon on its 25th anniversary.
Irwin is a Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies and a consulting editor of The Times Literary Supplement.Irwin saidit was "a bit weird" coming back to Dubai since he last visited in 1969.
"On my first visit to Dubai I came across in a dhow with some friends and we berthed at the Creek. There is nothing here today that I remember from that visit; the whole city simply consisted of traders and tiny whitewashed houses. People knew the Gulf was going to be rich, but I do not think any of us quite anticipated it becoming what it is today," he said.
Irwin, who gave an illustrated talk at the EAIFL on Friday about his latest book Everything You've Ever Wanted To Know About The Camel...And Plenty That You Didn't! also said books face a struggle as many youngsters now use online sources.
"I'm a firm believer that children should start reading from as young an age as possible. I realise many youngsters today use websites such as Google to get their information but they should still know their way around books as they stimulate imagination in more ways than the internet ever can," he said.
