Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria

Glass roof and pool of the Biblioteca Alexandrina. © Torie Partridge.

Outer wall of Aswan granite, with characters from 120 different scripts.
Photo © Richard Beck.

Angled glass roof of the Biblioteca Alexandrina. Photo © Richard Beck.

Artist's impression of the ancient Library of Alexandria.
Source: Carl Sagan's Cosmos television program (1980).

Reconstruction of ancient Library of Alexandria

Artist's impression of a manuscript storage room in the ancient Library
of Alexandria. Source: Carl Sagan's Cosmos television program (1980).

Shelves in the Biblioteca Alexandrina, Alexandria

Tastefully-lit shelves in the Biblioteca Alexandrina. Photo Jon Vidar.

The planetarium. Photo Aaron Wenner.

Location map and aerial view of the Biblioteca Alexandrina. For a larger
view, see our Alexandria Map or get our free Google Earth download.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandrian Library) in Alexandria is a wonderful reincarnation of the famed ancient library of Alexandria. The original library held the largest collection of manuscripts in the world and was a great center of learning for 600 years until it burned down in the 3rd century. The dramatic new library, resembling an angled discus or a great sundial, was designed by a Norwegian architect and cost about $200 million.

The Library of Alexandria is of religious significance because of its original role as a temple, its historical association with such Christian theologians as Origen of Alexandria, and its collection of many religious manuscripts (including rare copies of the Qur'an). This article covers both the ancient and modern Alexandrian libraries together, as they share a common heritage and objectives.

History

Alexandria was selected by Alexander the Great as the capital of his empire in 320 BC, and it soon became the most powerful and influential city in the region. The original Library of Alexandria was founded in 288 BC by Ptolemy I (Soter) under the guidance of Demetrius of Phaleron. It was a temple to the muses (Mouseion in Greek; Museum in Latin) and functioned as an academy, research center, and library. The great thinkers of the age flocked to Alexandria to study and exchange ideas.

The original library was located in the royal district of the city, with an additional building for storage on the harbor, and a "daughter library" located in the Serapeum in the southwest part of the city. As many as 700,000 scrolls, the equivalent of more than 100,000 modern printed books, filled the shelves. The library was open to scholars from all cultures and both girls and boys. At the ancient library of Alexandria:

According to an account 100 years later, Ptolemy convened 72 rabbis to translate the Hebrew scriptures into Greek - this was the Septuagint (from the Greek word for "70"), which was the version of the Bible used by Hellenistic Jews and early Christian theologians
Aristarchus was the first person to state that the earth revolves around the sun, 1800 years before Copernicus
Eratosthenes proved that the earth was spherical and calculated its circumference with amazing accuracy, 1700 years before Columbus
Hipparchus established the first atlas of the stars and calculated the length of the solar year accurately to within 6.5 minutes
Callimachus the poet described the texts in the library organized by subject and author, becoming the father of library science
Euclid wrote his elements of geometry, the basic text studied in schools all over the world even now
Herophylus identified the brain as the controlling organ of the body and launched a new era of medicine
Manetho chronicled the pharaohs and organized Egyptian history into the dynasties we use to this day
Zenodotus and the grammarians established the basics of literary scholarship with their meticulous definition of the Homerian text for the Iliad and the Odyssey

It is not clear exactly when the ancient Library of Alexandria was destroyed. It was probably badly damaged by fire during Julius Caesar's conquest in 48 BC and may have been destroyed along with the entire royal quarter. during the campaign of Aurelius in 272 AD. In 391 AD, the bishop of Alexandria burned the Serapeum to the ground, which finally put the institution of the library to an end.

Plans began to resurrect the ancient library and its scholarly ideals in 1974. Initiated by Alexandria University, the idea was enthusiastically supported by the international community. In 1988, UNESCO sponsored an architectural competition for designing the new library, which was won by the Norwegian firm Snøhetta.

At a conference in Aswan in 1990, funding was pledged from all over the world, especially from a number of Arab states. Construction commenced in 1994 and was completed in 2002 with a price tag of over $220 million. Today, the library receives around 800,000 visitors each year.

The modern Biblioteca Alexandrina is intended to recapture the spirit of the original Library of Alexandria as a center for learning, dialogue, and rationality. The trustees have set out these four main objectives:

to be the world's window on Egypt
to be Egypt’s window on the world
to meet the challenge of the digital age
to be a center of learning and dialogue

What to See

The architecture of the Biblioteca Alexandrina is modern and striking, with a 160m-diameter glass-panelled roof tilted out toward the sea like a sundial. The outer wall, made of grey Aswan granite, are carved with symbols from 120 different scripts.

The spectacular Main Reading Hall covers 70,000 m² on 11 cascading levels and can accommodate 2,000 readers at any one time. It also offers 200 study rooms for scholars and researchers. The collection of books shelved throughout the reading hall have been donated from around the world and cover a wide variety of subjects and languages. The collection especially emphasizes the above-mentioned four objectives for the library that have been agreed upon by the trustees.

The Manuscript & Rare Book Exhibition Gallery is located in the heart of the Library, occupying the space of 344m2. It comprises 12 display cases, donated by Italy within the framework of the cooperation agreements between the two countries, in addition to 20 Egyptian-made display cases. Around 120 manuscripts and rare books are displayed in these cases. Two pieces of the kiswa (decorative black brocade cover, embroidered in gold with Qur'anic verses) of the Holy Kaaba adorn the walls above the Islamic manuscripts.

The Antiquities Museum within the Biblioteca Alexandrina displays the artifacts discovered at the construction site of the modern library. The collection consists of just under 1,100 pieces and documents various epochs of Egyptian civilization dating from the Pharaonic era up to the Islamic period, including the Greek civilization that arrived with the conquest of Alexander the Great and the Roman and Coptic civilizations.

Other exhibitions within the library include “Impressions of Alexandria,” a collection of original engravings, lithographs, early photographs and maps of Alexandria by artists and travelers from the 15th to the 19th centuries, and a permanent exhibition dedicated to the literary, cinematic works and paintings of the celebrated Egyptian director, production designer and film-maker, Shadi Abdel Salam.

The Biblioteca Alexandrina also contains a manuscript restoration laboratory, a planetarium (the large dome on the roof) and a grand conference center.

Quick Facts

Names:	Bibliotheca Alexandrina; Alexandrian Library; Library of Alexandria; Mouseion
Type of site:	Library with religious manuscripts
Dates:	Founded 288 BC; destroyed c.272 AD; rebuilt 1994-2002
Location:	On the harbor in Alexandria, Egypt
Size (modern):	Reading hall: 70,000 m² area;
Address:	P.O. Box 138, El Shatby, Alexandria 21526, Egypt
Phone:	03/483-9999
E-mail:	secretariat@bibalex.org
Website:	www.bibalex.org

Sources

Bibliotheca Alexandrina - official website
Academia Biblioteca Alexandrinae - official website
Library of Alexandria discovered - BBC News, May 12, 2004
Recreating a Jewel - TIME Europe, June 12, 2000
The Library of Alexandria - Tufts University student paper by Ellen N. Brundige
The Mysterious Fate of the Great Library of Alexandria - Bede's Library

More Information

Reviews of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina - TripAdvisor traveler reviews