Books contain endless wisdom since they transmit information that date back thousands of years, all with the goal of educating and empowering us to progress and create a safer and a better future. But where do books normally go when they’re not in use? While they can be found online, libraries are the primary place for literature. They are an important component of every country’s heritage because they combine history and contemporary language to create a rich aesthetic that evokes the past.
The Arab world is home to beautiful libraries that combine beauty within architecture and knowledge in a spectacular way. There are numerous libraries in the region, and we will highlight the top six that we believe you should learn more about.
Politics and Culture Library
Standing tall at Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue is a new literary sanctuary by Dubai’s Fikr Institute, the newly unveiled Politics and Culture Library. The new library is all about intellectual curiosity as having questions about world history, global politics and contemporary culture is not only welcomed within its walls, it is also encouraged. A lot of the books will move away from western-dominated narratives and showcase different perspectives. Placing a big lens and focus on culture and politics, the library today houses over 15,000 bilingual books that span over 40 categories.
Unlike other libraries, it will not depend on standard categories like ‘History’ or Geography’ but rather will introduce something entirely different wherein books will be organized by themes like instability, violence and change. Beyond that, it will also operate like a ‘living library’ meaning that it will evolve and change based on suggestions from the community.
Al-Qarawiyyin Library
This library is part of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University complex in Fez, Morocco, which was founded by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 AD. It houses 4,000 rare literature and manuscripts, making it the world’s oldest continuously operating library. The structure of the building required remodeling in 2012, owing to natural forces and indoor floods caused by severe rainfall, however it has since reopened to the public. It is one of the most beautiful libraries in the Arab world, with its fascinating microscopic tiles in white, orange, green, and blue. It embodies and preserves the Arab world’s heritage.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Alexandria, Egypt is home to this library. It first opened its doors in 2002, and it now houses eight million books, four museums, and a planetarium, among other cutting-edge amenities. It serves not just as a public library, but also as a modern-day homage to the ancient Library of Alexandria. It stands tall today as an architectural maverick shaped as a titled colossal sun disk with its walls made of granite engraved with symbols and letters that encompass more than 120 human scripts. Its beauty is not just restricted to its outside, on the inside is knowledge that spans the entire world inscribed in its books.
The Children’s Public Library
The library debuted in 2017 with the tagline “Knowledge is Our Right,” with the goal of collaborating with knowledge creators to bring it to children of all classes and cultures in Oman. This Muscat library is exclusively for children. The interior of this multi-story library, which has a view of Oman’s beaches and majestic mountains and is packed with beanie bags and other fun furniture, is colorful and lively, making it the perfect hideaway for children. The library has a variety of genres of children’s books in Arabic and English, as well as computers and play areas.
The Lebanese National Library
This Beirut library which is over a century old was founded in the early twentieth century and is dedicated to preserving Lebanese and Lebanon-related works. Three large, climate-controlled basement rooms for the collection are included in the new library building.
The library’s one-of-a-kind collection has over 300,000 papers in a variety of languages. Paintings, government papers, maps and blueprints, music scores, and postcards are among the items in the collection, which also contains books, manuscripts, rare documents, and journals.
Ithra Library
This library is part of the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (Ithraa). The cultural center, which is a Saudi Aramco initiative, opened its doors in 2018 with the goal of promoting talent and empowering human development in the region through a variety of activities and facilities, including a performing arts theatre, a cinema, a museum, and most importantly, a library.
There you have it, six of the most beautiful libraries in the region. Each was created with the intention of recognizing the power of books and how they can be utilized to bring people together.
