Growing in popularity

A POPULAR comprehensive guide book bursting with suggestions of things to do in Bahrain has been digitally re-mastered into an interactive eBook, writes Stan Szecowka.

Thousands of copies of Streetsmart Bahrain, which received royal approval, have been snatched up and the second edition was launched in April, featuring 23 new restaurant listings by Bahrain foodie and writer Faezeh Faiz Fakhroo (aka @hungryfifi), as well as the National Theatre.

Author Melissa van Maasdyk says that ever since launching the guide, she’s had enquiries about a digital version. “I must admit to having been resistant to eBooks in general until recently as I love having a real book in my hands and turning pages,” she said, “but this has made a bit of a convert of me. So, while I still believe that the hardcopy has its place as an attractive, tangible entity that ultimately becomes a well-thumbed Bahrain souvenir, the eBook definitely takes exploration to a whole new level, via cool interactive features not possible on paper.”

Streetsmart Bahrain has now sold 8,500 copies, some taken by the Ministry of Culture for its use in tourism promotional activities, others from conference organisers and the rest from sales in bookshops, as well as on Amazon, where it was in the Number One spot for months.

Melissa, the former editor of Time Out Bahrain, lived in Bahrain for more than six years, immigrated to Canada last year but returned to the Gulf region with her husband and is now settled in Abu Dhabi.

IT consultant and app creator Andrew Wilcox of Everage Consulting was called on to work on the digital conversion. She said: “It has some great features and within it he could create some interactive map apps which are probably my best part of this version.
 
“There are lots of other really user-friendly features that enhance the whole process of exploration, which have even made a convert of paper-book-loving me.

“All this interactivity means the actual reading of the book is an adventure, before you’ve even got onto the street to explore Bahrain.

“Doing the first book was a bit of a leap of faith as I had no idea how it would be received or how I would distribute it. I just knew that there was a gap for a guide that gave the inside track on what to do in Bahrain and all its hidden gems because of the six countries I’ve lived in, apart from home in South Africa, it really was the place I was happiest as I found so many interesting things to do and great people to do them with.

“When I wrote the book, I had tourists and expats in mind as my main target audience, but what was most surprising was that a lot of Bahrainis have bought it and really liked it because they say they’ve discovered things they didn’t know - I think the most popular chapter is the one on street food.”

She was also thrilled to receive praise from His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier.

Melissa explained: “I received a letter from HRH the Crown Prince after presenting the book to him at his majlis, in which he described it as ‘a guide that goes beyond the usual sights and attractions and digs deep into the culture and soul of Bahrain’, which, he said, should be ‘essential reading for locals and visitors alike’.”

* The electronic version will be on sale this month exclusively in the iBooks store at $9.99 (BD3.8) and can be purchased and downloaded directly onto iPads and other tablets. The 2013 hardcopy edition priced BD7.900 is also on at Jashanmal, Virgin and Words Bookstore Cafe, and, from December 15, will be available in the revamped National Museum gift shop, along with posters of the Streetsmart map of Bahrain. Images in the book were taken by one of the kingdom’s top photographers, Phil Weymouth.