- Title: 'Oldest' library in the world undergoing restoration in Morocco
- Date: 24th October 2016
- Summary: FES, MOROCCO (OCTOBER 20, 2016) (REUTERS) MAIN LIBRARY ENTRANCE / PEDESTRIANS OUTSIDE IT SIGN READING (French and Arabic): "AL QARAWIYYIN LIBRARY" READING ROOM WITH CHAIRS AND TABLES CHAIRS AND TABLES IN READING ROOM READING ROOM CEILING ARTWORK OF READING ROOM CEILING BOOKSHELVES BOOKS LIBRARY CURATOR, ABDELFATTAH BOUGCHOUF, PUTTING IBN KHALDUN'S "MUQADDIMAH" ON A TABLE AND OPENING IT IBN KHALDUN'S MUQADDIMAH BOUGCHOUF CHECKING A PAGE OF THE MANUSCRIPT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AL QARAWIYYIN LIBRARY CURATOR, ABDELFATTAH BOUGCHOUF, SAYING: "What gives it (the library) its importance and value is that it contains a human heritage that interests the entire world. It is a rare heritage you will not find in other libraries. It is because of these points that we have the restoration work and the care for this library". VARIOUS OF BOOKSHELVES CONTAINING MANUSCRIPTS PROTECTED IN FOLDERS VARIOUS OF IBN KHALDUN'S MUKADDIMAH INCLUDING HIS SIGNATURE VARIOUS OF 9TH CENTURY KORAN VARIOUS OF A 12TH CENTURY MANUSCRIPT ON MEDICAL CONDITIONS IN POETRY BY IBN TUFAIL MANUSCRIPTS DEPUTY CURATOR, ABOU BAKR JAOUANE, TALKING TO FAHD BIN ABDELKARIM, A PHD STUDENT FROM SAUDI ARABIA NEXT TO A COMPUTER COMPUTER SCREEN SOUNDBITE (Arabic) DEPUTY CURATOR, ABOU BAKR JAOUANE, SAYING: "When you read a book, you travel in history. When you see a manuscript that is nearly ten or more centuries old, you travel in time. As I said, the library gives you a spiritual bond for these and other reasons. Since I arrived at al-Qarawiyyin Library, it never crossed my mind that I would leave it.'' MANUSCRIPT VARIOUS OF A MANUSCRIPT BY IBN ROCH VARIOUS OF A MANUSCRIPT ON ASTRONOMY BY AL FARABI SAUDI PHD STUDENT, FAHD BIN ABDELKRIM, TALKING TO DEPUTY CURATOR SOUNDBITE (Arabic) SAUDI PHD STUDENT, FAHD BIN ABDELKRIM, SAYING: "The first reason that encouraged me to come to Al al-Qarawiyyin University is its reputation and the wealth of its scientific literature in every field. Researchers can find what they are looking for at this ancient and venerable university that was the first one to be established in the Arab World.'' EQUIPMENT USED IN THE LABORATORY LABORATORY LABORATORY EQUIPMENT WOODEN PRESSER IN THE LABORATORY READING ROOM, CHAIRS, TABLE AND A GROUP OF VISITORS VISITORS IN THE READING ROOM VITO PIRELLI FROM THE INSTITUTE OF COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS AND A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL IN PISA, ITALY SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF COMPUTATIONAL LINGUISTICS AND NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL IN PISA, ITALY, VITO PIRELLI, SAYING: "I'm here as you mentioned for reasons of scientific cooperation with some universities in Fes. The idea is to try to improve the preservation of this wonderful world heritage, cultural heritage and to approach the problem from an information science perspective. The main aim is to provide means and tools both in terms of hardware and software to digitalise this cultural heritage and to make them available in an open way to the world at large.'' LIBRARY BUILDING OLD IRON DOOR OLD LOCKS LIBRARY'S TERRACE BEING RESTORED BUILDING MATERIAL AND EQUIPMENT VIEW OF FES FROM THE ROOF OF THE LIBRARY
- Embargoed: 8th November 2016 09:58
- Keywords: Morocco al-Qarawiyyin library manuscripts Fes
- Location: FES, MOROCCO
- City: FES, MOROCCO
- Country: Morocco
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA00155D3KNP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A ninth century library in Morocco, widely believed to be the oldest in the world, is undergoing restoration to preserve its ancient treasures for future generations.
The al-Qarawiyyin library, founded by a woman in the former Moroccan capital Fes, is home to some of the rarest and most unique manuscripts in the world.
In the past, the most prized items in the collection were protected behind an iron door with four locks and separate keys held by four different individuals, all of whom had to be present for the door to be opened.
Today, the curator is the only person who has access to the room where the rarest texts are kept under watch from security cameras.
"What gives it (the library) its importance and value is that it contains a human heritage that interests the entire world. It is a rare heritage you will not find in other libraries. It is because of these points that we have the restoration work and the care for this library," said the curator Abdelfattah Bougchouf.
The library is home to some masterpieces of Islamic literature.
Among the most precious books in its archives is a 9th centre Koran written in ornate Kufic script on camel skin, and Ibn Khaldun's Mukkadimah from the 14th century.
Ibn Khaldun was a North African Arab thinker, historiographer and sociologist.
"When you read a book, you travel in history. When you see a manuscript that is nearly ten or more centuries old, you travel in time. As I said, the library gives you a spiritual bond for these and other reasons. Since I arrived at Al Qarawiyyin Library, it never crossed my mind that I would leave it," said deputy curator Abou Bakr Jaouane.
The restored library boasts an elaborate laboratory for treating, preserving and digitising the old texts.
Its machinery includes digital scanners to identify the tiny holes in the ancient paper rolls and a preservative machine that treats the manuscripts with special liquids to moisten and prevent them from cracking.
The documents are being digitised to allow more researchers and students to view the texts.
It's a lengthy process and so far only 20 per cent of the manuscripts are available in electronic form.
"The idea is to try to improve the preservation of this wonderful world heritage, cultural heritage and to approach the problem from an information science perspective. The main aim is to provide means and tools both in terms of hardware and software to digitalise this cultural heritage and to make them available in an open way to the world at large," said Vito Pirelli from the Institute of Computational Linguistics in Italy.
The library's restoration is part of a large project to give a facelift to the old quarters of Fes known as the Medina.
The old city, granted UNESCO World Heritage status, has a large pedestrian network and is not accessible by cars.
It is also the home of a sizeable number of historic buildings and more than 350,000 inhabitants, many of them craftsmen and artisans.
Many of its thinkers and intellectuals deserted to the capital Rabat or went abroad, but the library is a living testimony to its glorious past and gives hope for its future.
The restoration work is expected to be completed in early 2017, when it will be opened to the general public. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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