Turkish leader, Minister al-Kuwari open Book Fair

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, accompanied by his wife Emine, and Qatar’s Minister of Culture Arts and Heritage HE Dr Hamad bin Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari inaugurates the 26th Doha International Book Fair yesterday. PICTURE: Shaji Kayamkulam

By Ayman Adly/Staff Reporter

The 26th Doha International Book Fair was inaugurated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Minister of Culture Arts and Heritage HE Dr Hamad bin Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari yesterday at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC).
President Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine, later toured the exhibition along with HE Dr al-Kuwari, other dignitaries and officials.
The book fair, which concludes on December 12, is held under the patronage of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Turkey, the guest of honour this year, has a special corner at the fair with various features distinctive of the Turkish culture and heritage. The Turkish Culture Centre is organising a variety of activities to introduce Turkish literature to visitors.
 Children have a special corner provided by the Childhood Cultural Centre, where they can read, listen to stories, paint and colour. A considerable number of the displayed books target children and education. There are also a number of stalls selling electronic gadgets and accessories.
The majority of titles on display are in Arabic. There are also stalls displaying books in English and French. In addition to the new titles and releases, the book fair has a number of stalls that display for sale old manuscripts and traditional artifacts.
This year’s edition enjoys the participation of 427 publishing houses from 26 countries, besides 75 other publishers. More than 18,000 titles on various fields of knowledge and culture are on display. On the sidelines of the fair, there will be a number of culture forums and activities.
The fair is open for the public daily from 9am to 1pm and 4pm to 10pm, except for Fridays, when the timing is from 4pm to 10pm only. There are free bus services for visitors from the QNCC parking to the venue of the fair.