With shows, historical books, rare and inspiring collectibles, seminars and innovative activities that inspire the spirit of participation in visitors, the Saudi Pavilion at the Doha International Book Fair offers a unique experience to learn about the rich Saudi culture with a mixture of literature, art, heritage and fashion.

The Saudi pavilion is the guest of honor for the 32nd edition of the Doha International Book Fair under the slogan "Reading We Rise", and takes its visitors on an inspiring journey through its various books that evoke Saudi culture through its ancient historical extensions, as well as a collection of prominent collectibles, archaeological finds and manuscripts, the oldest of which dates back a thousand years.

The books and collectibles displayed in the Saudi pavilion offer different glimpses of the Kingdom's rich culture, heritage, traditions and customs, and tell stories about the culture and character of each region of the Kingdom and its distinctive literature, arts and fashion.

The Saudi pavilion at the Doha International Book Fair offers its visitors 45 cultural heritage events including seminars, workshops and dialogue sessions (Al Jazeera)

Asiri cat

Visitors will start the pavilion with magnificent pieces of the Asiri cat art, a 200-year-old art form in which the women of the mountainous Asir region excelled, and passed from mothers to their daughters, and is one of the traditional engraving and decoration arts on the walls of houses, and cat art décor is applied to clothes, accessories and furniture.

Al-Qat Al-Asiri is a 200-year-old art form in which the women of the mountainous Asir region excelled (Al-Jazeera)

The pavilion includes an interactive workshop for Arabic calligraphy, to teach visitors, especially children, the basics of writing Arabic calligraphy, its various forms and styles, as well as a discussion hall in which the pavilion offers its visitors 45 cultural heritage events such as seminars, workshops and dialogue sessions throughout the days of the exhibition.

The Saudi pavilion offers its visitors 45 cultural heritage events such as seminars, workshops and dialogue sessions (Al Jazeera)

Historical books about the Kingdom stand out in the Saudi pavilion, most notably "The Firsts" by Abu Hilal Al-Hassan Al-Askari, dating back to the fourth century AH, and includes the history of the first in the Arabian Peninsula, "Nicknames and titles on Islamic coins in the Arabian Peninsula", "Statues of the Al-Ukhdood site in Najran", "Asfan and its historical well", and "Numbering methodology in archaeological excavations".

Historical Books

The Saudi pavilion also includes the book "The Collector of Science and Useful Work in the Manufacture of Tricks", by the author Abu Al-Ezz Ismail bin Al-Razzaz Al-Jazari, dating back to the 12th century AH, and the book - which took 25 years of study and research - contains the arts of making tricks.

The pavilion will showcase a variety of publications in Arabic and English on the Kingdom's heritage and antiquities, including the "King Salman Urban Charter", "Al-Delila Adventure Trails in the Middle of the Kingdom", consisting of several copies, each copy telling the culture of each region of the Kingdom, "Fashion in Ramadan with a Saudi Perspective", "Sadu Industry between Past and Present", and "Camel in Ancient Art and History".

The Saudi Pavilion includes a variety of publications in Arabic and English on the Kingdom's heritage and antiquities (Al Jazeera)

The pavilion includes a collection of the most prominent religious books, including "Al-Shifa by Defining the Rights of Al-Mustafa" by the author Abu Al-Fadl Al-Qadi Ayyad bin Musa Al-Yahsabi, dating back to the eighth century AH, and "Al-Adhkar" by Imam Abu Zakaria Muhyi Al-Din Yahya bin Sharaf Al-Nawawi, one of the most prominent jurists of his time, and the book dates back to the seventh century AH.

The pavilion also contains a copy of the entire "Holy Qur'an" copied in 30 sheets, each paper containing a part of the writer Abdul Baqi Jan Muhammad, with the finest refinement and gilding, dated to the 13th century AH.

The Saudi pavilion at the Doha International Book Fair includes exhibits and archaeological and rare collectibles (Al Jazeera)

Antique Collections

The Saudi pavilion includes rare archaeological exhibits and collectibles, as it includes copied models of artifacts that included a foundational inscription from the Prophet's Mosque stopped by Sheikh Ahmed Al-Sawi, dated 1300 AH.

The exhibits included a bronze "lion's head and claw" dating back to the second century AD in Najran, as well as a "funerary mask" of pure gold dating back to the first century AD from the site of Thaj in the Eastern Province, and a limestone "incense burner" inscribed with animal decorations and drawings and an inscription in the Musnad script dating back to the first century AD in the village of Al-Faw (south of Riyadh).

The pavilion contains part of a colorful "mural" of two people carrying a bunch of grapes and in front of them a man with wide eyes and a thin mustache inscribed with the predicate script called "RKY", dating back to the first and second centuries AD in the village of Al-Faw, and the pavilion also displays part of a limestone statue dating back to the fourth millennium BC in the Tabuk region, and a "tombstone" carved on it human features from the fifth and fourth centuries BC in Taima in the Tabuk region.

Interactive method

Dr. Abdullatif Al-Wasil, Director General of Publishing at the Saudi Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, explained that the Kingdom's pavilion at the Doha International Book Fair was designed in an interactive way between the audience and the contents of the pavilion, and was included in a group of the 16 different cultural sectors in the Kingdom.

Al-Wasil explains that the Saudi pavilion was included in a group of the 16 different cultural sectors in the Kingdom (Al Jazeera)

Al-Wasil says to Al Jazeera Net that the most prominent contents of the pavilion is a copy of the entire Holy Quran in 30 pages, in addition to rare heritage and archaeological pieces, as well as books dealing with the history and culture of the country, and cultural chains for various regions of the Kingdom.

The pavilion features 45 workshops for visitors to the exhibition, opportunities and meetings that bring Saudi authors together with their audiences in Doha, workshops to write Arabic calligraphy on a daily basis, and performances by Saudi poets, according to Al-Wasil.

He added that cooperation between the ministries of culture in Saudi Arabia and Qatar exists due to the historical relationship between the two countries and peoples, but stressed that the fact that the Kingdom is the guest of honor of the Doha Fair will pave the way for more cooperation between various other cultural sectors in the two countries.

25 Saudi publishing houses are participating in the Doha International Fair, which includes in its 32nd edition more than 500 live publishers from 37 countries, about 180,750 titles, and <>,<> books.