Pic courtesy of http://www.bibalex.org/English/Overview/overview.htm
When I found out that part of the Alexandria tour included visiting a library, I was prepared to be bored. After all, who hasn't visited a library? What can top the Library of Congress in D.C.? And I had already seen that. Goes to show I was greatly mistaken. As the late Steve Irwin would say, "Crikey!! Have a look o' this byootee!"
Bibletheca Alexandrina is Latin for "Library of Alexandria". It was built in 2002 to bring back the prestige of its ancient predecessor, which was then reputed to be the largest library in the ancient world, a renown research institution, and home to a host of international scholars. Consequently, warring attacks and ultimate fire, destroyed the library. The modern day namesake is a work of architectural marvel. The exterior structure is shaped to look like a rising sun tilted towards the sea. The interior is airy and roomy with enough shelf space capacity to fill 8 million books. When the building was commissioned, research materials were donated from all over the world to begin filling its shelves. Today, however, the library struggles with funding. It has been estimated that it will take 80 years to fill the library's shelf space capacity at the current level of funding. To offset costs it charges admission to tourists, but still considered an esteemed research institution for scholars and scientists. For the record, I take back my preconceived notion of expecting an "ordinary" library, because the Bibletheca Alexandrina was anything but!
