― 3 ноября 2024 г.

41th International Bookfair in Istanbul

The 41st International  Bookfair of Istanbul started with an opening ceremony held at the Black Sea Hall of the TUYAP Fair and Congress Centre. The country of honour of this year's Bookfair is our kindred country Azerbaijan.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mr. Davut Gül, the Governor of Istanbul, Mr. Ekrem Imamoğlu, the Mayor of the  Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul, Mr. Sultan Raev, the Secretary General of TURKSOY, Mr.  Ferit Jafarov, the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mrs. Gunay Efendiyeva, the MP of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, Mr. Elchin Efendiyev, the famous author of Azerbaijan, Mr. T. Taner Beyoğlu, the Director General of Libraries and Publications of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. Kerim Tahirov, the Director of the National Library of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilhan Ersözlü, the General Manager of TÜYAP, Mr. Doğan Hızlan, the Chairman of the Advisory Board of TÜYAP Cultural Fairs and Mr. Yalvaç Ural, the honoured author of the fair along with many book lovers.

In their opening speeches, the  Governor of Istanbul Mr. Davut Gül and the Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality of Istanbul  Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu congratulated Azerbaijan, the country of honour of the fair, and Yalvaç Ural, the author of honour of the event.

Speaking at the opening on behalf of Azerbaijan, the country of honour of the fair, the Deputy Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan's Mr.  Ferit Caferov expressed his pride in being the country of honour of the fair and said: ‘Azerbaijan and Türkiye, described as “one nation, two states” by Heydar Aliyev, the great leader of the  people of Azerbaijan, have ethnic and religious roots and share a rich common civilisation as well as common cultural values. In this respect, the literature and works written by our writers undoubtedly play a key role in strengthening these close  historical ties.’

The opening speeches were followed by the inauguration of  the stand of Azerbaijan featuring books and publications issued by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan and brought to the fair by the National Library of Azerbaijan, the country of honour of the fair.

The event took place alongside with colourful performances of musicians, artists and poets   introducing components of the cultural heritage of their homeland and kindred country Azerbaijan. The Deputy Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Mr. Ferit Jafarov expressed his gratitude to TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev for his participation in the opening ceremony of the fairstand of Azerbaijan at the 41st International  Bookfair of Istanbul.

TURKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev then visited the stand of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye where  Mr. Taner Beyoğlu, the Director General of Libraries and Publications of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye offered him a set of books on ‘Turkish Music’ aalong with a  book on ‘Turkish Cuisine’.
 

The fair held under the motto  ‘Childhood is a Festival!’ as a main theme this year  will remain open to visitors until November 10th, 2024 and be, as always, a gathering point for book lovers, authors and publishers as well as many people working in the field of  literature,  culture and arts.