Muscat book fair sees up to half a million visitors

Muscat: Muscat International Book Fair’s 22nd exhibition, which came to a close after the weekend, sawup to half a million visitors this year.
The book fair began on February 22, and continued for 24 days, featuring books from 750 publishing houses representing 28 countries and 450,000 titles.
As part of the cultural activities of the fair, a lecture on the culture and significance of design and the main elements of design was delivered by Dr. Ahmed Ali Maslahi.
Also, the National Youth Committee organised a workshop on writing short stories.
The workshop targeted students 15 to 18 years old, whose mother language is Arabic.
Books on geology
Meanwhile, the Geological Society of Oman displayed a number of books on geology published by the Geological Society of Oman in Arabic and English, along with titles in German and Spanish.
Among the books written in English was the Field Guide to the Geology of Northeastern Oman.
The fair also featured three pavilions for official organisations, foreign titles, children’s books, as well as cultural, literary and
art events. Spread over 12,114sq m of area, the fair hosted 1,200 pavilions this year. It also had three halls for cultural events, and an expanded corner for children’s activities. Also, a field day was organized for children at the fair, along with a play entitled The Smurf Village, and a musical performance was scheduled.
Workshops
The Oman Bin Khattab Institute for Special Needs organised a series of interactive workshops, including teaching how to read and write in braille. Throughout the fair, several authors from Oman and other countries were available for signing books.
The Muscat International Book Fair is ranked among the best three book fairs in the Gulf region, and among the ten best in the Arab World.