If Aladdin rode a flying carpet in the Middle Eastern fable from the Arabian Nights or famed Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta crossed half the globe and wrote about his adventures, an intrepid girl was transported across the kingdom of Morocco and its marvellous cities in a modern-day Moroccan tale read out to young children at the 43^rd Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), which got underway in Expo Centre Sharjah.

The storytelling session “Areej in Morocco: Besieged by beauty” was done by none other than its author and graphic designer Hind Essadi, dressed in a traditional kaftan with a Moroccan flag cape thrown over it to give the right mix of magic and enchantment.

The bilingual, Arabic-English, storybook for children titled Areej’s journey around joyful Morocco illustrated by Hind herself transported the youngsters across the enchanting kingdom of Morocco in north Africa. It was a lesson in geography and history as Areej flew on a magic umbrella from the white city of Tetouan or the White Dove where the architecture is all white in a blend of Andalusian and Moroccan traits; to Ibn Battuta’s hometown Tangier and the Cave of Hercules overlooking the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea; to Chefchaouen, the ancient city with blue walls; to the city of knowledge called Fez and Al Qarawiyyin Mosque; to Maknasat Al Zaytoun; to Ifrane, the Switzerland of Morocco;  to Sale, fortified by ancient walls and separated from the capital Rabat by the Abou Regreg valley; to the Hassan Minaret in Rabat; and then to the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca.

There are more cities that the umbrella took Areej, with a mix of Moroccan and French and Spanish architecture from the nation’s colonial days.

The children listened carefully and responded, and also told her the countries they came from – Syria, Iraq, Palestine, France and so on. And they went home wiser and better informed about a country and culture that is the Guest of Honour at SIBF 2024.

The 12-day cultural extravaganza, organised by the Sharjah Book Authority, is themed ‘It Starts with a Book’, and has in store 1,357 activities for children and adults alike. It will come to a close on November 17 after playing host to 2,520 publishers from 112 countries.