ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY

When he reached Memphis in Egypt, he was welcomed by the people who hated Persian ruling. He was twenty five years old. Yet, he was King of Macedon. He was the hailed conqueror who started a long journey through Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria, sweeping both Greek and the Persian forces on his way. While on his way, Alexander admired that stretch of land between the Mediterranean Sea and lake Mareotis, and the nearby island. He ordered a city to be founded there in order to serve as a regional capital. The location was ideal, for it was intermediate between Greece across the Mediterranean and the rest of Egypt. At that time, the Nile was connected to the Red Sea through a canal, and Alexandria could serve as a gateway to the Indian Ocean. The city plan was designed by the Greek architect Dinocrates. The city walls outline was marked by Alexander himself. Egypt`s new capital was born April 7, 331 BC. She was named after Alexander, yet he never saw a single building rise there. Only after his death, had he returned to her to be buried. Now, Alexandria has become the second largest city and the main port of Egypt. History of Alexandria University Alexandria University is situated in the heart of the city of Alexandria. It is a unique and historic institution. The University assumed a leading role during the wars and political changes that occurred in Egypt. It began as a branch of "Fouad I University", including Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Law in the Academic year 1938/1939 followed by the Faculty of Engineering in the Academic year 1941/1942. The idea of establishing a university in Alexandria was conceived to accommodate expansion in higher education and official encouragement of secondary school graduates to seek professional degrees. Therefore, due to growing demand of the people of Alexandria for higher education, "Farouk I University" became an independent university in August 1942. Four additional faculties: Science, Commerce, Medicine and Agriculture, were added to the university. In 1952 became Alexandria University. The years 1945 to 1983 witnessed the growth and expansion of the University. The Higher Institute of Nursing (currently the Faculty of Nursing) was established in 1954, Faculty of Pharmacy in 1956, Higher Institute of Public Health in 1963, Faculty of Education in 1966, Faculty of Dentistry in 1971, The Medical Research Institute in 1971, The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Edfina in 1975, The Institute of Graduate Studies and Research in 1983, and Faculty of Tourism and Hotels Business in 1983. As the education and cultural influence of Alexandria University spread to neighboring regions, it became necessary to establish addition regional faculties in the Nile Delta to meet the growing education needs of other cities. Alexandria University founded the Faculty of Medicine in Tanta in 1962/63, The Faculties of Science and Education in Tanta in 1969/70, and Faculty of Agriculture in Kafr El-Sheikh in 1969/70. These faculties are currently affiliated to Tanta University. Similarly, the following faculties were established in the city of Damanhour (in the Western Delta): Faculty of Education in 1979/80, and the Faculties of Arts, Agriculture and Commerce in 1983/84. In 1989, Alexandria University resumed responsibility for four other faculties located in Alexandria but were administered by Helwan University. These were, Faculties of Agriculture, Fine Arts, Physical Education (for Boys) and Physical Education (for Girls). In 1991/92, another Faculty of Education was established in the city of Marsa Matrouh, 300 km west of Alexandria. Moreover, to further enhance the scientific and cultural cooperation between Egypt and other Arab nations, especially Lebanon, the Arab University of Beirut was established in affiliation with Alexandria University in 1960. Alexandria University like all other government-supported Universities in Egypt is under the auspices of the Supreme Council of Universities. Bibliotheca Alexandrina The ancient library The word "bibliotheca" comes from the Greek word for "books", since the ancient library belonged to the Hellenistic period. Although ancient Egypt had known papyrus libraries as far as 3200 B.C., and Athens had a great library in the 4th century B.C., the "Bibliotheca Alexandrina" was the largest in all antiquity. The library was staffed by many famous Greek writers and scholars, and contained a vast collection of books, and over 700,000 scrolls and papyri. It was a tradition that if any book was found in a ship that visited Alexandria. This was taken to the Library to be copied and hence no manuscript was available in any library worldwide and not in Alexandria. Documents were arranged in systematic order in the form of books, as they are now known. Scientists, philosophers and artists from all over the world were invited to study and enrich the university and library, that made Alexandria carry the beacon of civilization until it was burned by the Romans in 48 BC. The chief Librarian of Alexandria was chosen from the most prominent scholars in science or literature, and was appointed by the king himself. He was described as "who was in charge of the King's Library", "president of the Library" or "bibliophylax" (keeper of archives). A record or registry of the contents of the Library was called "Pinakes" (tables), a task that was given to Callimachus the poet, who classified every field of learning according to subject (rhetoric, law, epic, tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, history, medicine, mathematics, natural science and miscellanea). Under each subject, authors were alphabetically arranged, followed by a short bibliographical notice and a critical account of the author's writing. The Destruction of the Library During the co-regency of Cleopatra and her brother "Ptolemy XIII", a conflict evolved that was resolved by Julius Caesar upon his arrival at Alexandria in 48 BC. Caesar sided Cleopatra and granted her the throne. Ptolemy in rage accused them both of treason and led the army to siege the palace, in what is known as "The Alexandrian War". Caesar sent for supplies from Rome , but was outnumbered by his enemy’s fleet that controlled the harbor. To avoid a naval combat, Caesar burnt 110 Egyptian ships at dockyards that enabled him to occupy Pharos, control the entrance to the harbor and establishing direct communication with his main forces across the sea. The fire extended to the city and the Great Library, and a number of 40,000 books (400,000 in some sources) were burnt, with a tremendous loss of treasures and human heritage. The Modern Re-Building of the Library The first call to revive the Ancient Library came from Alexandria University, which allocated the land very close to the original location, and established a distinguished Conference Center as part of the whole project. The complex lies in a location facing the sea and close to the modern Alexandria University Complex. Dr. Mohsen Zahran, the project manager said " the new library will encourage peace and the exchange of ideas throughout the region and provide a place for scholars of diverse backgrounds to meet." The Egyptian president adopted the project nationally, and calls were made for international sponsorship from the UNESCO. An organization was founded in 1988 to carry on with that project, and on 25 June 1990, the president laid its first stone. The construction was executed in 1995 by Egyptian, British and Italian companies, with a total cost of US$ 176 million. A "soft opening" took place in October 2001, when the library was experimentally opened to the public for one month. Designed by a Norwegian architect, the New Bibliotheca Alexandrina takes the shape of a circular diaphragm wall - 160 meters in diameter and 33 meters high - representing the rising sun. It consists of 11 floors with a total area of 85,405 square meters. The whole complex includes two other libraries (Library for the Blind and Young Peoples' Library), a large convention center, planetarium, four museums (science, calligraphy, manuscripts and archeological) as well as the International School of Information Studies, Center for the Preservation of Rare Books and Documents, as well as research center and exhibition areas. The library is planned to contain 8 million books, 4000 periodicals, 50,000 manuscripts and rare books, 50,000 maps as well as audio-visual and multimedia materials and computer data bases. In the year 2001, a law was issued to render the library an independent body directly affiliated to the President. The "Council of Patrons" includes the Egyptian President, the French President, the Queen of Spain, Director-General of the UNESCO and other international dignitaries. The "Board of Trustees" is chaired by the First Lady, and Dr. Ismail Serag-El-Din was appointed as Director General.