The 41st Istanbul International Book Fair opened on November 2. This year's fair, which is being held at the TUYAP Complex under the theme "Childhood is a Festival," has a special significance for our country. For the first time, Azerbaijan is participating in the event as an "Honorary Guest Country" under the organization of the Ministry of Culture.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan Farid Jafarov, Head of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ekrem Imamoghlu, Secretary General of TURKSOY Sultan Raev, Deputy Chairman of the Culture Committee of Milli Majlis Gunay Efendiyeva, Director General of Libraries and Publications at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye Taner Bayoghlu, President of the International Association of Publishers Kenan Kojaturk, First Deputy Chairman of the Union of Azerbaijani Writers, People's Writer Chingiz Abdullayev, People's Writer Elchin, as well as famous and young writers from our country and Türkiye, participated in the opening of the exhibition.
Ilhan Ersözlü from the management of TÜYAP Exhibition Complex congratulated the 41st Istanbul Book Fair and gave details about the event. It was noted that the exhibition will host more than 2,000 writers and poets from Türkiye and abroad for nine days, with up to 450 events, including more than 200 book signings.
The Deputy Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, Farid Jafarov, delivered a speech, greeted the participants of the event, and expressed his pleasure to be the "honorary guest country" of such a prestigious exhibition.
It was emphasized that Azerbaijan and Türkiye, which the national leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, described as "one nation, two states," share the same ethno-cultural roots and rich common values.
The ancient and rich culture and literature of our peoples have significantly contributed to strengthening the historical closeness.
It was emphasized that Azerbaijan has received the works of Turkish literary icons such as Rashad Nuri Guntekin, Yashar Kamal, Nazim Hikmet, and Aziz Nesin with great admiration, which resulted in numerous publications. Similarly, we are pleased that Turkish readers highly appreciate Azerbaijani writers such as Huseyn Javid, Ahmet Javad, Yusif Vazir Chamenzaminli, Almas Ildırım, Ahmet Aghaoghlu, and Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh, and the poem "The Black Sea is Raging" is memorized by many.
The deputy minister noted that Azerbaijan- Türkiye relations are currently experiencing the golden period of their history, which is mainly based on the personal friendship between the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the President of Türkiye. The alliance between our states creates favorable conditions for the development of cultural relations. At present, our countries are successfully cooperating both bilaterally and within international organizations.
Farid Jafarov concluded his speech by thanking those who had contributed to the organization of the fair and for the warm hospitality extended to the Azerbaijani delegation, and wishing the fair great success.
Speakers such as Ekrem Imamoghlu, Head of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality; Taner Beyoghlu, Director General of Libraries and Publishing at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of exhibition; Kenan Kojaturk, President of the International Association of Publishers; Istanbul Governor Davut Gül; and the "honorary author" of the exhibition, Yalvaj Ural, emphasized the importance of the exhibition. The speakers also discussed the current state of the book industry in Turkey and future objectives.
Afterwards, Istanbul Governor Davut Gul presented Farid Jafarov, Deputy Minister of Culture, with a gift plaque on behalf of the Governor's Office.
The ribbon was cut to mark the opening of the fair. A composition performed by a group of children playing the naghara was presented in the exhibition area.
Later, the participants took part in the opening of the Azerbaijani stand in the exhibition area.
First of all, an artistic program was presented with the participation of our artists.
The young singer Hazrat Azizli performed the mugham "Bayati-Shiraz," followed by a dance performance from the opera "Leyli and Majnun" by the famous composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli, inspired by the same-name work of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Muhammad Fuzuli, whose 530th anniversary is celebrated this year by the order of the head of state.
Honored Artist Nuriya Huseynova performed the song "Long live Azerbaijan," accompanied by People's Artist Elchin Hashimov on tar, Honored Artist Elnur Ahmadov on kamancha, and Siyavush Karimov on naghara.
Then the Azerbaijani stand was presented, where more than 2000 publications of more than 20 publishing houses of our country were exhibited.
The stand includes publications on the history of Azerbaijani statehood, literary and cultural works of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, as well as examples of fiction.
The works of our famous and young writers published in Turkish in Türkiye are also displayed at the stand.
There is also a separate section for the publications of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.
Within the framework of the exhibition, which will last until November 10, more than 20 different events will be held at our national stand.
