Egypt - Alexandria: The Alexandrian Library

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Whatever the ancient Alexandrian Library looked like, I’m sure it was not anything like the modern one. The original library was the center of learning for over 500 years and housed the largest collection of manuscripts in the world. The new Alexandrian Library was designed by a Norwegian architect and somewhat resembles a sundial. It cost over $200M to build. 

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Alexander the Great made Alexandria his capital in 320 BC, which soon became the most powerful and influential city in the region. The original Library of Alexandria was founded in 288 BC by Ptolemy I (Soter) under the guidance of Demetrius of Phaleron. The great thinkers of the age flocked to Alexandria to study and exchange ideas.

It is not clear exactly when the ancient Library of Alexandria was destroyed, although it was at the hands of the Romans over a period of time. It was badly damaged by fire during Julius Caesar's conquest in 48 BC. It may have been completely destroyed along with the entire royal quarter during the campaign of Aurelius in 272 AD. In 391 AD, the bishop of Alexandria burned the Serapeum [an ancient temple that also housed an auxiliary collection of things from the Library of Alexandria] to the ground, which finally put the library to an end.

The modern Alexandrian Library now receives around 1,000,000 visitors each year.

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