Egypt Wikimedians User Group/GLAM/Cairo International Book Fair 2026
27 January 2026
On Tuesday, January 27th, two users from the Egypt Wikimedians User Group embarked on a trip to the 57th Cairo International Book Fair, held at the International Exhibition Grounds in New Cairo, the largest and most prominent book fair in the Arab world.
The purpose of the trip was to cover the fair and document some of its features. This year's fair carried the slogan "He who stops reading for an hour falls behind by centuries," a quote by Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, who was chosen as the fair's honoree this year. Romania was the guest of honor at this edition of the fair.
The two participants were Ahmed Naji (An administrator at Arabic Wikipedia and part of the Egypt GLAM team) and Ahmed Gamal (who usually participates in Wiki Med project), both from the Gharbia Governorate. Ahmed Naji's journey began in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, 125 km from the fairgrounds, while Ahmed Gamal's journey took him 110 km away.
Both users set off after 7:00 AM, planning to begin their tour of the fair at 10:00 AM. However, due to traffic conditions, they didn't meet inside the fair until noon.
The two users toured the six exhibition halls and the surrounding area, taking photos of the halls and some of the publishing houses, including those from participating Arab countries such as Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
The tour lasted until 4:00 PM. It had been planned to be longer, but due to traffic conditions and unforeseen circumstances, it was cut short.
Organizers
[edit]Participants
[edit]Outcome
[edit]Participants uploaded several photos to Wikimedia Commons.
