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.
Fittingly, El-Fihriya attended the university she helped to found. The library still has her original diploma: a wooden board.
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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