Muscat – The Dhofar Khareef Book Fair – a new facet of the Dhofar Khareef Festival in 2023 – was inaugurated on Tuesday morning at Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex for Culture and Entertainment in Salalah. 

Ahmed bin Mohsin al Ghassani, Chairman of Dhofar Municipality, presided over the opening ceremony.

The fair has drawn participation of close to 50 publishing houses and bookstores from Oman and abroad. A joint initiative of Dhofar Municipality and several private sector companies, it promises to bring a myriad of books to bibliophiles. 

For the next ten days, the fair will host a series of cultural events put together by the team of Ithra Cultural Initiative. Omani Women’s Association of Al Jazir has been granted guest of honour status. The book fair will also include engaging interactive sessions and meetings.

A special event titled ‘Culture is a Life Journey’ was organised alongside the book fair on Tuesday evening, presented by Dr Ahmed bin Abdul Rahman Balkhair, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean at Dhofar University’s College of Arts and Applied Sciences.