During the evening we must have seen a half a dozen wedding cars. It is easy to spot them as they will be decorated with ribbons, bows and flowers. Often the couple will be seated in the back seat while a driver takes them along with 2 to 3 other cars through the neighborhoods honking their horns and flashing their lights. We will often hear the sound of drums in the distance. It must be a special time for weddings.
Today we visited the Bibliotheca Alexandria, the famous library of Alexandria. The library was built during the reign of Ptolemy I in honor of Alexander the Great in 288 BC. At the time, it was one of the largest in the world. It contained papyrus scrolls of all the important works of the day. A second or “daughter” library was built as well. In 48 BC, a fire destroyed the main library and in 391 AD a second fire destroyed the daughter library. It wasn’t until 1972 that the idea of rebuilding the library took place. A contest was held to develop a design and construction began in 1995 with the completion in 2001.
The new library was rebuilt in the form of a rising sun on the edge of the Mediterranean near the site where archeologists believe the ancient library once stood. A group of Norwegian architects won first prize for the best design and the library was built at a cost of $220 million. Many nations and organizations contributed funds, matching the $110 million that the Egyptian government financed. The design allows for much natural light to come in (but not directly) and features blue and green stained glass to soften the light.
The goals of the Bibliotheca Alexandria are to be: Egypt’s window to the world; the world’s window on Egypt; a leading institution of the digital age; and a center of learning, tolerance, dialogue and understanding. The library has seven floors in an open design (you can stand at the bottom level and see up to the seventh floor. It can hold up to 8,000,000 books, an internet archive, 3 museums, 8 research academic centers, a planetarium, an Exploratorium, 2 permanent exhibitions, 5 art galleries and a conference center for 3,000 people. (Last spring Schutz held their graduation at the library) It is believed to be the largest single library in the world. By the end of 2007, they intend to have every item in their collection online so anyone can read anything they have. After visiting the library, we strolled along the Cornish for about an hour enjoying the beautiful fall weather (it was in the high 70’s today without a cloud in the sky).
