Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk during a conversation with journalist Pavlos Tsimas and his Greek translator, Stella Vrettou, at the Mikis Theodorakis Theater. [Panos Fragkoulidis]
It is no ordinary sight to see a Nobel laureate browsing the titles of the Hania Municipal Library and exploring the private book collection of the late Greek statesman Eleftherios Venizelos. But there he was, Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, in the Cretan city as a guest of the municipal authority and the Hania Book Festival. Pamuk (winner of the 2006 Nobel prize in literature), was there to launch its cycle of events leading up to the festival on June 22-28, under the theme “Worlds in Conflict.”
He began his May 18 visit with a special tour of the historic library. Accompanied by Hania Mayor Panagiotis Simandirakis, librarian Areti Karveli and festival director Manolis Pimplis, Pamuk showed an avid interest in its valuable collection. He was especially impressed by a rare, and beautifully illustrated eight-volume edition from 1908-1912 of the French translation of “The Thousand and One Nights” (“Les Mille et Une Nuits”) and by the 1513 edition of Plato’s complete works (“Omnia Platonis Opera”), which is the oldest book in the library’s collection. He was also drawn to a Venetian-era codex titled “Descrittione dell isola di Candia,” containing maps and drawings of Crete’s fortifications.
