Where in the World?

Question: Where in the world can you visit this library, built upon the ground of an ancient library which (purportedly) once held all the knowledge of the ancient world?

Answer: Alexandria, Egypt

The Library of Alexandria is one of the most remarkable man-made creations of classical antiquity and perhaps the single greatest archive of knowledge that has ever existed. Constructed some eighteen centuries ago. this was where the famous astronomer, Carl Sagan, once said he would go if he could travel back in time, because "all the knowledge in the ancient world was within those marble walls."

The city this legendary library belonged to, Alexandria, was founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. Even now, Alexandria is swarming with commotion as the second largest city in Egypt and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. While the area hosted important port cities prior to the founding of Alexandria, none grew as great in size. As one of the greatest cities of the Hellenistic world, only Rome itself eclipsed Alexandria in size and wealth.

The Library of Alexandria was a truly universal library, where the entire knowledge of the world was stored in one place. It has been estimated that at one time the Library of Alexandria held over half a million documents from Assyria, Greece, Persia, Egypt, India, and many other nations. Over 100 scholars purportedly lived at the Museum full time to perform research, write, lecture, or translate and copy documents.

Unfortunately, the Library of Alexandria was burnt down, and, with it, all the valuable tombs and scrolls stored inside of it. One of our sources about the Alexandrian Library is the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus, who, in his history (written around AD 380-390) claims that there was a massive library, and that it was destroyed. It’s been widely agreed upon that this magnificent epicenter of intellect met its demise in a series of great blazes that took place throughout a number of centuries.

The first instance of the Library of Alexandria setting on fire is widely thought to be to 48 BC: According to the Greek philosopher Plutarch, the man responsible for the first catastrophe was none other than Roman general Julius Caesar.

Here's how the story goes: During his pursuit rival Roman general, Pompey, into Egypt in 48 BCE, Caesar was cut off by a large fleet of Egyptian boats in the harbor of Alexandria, and he ordered those boats to be burned. The fleet was destroyed, but the flames spread to the city and the library. Apparently, the library was saved, but it would turn into great pyre of papyrus a few more times until a final blow in 640 CE, when Alexandria came under Muslim rule. The Muslim ruler, Caliph Omar, asserted that the library’s contents would "either contradict the Koran, in which case they are heresy, or they will agree with it, so they are superfluous." The contents of the library were then supposedly used as tinder for the city’s bathhouses. Even then, it is said that it took six months for all the materials to burn.

In the end, no one really knows what truly happened to the Library of Alexandria. Nonetheless, in the 1970s, plans were made to build the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, an enormous complex of libraries, museums, theaters, art galleries, and even a planetarium. The new Bibliotheca recalls the majesty of the ancient library and pays homage to Alexandria's legacy as a center of scholarship.

Alexandria’s Libraries—Then and Now:

• There were plans for a steam engine in the Library of Alexandria: Heron, "the great inventor of Alexandria," described in detail what is thought to be the first working steam engine. He called it an aeolipile, or "wind ball." His design was a sealed caldron of water placed over a heat source. As the water boiled, steam rose into the pipes and into the hollow sphere. The steam escaped from two bent outlet tubes on the ball, resulting in rotation of the ball. The principle he used in his design is similar to that of today's jet propulsion. However, at the time, Heron considered his aeolipile to be simply a novelty—a remarkable toy—rather than a useful invention for everyday application.


• The term "Alexandria" has become shorthand for the destruction of libraries and archives: From the French Revolution, through the early history of the United States of America, to the First World War, and the conflicts in the Balkans in the late 20th century, the word Alexandria has been used to describe the destruction of libraries and archives.


• While it’s not the biggest library in the world, the newly built Bibliotheca Alexandrina still boasts an impressive gallery: The Bibliotheca Alexandrina has shelf space for eight million books, with the main reading room covering 220,000 sq ft. The complex also houses a conference center; specialized libraries for maps, multimedia, the blind and visually impaired, young people, and for children; four museums; four art galleries for temporary exhibitions; 15 permanent exhibitions; a planetarium; and a manuscript restoration laboratory.


• In fact, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is the sixth-largest Francophone library in the world: While it isn’t the world’s largest library, it secured its status as the sixth-largest Francophone library in the world after it received a generous donation of 500,000 books from the Bibliothèque nationale de France (the national library of France).

See the Bibliotheca Alexandrina with your own eyes during the Alexandria: History & Romance post-trip extension of our Ancient Egypt & the Nile River adventure.