The number of books translated by the whole Arab world over the past 1000 years is equivalent to the number of books translated by Spain in one year..

Little in the news can nowadays surprise me. Yet, this did.

Article in the Chronicle

Source,'ARAB HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2003'

"The aggregate total of translated books from the Al-Ma'moon era to the present day amounts to 10,000 books - equivalent to what Spain translates in a single year (Shawki Galal, in Arabic, 1999, 87)3.

I was immediately reminded of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche's remarks about "camel dust"...