Organized by TÜYAP and the Turkish Publishers Association, the 35th International Istanbul Book Fair opens to book lovers on Nov. 12.Speaking at the press conference held at Divan Hotel, Hamdi Turşucu, director of the General Directorate of Libraries and Publications, said he was pleased and honored by the fact that Germany is this year's honorary guest.Turşucu noted that book fairs are not just commercial organizations, saying: "Fairs are the places where cultural and civilized meetings are held and the future is planned. Germany has the world's third biggest publication market while Turkey ranks 11th. As a result of our meeting, big future-oriented events will surely emerge."Informing the press about the cultural events held in collaboration with Germany, Turşucu recalled that Turkey was the honorary guest of the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2008. He pointed out that a huge cultural event was organized spreading through other cities in addition to the events at the book fair. Two-hundred-and-fifty events were held with the participation of thousands of people and the fair continued bearing fruit over a 15-year period. "Book translations are an important topic in our relations with Germany. In this context, we provided Germany with support for 250 books, 210 of which have currently been published," Turşucu said.Another attendee of the meeting, Turkish Publishers Association President Metin Celal stressed that Turkey's political, commercial and cultural relationship with Germany dates back over 250 years.Celal indicated Germany is a pioneer country in the publishing sector and said: "Many books are translated from Turkish into German and from German into Turkish. Thanks to the Translation and Publication Grant Program of Turkey (TEDA), many books have been translated from Turkish into German since 2005. I hope hosting Germany as an honorary guest at the Book Fair will enable these close and strong centuries-old relations to develop and improve."Dr. Reimar Volker, director of Istanbul Goethe Institute, said he was pleased with the organization and stressed that translation is crucial to them as well since the institute provides language education and that they conduct information and library projects in addition to cultural programs. "We provide incentives and support in this matter. We are always in collaboration with our partners, authors and publishing houses," Volker said.Stressing that they worked hard before attending the 35th International Istanbul Book Fair, Barbel Becker, International Projects Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, said they were returning the visit by attending the fair.Becker said many organizations and institutions from Germany will take their places in the honorary country stand, which is spread across 250 square meters of the venue. "Fifteen authors will participate in the events and panels, and seven different collections of German books will be displayed, ranging from the latest books to the classics," Becker said. "Aside from the work selected as the book of the year in Germany, we will introduce new and different authors. We prepared an extensive program, ranging from modern German literature to children's events. Within the scope of the programs, various authors such as Emine Sevgi Özdamar, Wilhelm Schmid, Ilija Trojanow, Peter Scneider, Olga Grjasnowa and Canan Topçu will be hosted. We want to hear Turkey's voice by coming together with reporters, translators, authors and readers."Held for the 35th time this year, the "Philosophy and the Human" themed International Istanbul Book Fair will host over 800 publishing houses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Three hundred programs will be held throughout the fair along with talks, panels, poetry readings and children's events.This year's honorary guest of the fair organized with "Philosophy and the Human" theme was announced as Turkish philosopher Prof. Dr. Ioanna Kuçuradi, the current president of the Philosophical Society of Turkey.Organized in the Büyükçekmece TÜYAP Fair and Congress Center, the book fair can be visited between Nov. 12 and Nov. 20.