World’s Oldest Library to Reopen

By Dianna Dilworth 

Khizanat al-Qarawiyyin, the oldest library in the world, has undergone a multi-million pound restoration and will reopen this year.

The Fez, Morrocco-based institution, houses a collection of ancient documents including a ninth century copy of the Koran written on camel skin. The renovation was done courtesy of Fatima al-Fihri, who set her focus on the renovation to deal with the grief of losing her father, brother and husband at the same time. The National has the scoop:

The library is located in a complex containing the Qarawiyyin Mosque and the Qarawiyyin University, the oldest in the world. Its alumni include the great Muslim economist and historian Ibn Khaldun who studied there in the 14th century, mystic poet and philosopher Ibn Al-‘Arabi who attended in the 12th century, the Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides and Andalusian diplomat Leo Africanus, a 16th-century author and traveller.