Book and literature aficionados converged in their thousands on the Riyadh Book Fair where 650 publication houses from 27 countries are taking part with books almost on all subjects under the sun. The sprawling fair area was full of visitors, men, women and children, when it opened here Tuesday night. The fair was inaugurated by Abdul Aziz Al-Khoja, Minister of Information and Culture who also read out a speech by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The King in his speech said the cultural events help us enrich our knowledge and connect the people with other cultures and traditions. The Kingdom, the Monarch said, always adheres to the Shariah and derives its strength from Qur'an and the Prophet's Sunnah. Islam has always taught us to seek knowledge, he said. Urging the intelligentsia to strive to present the correct image of Islam, the King said attempts should also be made to know the other cultures and benefit from their positive aspects. This year's book fair has Brazil as guest of honor. “We can't talk about Brazilian literature and art without mentioning their popular sport, football,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Subeil, undersecretary at the ministry for cultural affairs. Brazil is contributing a set of popular titles to the book exhibition, while also participating in the cultural activities on the sidelines of the event. The Brazilians are also involved in the seminars with papers and discussions on: “Brazilian Culture”, “Brazilian Literature”, “Brazil and the West” and “Brazil and the Arab World.” Some 250,000 titles, mostly religious, social commentary, textbooks, humanities and works of fiction, are featured at the fair. __
