CAIRO: The Cairo International Book Fair is poised to receive a record-breaking number of visitors, with more than 3.5 million people traveling to the event since it opened last month.
The fair, which launched on Jan. 25 and runs until Feb. 6, serves as one of the country’s premier cultural events, brings art, literature and poetry to the Egyptian capital.
Nevine El-Kilany, Egypt’s minister of culture, said: “This year’s exhibition was distinguished by many exceptional scenes and was able to offer a diverse cultural feast that combined culture, art, literature, poetry and other diverse paths.”
She added: “We count on the public’s awareness and their keenness to make the most of this exceptional annual event. We hope that the exhibition will conclude with a number of visitors exceeding last year’s total of 3.7 million over all days of the exhibition.”
Ahmed Bahy El-Din, president of the Egyptian General Book Authority at the Ministry of Culture, told Arab News: “The book fair witnessed an unprecedented public turnout and success that adds to the exhibition’s successful journey over the past years.
“The audience proved that culture is a priority, which was reflected in the significant public interest not only in acquiring books, but also in the rich and diverse cultural program. This program hosted a selection of literary and cultural icons from Egypt and around the world.”
The fair, held under the theme “We Create Knowledge ... We Preserve the Word,” invited Norway as the guest of honor, literary critic Rehab El-Hawary said.
Two prominent figures — Egyptologist Dr. Selim Hassan and writer Yacoub El-Sharouni — were chosen to represent the event and its accompanying children’s fair, he added.
“It is customary to have a large participation of Egyptian, Arab and foreign publishing houses, and the new session of the fair is held on an area of 80,000 square meters, with a total area including five exhibition halls, involving 1,200 publishers from 70 countries from around the world, with the number of exhibitors this year reaching 5,250,” El-Hawary said.
“Interestingly, among the bestselling books at the book fair so far is ‘Children Ask the Imam’ by Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, which contains many questions that young children ponder and that adults sometimes cannot answer due to the complexity of these questions.
“Some think these questions are inappropriate for the faith, so they ask the children to stop asking them. This book, specifically among Al-Azhar’s publications, has seen a significant interest from visitors, families and parents.”
