The library of Alexandria had many names because of its greatness and the number and variety of books it contained including the royal library of Alexandria, the Grand Library, or the great library of Alexandria.
The library acted as a major center for science and culture for manycenturies
The ancient library was built by the order of Ptolemy the second in the third century BC and it was said that it contained 700,000 books and it was the greatest library in the world at that time. This is beside the fact that many great scientists studied in the library like Archimedes
The library of Alexandria became famous worldwide because it was the first public governmental library in history.
The library contained the science, civilization, and books of two remarkable periods: The Pharaonic and the Greek.
The two civilizations of the west and east met in this great library through books and lectures that the library hosted and it was considered the first attempt at the modern concept of globalization.
It was obligatory that any scholar who studies in the library of Alexandria had to leave a copy of his writings in the library,this was one of the reasons the library was rich with books, researchers, and studies that were contemporary at the time,This is beside the books of older periods.
The responsible for the library freed themselves from discrimination of all sorts in order to collect all the sciences and ideas of the whole world in one great location.
Most historians believe that Julius Cesar burned 101 ships that were landing on the Mediterranean Sea shore in front of Alexandria in the year 48 BC, This was after little Ptolemy who was the brother of Cleopatra, went to fight Cesar thinking that he is helping the queen to fight against him. This great fire reached the library and caused a huge damage to the building of the library and its books.
The first initiative to rebuild the library of Alexandria dates back to the year 1974. However, no factual steps took place except in the late 80s.
The first step in the building of the modern library was the declaration of the Egyptian president that he intends to rebuild the library with the aid of the UNESCO the new library of Alexandria was launched and the dream to reestablish the library once more was shared among all the people of Egypt and the whole world. The library was officially opened on the 17th of October 2002 in the location of the ancient library.
The design of the modern library of Alexandria consisted of four underground stores and six upper stores,The special shape of the modern library of Alexandria is considered a special architectural germ.
The oval shape of the library from outside is a symbol of the continuity of life as the sun comes out of the sea and goes from the highest point to the lowest point overlooking the sea.
The library is sounded by a great wall that was made out of Aswan Granite and it contains writing and inscriptions in 120 languages, the library is 10 stories tall and has an oval-shaped cover with a radius of 60 meters. The library is divided into reading sections which are 14.4 × 9.6 meters in size.
The library was designed to last for two centuries but there are fears that this period might be exaggerated because of its closeness to the sea.
The objective of the new library is the same objective of the old library: to act as a public research library and to support the people of the Arab world and the Middle East to retain their old position as scholars and researchers in different fields of Science.
