April 27, 2001

Alexandria's Library Rises Again, Short on Books and Scholars

By DANIEL DEL CASTILLO


It has been a mere 2,000 years since this city's great beacon of knowledge and learning -- its ancient library -- suffered one of history's most famous fires.

For a city with an eternal memory and the legacies of countless civilizations, two millennia are not so long. Elegantly poised on the northeastern coast of Africa, this former classical city, founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., now resembles a faded dowager, clinging to memories of a gilded past and the futile

Digital or Print Subscription

Web Pass

Already have an account? Log In Now.