Bibliotheca Alexandrina

　　The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a library established in 2002 in Alexandria, Egypt, and is one of the major libraries and cultural centers along the Mediterranean coast. It also serves as a commemoration of the ancient Library of Alexandria and an attempt to revive academic and cultural heritage.

　　The plan to rebuild the Library of Alexandria dates back to 1974, when the Library of Alexandria Reconstruction Committee decided on a site roughly between the campus and the shore, adjacent to the ruins of the ancient library. The project quickly garnered strong support, with former Egyptian President Mubarak being one of its key proponents, publicly endorsing it and aiming to establish it as a Mediterranean hub for academia and culture. After a selection process, the design by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta was chosen from among 1,400 competitors to serve as the blueprint for the reconstruction. The rebuilding project cost approximately $65 million, funded primarily by Arab states. Construction began in 1995 and, after spending hundreds of millions of dollars, the new library officially opened on October 16, 2002.

　　The rebuilt Bibliotheca Alexandrina is vast in scale, with a collection of around 8 million books and a main reading room spanning 70,000 square meters. The library also houses conference rooms, a reading room for the blind, a youth library, three museums, four art galleries, a planetarium, and a manuscript restoration laboratory. The architectural style of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is equally striking—the main reading room features 32-meter-high glass panels facing the sea, arranged like a sundial with a diameter of 160 meters. The main walls are made of gray granite imported from Asia, engraved with 120 different handwritten manuscripts. The library has also preserved digital backups of its collections on the internet.

　　Bibliotheca Alexandrina Must-visit reason: One of the most beautiful libraries in the world Continent: Africa Country/Region: Egypt Province/State: Alexandria Governorate City: Alexandria