DUBAI—Christie's International will auction as much as $9 million of contemporary art at its third Dubai sale on October 31, Bloomberg reports. Up for bid are $7 million of Iranian and Arab works, including lots by Egyptian artist Ahmed Moustapha. Christie’s held its first Dubai sale in May 2006 and its second in February 2007. Dubai has become the center of the Middle East's art market (the region's first international art fair, the DIFC Gulf Art Fair, was held here in March) and a regional base for Christie's. "This third sale will help to firmly establish a strong and vibrant secondary market for modern Arab and Iranian art in the Middle East," says Jussi Pylkkanen, Christie's Middle East president. Sotheby's appointed a manager for the Middle East but has not yet announced its first auction in the region. Bonhams will hold it first Middle East auction in November.