A lot of buzz has been surrounding the big move of the American University in Cairo (AUC) to its new state of the art campus in the Fifth District.
Twelve years in the making, the new campus can accommodate a significantly higher number of students and faculty with beautiful courtyards, more parking space as well as bigger and better sporting facilities, labs, cl assrooms – the list goes on. The new AUC bookstore tops that list.
Officially opening its doors
to the public on Aug. 30, the new and improved bookstore is certainly worth checking out, whether you are an academic or just an avid reader.
Buses left AUC’s downtown campus at 6 pm, arriving around 20 minutes early to the opening at 7. Crossing the palm-lined courtyard, guests walked through the entrance decorated with lit candles as classic oldies played in the background.
AUC Press Director Mark Linz and AUC staff immediately set to making guests feel at home. Governor of Helwan Dr Hazem El-Koudi was present at the opening, which was attended by several hundreds. Indian Ambassador Shri A. Gopinathan and the Ambassador of Ivory Coast Konan N’Guessan Marcel were also among the prominent diplomats, joined by authors, scholars, journalists and AUC faculty and alumni.
According to AUC Bookstore Manager Dax Benett Roque, the new bookstore features over 20,000 titles. Along with textbooks, some of the current attractions include great reads on Egypt such as “Desert Songs, “Cairo Street Stories as well as the entire Naguib Mahfouz collection.
A multitude of genres awaits book buyers: science fiction, romance, modern fiction, classics and children’s books. In short, there is something for all tastes and ages. The bookstore boasts one of the best Middle East Interest sections in the region and one of the top Ancient Egypt sections in the world. Stationary needs are not overlooked with plenty of notebooks and school supplies for sale.
The first things visitors see are the latest publications and coffee-table books. One far side of the bookstore houses textbooks, while the other side has everything from romance novels and bestsellers to history books and Nobel Prize winners’. Between the two sections are young fiction and business books.
Roque expects the bookstore’s new location to enhance the experience of the original bookstore, which remains open for business on AUC’s campus downtown.
Located in the AUC park square in the visitor’s section of the university’s new campus, the bookstore is next to Cilantro coffee shop. The café conveniently provides chairs and tables in front of the bookstore for readers to enjoy a reading over a cup of coffee or snack. The same was the case at the bookstore’s opening, where the catering was provided by Cilantro.
The bookstore itself is “nice and spacious, as Roque remarks. Built in a style that fuses traditional and modern Egyptian architecture, its high ceilings and large windows add depth to the space.
Despite the presence of two to three buses full of attendees, there was ample space for everyone to peruse at their own leisure. The result is a calm atmosphere conducive to lingering, pondering and book buying.
The AUC bookstore is open Sunday to Thursday, 9 am-6 pm. During Ramadan, the bookstore is open from 9 am to 2 pm.
