IN front of shelves carrying hundreds of titles, Ahmed Hosni found himself in extreme perplexity. The 21-year-old engineering student could not determine which of the hundreds of books, arrayed in order in front of him, he should buy. He finally settled on books related to his field of study. But this seemed not to be enough to satisfy his thirst for reading. "The Cairo Book Fair is a wonderful chance for me to find all the engineering books I search for," Hosni said. "The good thing is that these books, which are vital for my studies, are sold for comparatively low prices here," he told The Gazette in an interview. This is the case with almost everybody who comes to visit the pavilions and the sections of the Cairo International Book Fair, an annual event where hundreds of publishers and authors – both local and international – converage. The book fair has been receiving tens of thousands of book-lovers and knowledgeseekers every day since it started on January 28 and runs until February 13 in the Cairo suburban area of Nasr City. The event, however, seems to have become more than just a book fair for hundreds of thousands of Egyptians and Arabs. Having what it takes for families to spend a good time, the fair has rather become a picnicking event for Egyptian families, some of them travel miles to visit it and slice out part of their income to buy the books displayed in it. Along with publishers' booths several wellknown restaurants opened branches on the fairgrounds, offering visitors food for their stomachs, in addition to the food for thought the publishers and the authors who come to the fair offer. This and other treats offered by the fair makes it an important event for many in this country, which used to be the cultural hub in the Arab world for years. "I‘ve been waiting for this fair for a long time now," said Adel Rizk, a 30-year-old Egyptian accountant. "This is the largest cultural event in Egypt. I can find all the books I want here," he added. The book fair has become the second largest cultural event at the international level after the Frankfurt Book Fair. On fairgrounds parents espoused their children and seemed to make a tour of culture. Some of them attended the seminars and the debates that take place inside the place. The journey to the fair to most of them is far from being expensive. With their need not to pay more than LE1 (18 scents), these families found the event so easy on the pockets.
