اقرا ايضا
1,157 years after it first opened, the world's oldest library has finally been restored and unveiled to the public.
Located in Fez, Morocco, the al-Qarawiyyin library is part of the world's oldest continually operating university, al-Qarawiyyin University, which opened in 859. The library got several small additions and renovations over its millennium-long existence, but it wasn't until 2012 that Canadian-Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni decided to give it a total face lift.
To show off al-Qarawiyyin's new appearance, the university has opened the space, which had previously been reserved for academics and theologians, to the general public.
Take a look inside.
The al-Qarawiyyin university, library, and mosque were founded by Fatima El-Fihriya in 859 — around the time early forms of algebra were being invented.
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Fittingly, El-Fihriya attended the university she helped to found. The library still has her original diploma: a wooden board.
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Today, thanks to Aziza Chaouni's four-year renovation, the al-Qarawiyyin library features restored fountains and delicately rehabilitated texts, many of them original religious works.
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The interior is a stunning combination of intricate mosaics and stark white archways.
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Of course, the world's oldest library needs a dedicated reading room.
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Al-Qarawiyyin is home to approximately 4,000 manuscripts, NPR reports. There are 9th-century Qurans written in Kufic calligraphy and the oldest known accounts of the life of the prophet Muhammed.
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Source: NPR
Abdelfattah Bougchouf is the curator of the impressive collection. It's his responsibility to make sure the books are cared for and properly handled.
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One such book is the original "Muqadimmah," a famous 14th-century text from the North African historian Ibn Khaldun.
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Another is the original manuscript detailing an ancient legal system of Islam, written in calligraphy.
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But perhaps the most treasured work of the library is the original 9th-century Quran, still in its original binding. It is the oldest work in the entire collection.
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Only a month after it opened to the public, visitors from all over the world are already flocking to glimpse a piece of history.
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