Dar Nelson, a Lebanese Publishing House, is holding an initiative of solidarity with Aaliya’s books, inviting its authors to donate books to the bookshop. This initiative is in memory of the Beirut Explosion that destroyed the shop back then.
The publishing house made an announcement inviting “to a meeting of solidarity and salutation and donation to Aaliya’s Bookshop in Gemmayze” on August 3rd at 11 am.
It made it a point to indicate that, while the bookshop was destroyed by the blast, “the will of life and love for books revived it.”
Dar Nelson is a publishing house that focuses on Arabic writers. However, they publish a wide array of literature in both the English and Arabic languages.
This kind of stance of solidarity is not a first the publishing house undertakes. Two months ago, they donated books to a Palestinian bookshop that was destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.
Aaliya’s Books, located in Gemmayze, was built in September of 2016 and destroyed by the Beirut Blast on August 4th to then sprint back on its feet, reopening on December 1st, 2020.
By April of this year, it restarted hosting Jazz Nights, which are still being held every Friday night at 6:30 pm.
Aaliya’s Books will be open on the 1st anniversary of the explosion, and not without support. It has even just opened up a rooftop area and continues to sell new and second-hand books.
While it isn’t holding events in the same frequency like it used to, the bookshop does serve drinks, a delicious menu, and a cozy place with lots of books to read.
