Egypt is the first Arab country to be guest of honour at the T�YAP International Istanbul Book Fair, reports Nevine El-Aref The Nile Folkloric Music and Dance company's performance of traditional Egyptian oriental folk music at the T�YAP Convention Centre in Istanbul kicked off the official inauguration of the 30th T�YAP International Istanbul Book Fair on 12 November. The fair, which has has drawn more than 600 publishers and NGOs from all over the globe, runs until 20 November. Visitors from other parts of Turkey also have also been coming to browse the titles that have hit the bookstores in 2011, as well as to see some of their favorite authors at the annual fair. On Saturday, a day of "Hope: Dream or Reality?" the Egyptian Culture Minister, Emad Abu Ghazi, accompanied by his Turkish counterpart , the Minister for Culture and Tourism Ertu--rul Gènay ,officially opened the fair. Alongside them were the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ekmeledddin Ihsano--lu, and the director of the General Egyptian Book Organization, Ahmed Megahed. This year Egypt is the fair's guest of honour, an invitation bestowed to emphasise the fair 's international scope and to boost the bilateral cooperation of both countries in all fields. At the gala opening ceremony, Abu Ghazi began his speech with verses from the early 20th- century poet Ahmed Shawqi before going on to explain that Egypt had travelled to Turkey from the Nile with enormous goodwill to present its culture, art, books and literature. "Today, when we are taking part in this fair, we feel how vital are the deep and strong bonds that that have united both our countries over the span of history," Abu Ghazi said. He pointed out that both countries shared a long political relationship that had swung through several phases. In Egypt, he continued there were several Turkish cultural features and components, and vice versa. Social interaction had also played a major role in consolidating ties through the last five centuries. "We began the move to renaissance and building the modern state in both countries in syncronisation at the beginning of the 19th century, and at the same time within the context of interaction and confrontation with the West," he added. At the close of his speech, Abu Ghazi highlighted the importance of sprucing up the translation of books between Turkish and Arabic in order better to understand the culture of both counties. Megahed told Al-Ahram Weekly that 22 Egyptian publishers were attending the fair, nine of them in private booths and 13 with books and titles. The GEBO alone has brought more than 1,500 titles, in addition to those of other publishers. He said that this was bigger than Egypt's participation in the Turin, London and Geneva international book fairs. Seven Egyptian films are to be screened with Turkish and English subtitling. These are The Yacoubian Building directed by Marawan Hamid; Kit-Kat and Rassael Al-Bahr (Sea Messages) by Dawood Abdel-Sid; Al-Ard (the Land) by the late Youssef Shahine; Bedaya wa Nehaya (A Beginning and An End) by the late Salah Abu Seif and Ehki ya Shahrazad (Relates Sharazad) by Youssry Nasrallah. On the fringe of the fair, an exhibition of photographs entitled "History Records" shows a collection of 100 images reflecting the different stages of the Egyptian revolution taken over the time its duration. Megahed said Egypt was the first ever Arab country to be the TIBF's guest of honour. "It is all due to the January Revolution, which was the main reason that the Turks sent Egypt this invitation; and it is also enhancing political and cultural relations between the two countries." Seminars and lectures held at the fair include sessions with Egyptian writers Gamal El-Ghitani, Ibrahim Aslan and Mohamed Salmawi and the poet Ahmed El-Shahaw. A panel discussion was held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Nobel Laureate in Literature, Naguib Mahfouz. Gènay said that inviting Egypt to be the TIBF's guest of honour was an appropriate choice. "As the country that gave the Arab Spring its momentum, Egypt stands as one of the most fitting choices as guest in a year when the fair calls for bookworms to reflect on 'hope'." He also stressed the establishment of a translation programme aimed at translating books, films and art in both languages, which he described as a great bond of approach between the two communities. Egypt 's Ambassador to Turkey, Abdel-Rahman Salaheldin, expressed his hope that the Egyptian role in the book fair would help increase cultural cooperation, and referred to the growing interest on both sides to learn about the culture of the other. "Language has been a major barrier, and we are hoping to give a boost to translation from Turkish into Arabic and vice versa to attain better understanding between the people of these two intertwined cultures," Salaheldin said. "Reading each others' books and enjoying each others' movies and music would make us further recognise how close the Egyptians and Turks are." The writer of honour at this year's fair is author and critic Ferit Edgè. A total of 610 publishers, copyright agencies and non- governmental organisations from 35 countries are taking part. International authors attending the fair include Spain's Eduardo Mendoza, Egypt's Gamal El-Ghitani, Germany's Uwe Timm, and Mathias Enard and David Boratav from France. Bestselling novelists Tess Gerritsen and Simon Beckett were also in Istanbul to sign their books.
