Reading ‘maybe a dying habit’ but Zarqa street vendors still have loyal customers

ZARQA — “Although this is the age of the Internet, there are people who still prefer to buy real books for their touch and smell”, says Anwar Shalabi, a 42-year-old bookseller in Zarqa. 

Shalabi sells books on a busy sidewalk that connects Zarqa’s bus terminals, where commuters travelling between governorates can also buy mobile phones, kitchen utensils, shoes and even glasses from various street vendors. 

Shalabi’s stock comes from friends and societies in Amman and Zarqa with large book collections, and he sells the books cheap, for prices between JD0.25 to JD1 each.  

His collection includes novels in Arabic and English, and sometimes in French and German, and the books cover a range of subjects from languages, science and engineering to culture and religion.

“I have been selling books for 10 years,” Shalabi told The Jordan Times on Saturday, adding that when he finds “rare and special” books, he asks his brother to promote them on social media websites rather than sell them on the sidewalk. 

Shalabi lines his patch of the sidewalk with cardboard and spreads out his books at around 1pm, working until 7pm.

He said that in winter, customers who know him personally come to a warehouse where he keeps a selection of books for sale, because it is hard to keep his books dry on the sidewalk. 

This also allows him to avoid municipal inspectors, who sometimes confiscate his stock because he does not have a licensed shop. 

Municipal monitors often give Shalabi and other street vendors a hard time, the bookseller says, but renting a shop is not an option, with rents costing between JD600 and JD700 a month.  

Shalabi says he wishes the municipality would provide him with a booth to rent at an affordable price, so he could work in peace. 

The vendor has customers of all ages and professions, although sales are down a little in Ramadan, he adds. 

He is one of three booksellers on the sidewalk, whose prices are similar but their collections are varied, so they do not compete with each other, according to Shalabi. 

Alaa Al Deen Zaki, a PhD holder who teaches Abbasid literature and Islamic culture at Al Zaytoonah University of Jordan, says he regularly visits the booksellers to see what new stock they have, noting that he is interested in culture, history, philosophy and religion books.

Zaki said Shalabi brings new and used books, but the maximum price is never more than JD1, which he describes as “amazing”.

He urged Zarqa Municipality to provide Shalabi and other vendors with a proper place to sell their books, adding that they “serve the community, the culture, the students”.

Kathem Nasser, a 63-year old book seller, says he used to teach Arabic and history in private schools, but he now sells books as a hobby. 

Nasser has been selling books on the sidewalk for five years, and says that while the number of people who read is decreasing, he still has customers. 

His books sell for between JD0.5 and JD2, and he usually works from around 1:30pm to 7pm everyday except Fridays, but in Ramadan he goes home before sunset for the fast-breaking iftar meal.