Morocco's 29th International Book Fair draws global publishers

Morocco's 29th international book fair kicked off in Rabat last week, drawing book lovers and intellectuals from across the country.

The cultural event features books on literature, science, history and art, among other subjects, presented by 743 exhibitors from 48 countries.

The guest of honor at this year's fair is the the U.N.'s educational and scientific organization, UNESCO.

The fair organizers said UNESCO will hold conferences focusing on topics like artificial intelligence and youth during the 10-day event.

The Al Dar Al Ahlia bookstore from Jordan featured a war memoir by former Palestinian Minister of Culture Atef Abu Saif, detailing his experience of roughly three of months of war in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Saif was trapped in Gaza in October, when the ongoing war there started.

His writings on his experience of the war have been published and translated into 11 languages, said Ahmad Abu Touq of Al Dar Al Ahlia bookstore.

Ahmad Abdelalim from Bayt Alhekma Publishing House said there is a diversity among the publishers at the fair, which benefits the reader.

Visitors can "find everything they are looking for across cultures, whether its European, Arabic, Islamic, Chinese, or East Asian," Abdelalim said.