Istanbul Arabic Book Fair haven for students, bookworms

Details about International Istanbul Arabic Book Fair, which will be held for the fifth time this year, have been announced. The fair's global communication partner is Anadolu Agency (AA), and it will be organized at the Eurasia Show and Art Center from Sept. 28 and Oct. 6 with the contribution of the Turkish Press and Publishers Copyright & Licensing Society (TBYM) and the International Arabic Book Publishers Foundation.

Emrah Kısakürek, the Board Chairman of TBYM, spoke about the fair, whose slogan this year is "Book Unites Us." He said that more than 200 publishers from 15 countries will participate in the fair, and they expect 100,000 visitors.

Noting that the target group for the fair is the Arabic-speaking population that comes to Istanbul for visits and business, Kısakürek said, "The readers who live in Istanbul, speak Arabic and need Arabic books are our target audience. Last year, we organized the fair in the same place and hosted 63,000 visitors. Seeing our deficiencies, we set our target for this year as 100,000. We will organize shuttle bus services from Yenikapı to the fairground for easy transportation."

Kısakürek remarked that they received support from various benefactors so that university students with financial difficulties can have books and continued, "We will give coupons to these students for free books."

Making Istanbul a meeting point

TBYM President Mustafa Doğru emphasized that the fair draws the attention of the Arabic world and publishers of Arabic publications. "We aim to make Istanbul a meeting point of Istanbul's international publishers. In this sense, the International Istanbul Arabic Book Fair is an important platform that brings together Turkish publishers."

International Arabic Book Publishers Foundation Deputy Chairman Ammar Abdülhalik expressed his thanks to TBYM for organizing such a fair. He said, "The fair will be a good cultural activity in which publishers from different countries will come together in the common ground of Arabic books."

Explaining that they aim to have many university students attend the fair, Abdülhalik reported, "It is a book fair which attracts the attention of students in the departments of Arabic Language and Literature, Arabic Translation and Interpretation and especially Arabic Teaching along with the students dealing with Arabic and learning Arabic in language courses in Istanbul. In addition to the fair, there will be two different event areas for children and youth. In these event areas, we will establish language corners for both Arabic and Turkish. In the language corner, event hours for students learning Arabic and Turkish will be coordinated by volunteer teachers who are experts in their fields." Within the scope of the 5th International Istanbul Arabic Book Fair, about 70 different cultural events will be held for children and young people such as panels and interviews, with the participation of leading names of Arabic literature.

The fair will host visitors from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. until Oct. 6 free of charge. Seminars, autograph sessions, painting shows, photography and sculpture exhibitions will be held at the fair as well as activities such as poetry and music concerts.