Syria: Book Fair kicks off in opposition-held Idlib

A Book Fair kicked off yesterday in the opposition-controlled Syrian city of Idlib, north-west of Syria, with 14 publishing houses and 40,000 books participating in it.

The Book Fair will continue for eight days. In addition to books, the Fair includes handicrafts, miniature replicas of religious and historical monuments, as well as mosaics, according to Anadolu Agency.

The exhibition’s organiser, Muhammad Sayed, told Anadolu Agency that 14 publishing houses from inside and outside Syria are participating in the exhibition, displaying about 40,000 books.

Sayed added that the Fair exposes Syria’s religious and historical monuments, Hama Wair, Khalid Ibn Al-Walid Mosque in Homs, Damascus Citadel and many other landmarks.

An 11- year- old child visiting the book fair, Abdul Latif Yahya, told Anadolu Agency that he examined the books and visited the calligraphers’ section and the mosaic pavilion. He added that he wanted to become an artist and an engineer at the same time.

Another 11-year-old, Abdullah Aboud, who was displaced from the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, said that he enjoyed seeing the paintings that include the landmarks of his province, expressing his longing and desire to return to it.

The province of Idlib is outside of the control of the Bashar Al-Assad regime. It includes hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians who came from many other provinces to flee the regime’s bombing and military operations against civilian-populated areas.

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