One of the events of the 28th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, organized in the United Arab Emirates, was the presentation of a replica of the most dazzling of the three volumes of “Sur les Chevaux Orientaux et Provenants des Races Orientales” manuscript, written by Count Wacław Rzewuski, also known as Emir Rzewuski. The Rzewuski Manuscript was created by the Publishing House Manuscriptum in the form of a limited edition of 200 ornamented facsimile copies in order to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Emir Rzewuski’s exploration of Arabia (the anniversary occurred in 2017). The manuscript consists of 352 pages, filled with 218,000 words, 65 sketches and over a hundred other illustrations and maps. The facsimile copy faithfully recreates the detail-oriented source material, including maps and illustrations hand-drawn by Rzewuski himself. It was unveiled at the Fair’s Polish Pavilion by the Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and National Heritage Piotr Gliński on Wednesday, April 25th. On Friday, April 27th, Polish ambassador Robert Rostek presented the premiere copy of the manuscript to UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Poland is the Guest of Honor at the Fair (held between April 25th – May 1st) and the country’s presence was a joint effort of the Polish Book Institute and the Polish Embassy in Abu Dhabi, with the support of the National Library of Poland and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

Last year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair was attended by 1320 publishers from 65 countries from around the world, as well as 300,000 visitors.