Saturday 07 / November / 2026
Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman's pavilion, participating as Guest of Honour at the 45th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair 2026, embodies a cultural and knowledge experience inspired by Omani maritime history, highlighting the civilisational extension of the Sultanate of Oman and its contributions to communication with various civilisations.
The architectural design of the pavilion derives its identity from the Omani marine environment, with the sail dominating the visual scene in a symbolic reference evoking the Omani ships that sailed across seas and oceans, and contributed to building bridges of commercial, cultural and civilisational communication with the peoples of the world.
The pavilion takes the visitor on a journey through a group of exhibitions and corners documenting aspects of Omani history, and highlighting the richness of Omani intellectual and literary production and its scientific and cultural heritage.
The pavilion includes an exhibition of rare Omani manuscripts, including the manuscript "Al-Muharaba" on the jurisprudence of Sharia politics, the manuscript "Ma'dan Al-Asrar" on marine science, inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2017, and the Mushaf of "The Seven Readings" in the handwriting of Sheikh Abdullah bin Bashir Al-Hadhrami.
The exhibition also includes the manuscript "Majmu' fi Al-Siyar wa Al-Jawabat", whose copying dates back to 531 AH, a collection on medicine by the Omani physician Rashid bin Amira, and the book "Tanzih Al-Absar", which documents the journey of Sultan Barghash bin Said from Zanzibar to Britain.
The pavilion presents the exhibition "Civilisational Communication Across Time", and the exhibition of Omani historical figures influential globally, while the virtual reality corner allows visitors to learn about elements of Omani culture using modern digital technologies.
The exhibition highlights the aesthetics of Arabic calligraphy through six paintings by Omani artists who drew inspiration from the inscriptions and decorations contained in the manuscripts, and the Omani publications corner, which provides an opportunity to learn about intellectual and literary production, publishing houses and Omani authors.
The pavilion also contains the exhibition "Omani Faces and Costumes" to introduce the diversity of traditional costumes and their social and cultural connotations, and a tourism promotion corner showcasing the historical and natural assets of the Sultanate, in addition to the "Omani Majlis" which welcomes visitors with authentic Omani hospitality.
25 entities from government institutions and civil society and private institutions are participating in the pavilion, alongside 17 Omani publishing houses, in a presence that reflects the integration of national efforts to highlight Omani cultural achievement and enhance the presence of the Omani book in international forums.
The Ministry of Information's participation aims to introduce visitors to digital content and media publications, through presenting the "Ain" platform for electronic and audio books, while the "Cultural Channel" covers the events and accompanying cultural activities to convey the Omani cultural movement to the public.
The Cultural Channel is also present as part of the participation, by covering the events and cultural activities accompanying the fair, and highlighting the Omani cultural movement and conveying it to the public, while the External Media corner highlights the Ministry's efforts in introducing the Sultanate of Oman and its civilisational and cultural assets, and enhancing its media presence at the international level.
The Ministry's participation also includes displaying a collection of media and introductory publications and releases that document aspects of the history of the Sultanate of Oman and its achievements, and contribute to conveying its cultural and civilisational image to various segments of the public.
Oman's participation is accompanied by a cultural programme including 28 diverse events with the participation of a group of intellectuals, researchers and writers, including intellectual and historical seminars, dialogue sessions, poetry evenings and workshops for children and youth, dealing with Omani heritage, literature and cultural identity.
