she took off her gloves to turn the pages
The Mission: The Library of Alexandria seeks to recapture the spirit of the original ancient Library of Alexandria. It aspires to be:
- The world’s window on Egypt.
- Egypt’s window on the world.
- A leading institution of the digital age.
- A center for learning, tolerance, dialogue and understanding.
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Yesterday we were honored with a private tour of the new Library of Alexandria. In addition to being a fully digital, state-of-the-art library, filled with users (including tons of women albeit still in the ubiquitous veil), the library also hosts numerous museum exhibits spanning all of Egypt's history. The Anwar Sadat Museum was one of the most moving exhibits in the building. The director is an amazing Harvard-educated scholar named Ismail Serageldin, sometimes called "the most intelligent man in Egypt". On his personal web site is the lovely credo he lives by:
- The world is my home
- Humanity is my family
- Non-violence is my creed
- Peace, justice, equality, and dignity for all is my purpose
- Engagement, rationality, tolerance, dialog, learning, and understanding are my means.
(the outside pics above were taken from wikipedia).
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