Apparently I was still used to 2009 I didn’t notice it on the old Riyadh Bookfair web site! They have finally update the page with a new design, tolerable design and actual content.
Riyadh Bookfair Schedule & location
It will be held at the new REC building (Gowalla location).
As for the schedule, the fair will be open from 10am to 10pm except Friday which opens at 4pm:
Wednesday 3/3/2010 For All
Thursday 4/3/2010 For All
Friday 5/3/2010 From 4pm to 10pm For Men
Saturday 6/3/2010 For All
Sunday For All but from 4pm to 10pm For Men
Monday For All
Tuesday For All but from 4pm to 10pm for Men
Wednesday For All
Thursday For All
Friday 12/3/2010 From 4pm to 10pm for Men
“For All” means “family” “men & woman”, ya know. And yes, no women only days.
Update: Forget everything mentioned here, the fair site was from last year’s. Making a new post about this year’s one.
Riyadh Book Fair always have a new domain every year, before it was www.riyadhbookfair.org but they LOST THE DOMAIN?! seriously? How hard it is to renew a domain name? It’s not hard!
The new domain is riyadhbookfair.org.sa but the website is horrible and hard to navigate and.
What I find disappointing is the lack of technical publications, the only publication company listed (list is in Arabic only, nothing on English site) with a technical name is “ثري دي كمبيوتر سنتر ” no need to translate, it is pronounced “3D Computer Center”!
I was expecting more technical books so this is a major disappointment (yet again). The US publishers listed are “school zone publishing” (kids books) “INTERNATIONAL TRADE LINKS” (I couldn’t even find a website for them) and “مركز مصادر المعلومات” wait wha?
Riyadh Book Fair starts tomorrow, I could go if I have any time to waste … if you spot some tech books (computers mainly, but if you find something interesting please post a comment).
Here’s the Riyadh International Book Fair 2010 Schedule listed here (apparently only men with Afros are allowed, and no women only days):
Tuesday 6/3/1430 3/3/2009 Inauguration ceremony
Wed 7/3/1430 4/3/2009 for all
Thurs 8/3/1430 5/3/2009 for all
Fri. 9/3/1430 6/3/2009 from 16:00 to 22:00 fro men
Sat. 10/3/1430 7/3/2009 for all
Sun. 11/3/1430 8/3/2009 for all, From 16:00 to 22:00 fro men
Mon. 12/3/1430 9/3/2009 for all
Tues. 13/3/1430 10/3/2009 for all, from 16:00 to 22:00 fro men
Wed 14/3/1430 11/3/2009 for all
Thurs 15/3/1430 12/3/2009 for all
Fri 16/3/1430 13/3/2009 From 16:00 to 22:00 fro men
Last year’s Sandstorm was a big one, and apparently there is another one heading to Riyadh as we speak!
According to Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME)’s early warning page (there is no English warning page, so you might as well go out?): A sandstorm is approaching Riyadh and Horizontal visibility of 1 meter!
تحذير رقم(2)من الساعة(10:30)صباحا الى الساعة(12:30)ظهرا ليوم الاثنين الموافق 15 ربيع الاول 1431ه شبه انعدام فى مدى الرؤية الافقية حيث تتدنى الرؤية الافقية الى اقل من (1)م بسبب العوالق الترابية على المناطق((الشرقية – الرياض – القصيم ))….لذلك يجب اخذ الحيطة والحذر.
Schools have already started sending students home. Hope everyone will be safe.
The latest Tweetup Riyadh was held in Caribou Coffee in Riyadh. While the coffee was excellent the seating wasn’t the best. So if you have a suggestion for a meetup location then make sure to post a twitter reply to @tweetupriyadh with your suggestion.
Remember that the Tweetups are now held on the first Monday of each month instead of Thursday.
One important note that Fahad reminded me on Twitter: ” اذا بغيتوا تشترون من تي جشفندر لاتاخذون كلام البائع كله اعرف وش تبي قبل واذا نويت تجرب جرب كميات قليلة”. If you wanted to buy from Tee Gschwendner do not believe whatever the salesman said, you should know what you want and if you want to try something just buy in small quantities (100g, 50g). Yes, I agree with Fahad completely.
Java Time (Java Time, used to be Coffee Time and Y Cafe) started as a small coffee shop by the owners of Softland computer hardware store. This is supposed to be their homepage but there’s nothing.
It used to be a decent coffee shop but lately they opened a branch in every street, the coffee quality changed dramatically and bad seating.
Black drip coffee taste old, espresso feels burnt, their “popular” drinks are just covered in sugar and sweeteners so nothing to taste. Apparently you need to get used to it to like their coffee, no thanks.
The seating in every branch is extremely congested, there is no open space and if the branch is full then prepare for the bad smells. Most coffee shops keep an open breathing space between seating areas to make it a comfortable place. Don’t bother conversations with your friends because everyone is talking, it’s louder than a noisy classroom. Did I mention the smell? At least they don’t allow smoking.
Internet: their Internet policies changed so much: pay 10SR for 1 hour or 50MB bandwidth, free for 20 minutes using a card that you ask for each time and apparently they made a deal with STC to provide free Internet. Please note that it’s an open access point so take caution.
In the end, it’s definitely not a recommended place by me. Unless you want to order a french latte (loaded with sweeteners) and other similar drinks. If you want real black coffee or espresso that’s good then you are at the wrong place. It’s a shame really since it’s one of the 2 local coffee shop brands (the other is Dr Cafe) and both offer horrible coffee.
The error message is “This account has been suspended. Either the domain has been overused, or the reseller ran out of resources.“. Ironic to see Traffic police being suspended, ha ha.
Apparently the nserver was now changed from ns1.sites4arab.net to ns1.nour.net.sa. Nournet’s website is also comforting copyright 2006! We seriously need better local web hosting providers!
The second Sony PlayStation Gamers Day in Saudi Arabia will be held between October 21st to 23rd in Riyadh. You can register to attend the event here. Via True Gaming.
You can find more info from the first PlayStation Gamers Day at this page.
As for the schedule, the fair will be open from 10am to 10pm except Friday which opens at 4pm:
واذا نويت تجرب جرب كميات قليلة”. If you wanted to buy from Tee Gschwendner do not believe whatever the salesman said, you should know what you want and if you want to try something just buy in small quantities (100g, 50g). Yes, I agree with Fahad completely.
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