Some 20,000 books hung on trees, including international classics, quickly caught the eye of book lovers in northwestern Turkey.
The municipality of the city of Kocaeli organized the book bonanza in order to drum up interest in the 10th Kocaeli Book Fair set for Saturday.
Dozens of people, particularly students, flocked to Hürriyet and Cumhuriyet streets in the city's İzmit district to harvest the unexpected bounty of books.
"I'm very happy to see the huge interest in books in our city. Young people, mothers, and grandfathers, we're all together here," İbrahim Karaosmanoğlu, the city's mayor, told Anadolu Agency.
Describing books as "civilization," Karaosmanoğlu said: "I'm sure the interest in the books will rise with each passing day."
The 20,000 books, free for the taking, were collected by locals in short order.
