Egypt Travelogue - Alexandria Library part II

Our informed guide gave  us the history of the library interspersed with the local beliefs and myths.  The library had a continuous history of burnings. Plutrach's records indicate that the library was accidentally burnt by Julius Caesar. Another myth or truth not confirmed is the burning by the coptic Archbishop in 391. The temple of Serapis was supposed to hold most of the library.  Then another burning took place during the Islamic invasion. Currently, the library of Alexandria is located in the site of the old library. 

The library is a combined initiative of the Alexandria University and Presdient Mubarak.  UNESCO conducted a design competition which was won by a Norwegian firm.  The main reading room use the solar lighting as much as possible with glass panes tilted like a sun dial. 


The walls surrounding the library are built with granite brought from Aswan and the letters from all the languages are etched randomly. 

The library organizes regular tours.  Our guide showed so much enthusiasm and pride about being an employee there. I also felt like joining the Alexandria University atleast for a semester just to enjoy the visit to the library.  The library has a very good internet site where one can access the ancient manuscripts and books.

The internet archives is supported by the Sun super computers. The Library is organized with six specialized libraries and four museums. The library has the 6th largest collection of books. A copy of every book published anywhere in the World is available in this library. Recently in 2009 France donated a huge collection of French books to this library. The Planetarium has an interesting structure.

After visiting the permanent exhibits we bid farewell to Alexandria.  On the way we stopped at a Papyrus art gallery where they demonstrated how paper is made in the ancient way and painted. The longer the papyrus is soaked in water the color turns into more deeper brown. We slowly moved away from the city towards the desert road leading to Cairo.