Saudi Arabia: Annual Jeddah Book Fair opens
1,000 local and foreign publishing houses from 22 countries join the fair
Cairo: A prestigious annual Saudi book fair will start today (Thursday) in the port city of Jeddah and its activities will celebrate, among other things, camels closely associated with the kingdom's heritage.
Running through December 21, the latest edition of the Jeddah Book Fair is drawing the participation of 1,000 local and foreign publishing houses from 22 countries. They will be spread over more than 450 pavilions.
"The Jeddah Fair comes as an extension of the series of book fairs in the kingdom, giving a clear picture of what the cultural situation has reached in Saudi Arabia and the publishing industry, and that the Saudi market has become attractive to Arab and international publishing houses," said Mohammed Alwan, the head of the Saudi Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, the organiser of the event.
This year's edition will feature more than 100 diverse activities, including lectures, seminars and workshops, given by more than 170 specialists from inside and outside the kingdom.
Moreover, a special area is designated for children with programmes covering writing, theatre, the animation industry and interactive activities.
In celebration of the current "Year of the Camel", the fair has set up a pavilion highlighting the historical and cultural value of this animal. The pavilion also seeks to enrich visitors' knowledge through murals carrying their names, the places where camels are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and the Prophet’s Sunnah traditions, as well as related Arabic poems.
The Jeddah Book Fair is the third such event held this year in Saudi Arabia after the Riyadh International Book Fair, which wrapped up in October, and the Medina Fair, which ended in August.