Islamic trade fair

Products from 57 nations are on display at the Expo Centre in Sharjah


Food products, household appliances, sports equipment, cosmetics, furniture, and a variety of other items are available at the 9th Islamic Trade Fair which is being held at the Expo Centre in Sharjah. Today is the last day of the event, which will stay open to the public from 10.00am to 1.00pm, and from 4.00pm to 9.00pm.

The exhibition has 57 participating countries, and with over 600 stalls, you need at least two hours to view the exhibits. Practically every stall has at least one product of general interest.

For the knick-knack collectors, there are many items of interest ranging from African handicrafts to ashtrays created from processed seashells. Or if you want something more unique, there are interesting fragrant dried roots available at the Indonesian stall.

The stall also has a host of other intriguing commodities on sale, including exquisite calligraphy of verses from the Holy Quran painted on canvas, etched in lava stone, and carved on wood. The letters on each piece have been beautifully executed, whatever the medium. Hand-painted silk and scarves in numerous colours adorn one wall, while interesting transparent keyrings with preserved insects of striking colours are also displayed. "These, and the paintings are the most fast selling items," said Sonny Ismono, co-owner of the stall. He said while the paintings sell for more than Dh100, the keyrings cost just Dh10 each – great gifts that are cost effective.

If you suddenly hear a tinkling African melody wafting your way while you continue around the exhibition, you'd have found your way to the stalls from Senegal. One of these stalls features a musician who regularly taps out melodies on a traditional xylophone surrounded by hundreds of snake and crocodile skin handbags. A seven-foot-long skin of a python cascades from the top of the stall to the floor. The handbags, briefcases and belts are reasonably priced.

From there I moved to the Nigerian stall, which featured some beautifully executed paintings of African life.

The paintings on velvet by an artist, displaying only shades of midnight blue and black, were thought provoking, much more than just pretty images.

Ethnic paintings with splashes of red, blue, green and yellow of women carrying water and babies were the highli-ght.

The stall also exhibited other artefacts and knick-knacks made from palm fronds.

"These paintings are very deep, and I would love to buy one myself, but it's tough deciding on which one," said Geetha, a customer, as she inspected the paintings.

Similarly the Kuwait section too has many attractive features. The one that caught my immediate attention was the one selling miniature replicas of kitchen items made of plastic, and edible items made of porcelain.

The tiny kitchen shelves display an amazing array of detailed goods. A half open bag of sugar, little jars of spices just a few centimetres in height, a bottle of vinegar and other such tiny artefacts. In the porcelain section, there are plates of kebabs and hummous. I had to prod the plate of half ripe dates twice to make sure that they were not for real.

While most of the stalls exhibit consumer goods, there are also industrial goods and service products such as Islamic banks present.