亚历山大图书馆坐落在埃及地中海海岸线的转角处,这处耗资约2.2亿美元打造的文化地标,不仅仅是为了致敬那座在两千年前焚毁于战火的古代世界知识中心,更是现代亚历山大最值得驻足的城市客厅。它那巨大的斜圆盘式建筑像是一轮从海面升起的红日,墙面上镌刻着全球120种古今文字,光是站在这面艺术之墙下仰望,就能感受到人类文明跨越时空的厚重感。
走进图书馆前,先别急着入馆,建议顺着海滨大道往东走几步。从侧面观察,你会发现整座主馆建筑像是一个倾斜的巨大日晷,圆盘面向地中海倾斜。这种设计并非只为美观,斜屋顶由半透明的玻璃板组成,能过滤强烈的埃及阳光,为内部阅览室提供充足且柔和的自然光。外墙那由阿斯旺花岗岩砌成的墙面上,手工凿刻着汉字、阿拉伯文、象形文字等世界各种语言。在这里找找汉字的"中""正"等字样,是不少中国游客入馆前的趣味挑战。
步入馆内,最震撼的莫过于那个面积约2万平方米的主阅览厅。这里共有11层空间,采用了阶梯式的露台布局,最多能容纳2500名读者同时在场。你会看到埃及本地的学生背着书包在这里备考,这种鲜活的学习氛围让它区别于那些冷冰冰的博物馆。站在最高层的露台俯瞰,整齐划一的书架和巨大的清水混凝土圆柱交织出一种近乎宗教般的神圣感。馆内藏书空间可扩容至800万册,目前已有的数百万册图书涵盖了地中海文明的方方面面。
如果你的时间有限,除了主阅览厅,一定要去地下一层的文物博物馆。这里收藏了从亚历山大港海底打捞上来的珍贵古物,包括托勒密时期的巨大雕像和沉没海底数百年的希腊罗马陶器。相比于开罗博物馆的局促,这里的陈列更有设计感。紧邻的手稿博物馆则保存着包括《圣经》古卷副本在内的珍稀文献。这两处博物馆通常需要购买联票,对于历史迷来说,150到300埃镑左右的投入非常划算,尤其是看一眼那些写在莎草纸上的千年真迹,那种感觉很难用语言形容。
在图书馆广场上,那个半悬空的黑色球体就是天文馆。这里定期播放关于宇宙和古埃及天文学的球幕电影。如果是带着孩子出游,这里是避暑消磨时光的好去处。天文馆旁边的科学博物馆更像是一个互动中心,展示了阿拉伯学者在数学、医学和力学方面的成就。需要注意的是,天文馆的放映时间比较固定,建议进门后先去售票处确认当天的电影场次,以免错过最精彩的那一幕。
对于国际游客,普通门票大约150埃镑,但这仅包含进入主阅览室、萨达特博物馆以及几个免费的小型展览。如果你想看刚才提到的文物博物馆和手稿博物馆,建议直接购买约300埃镑的综合联票。售票处位于主楼外侧的独立小亭子里,记得先买票再排队安检。虽然安检口有两道,但外国人通常有专门的快速通道,警察对游客还是挺客气的。入馆前,大型背包必须寄存,所以随身只带相机、钱包和贵重物品就好。
周五是埃及的公共休息日,图书馆全天不对外开放(有时下午会短时间开放但规则总变),所以千万别在周五跑空。最佳的参观时间是周日至周四上午九点开馆的时候。十一点之后,本地学生和跟团游的大部队会陆续抵达,原本安静的氛围会变得稍微嘈杂。另外,千万别错过每天下午在主大厅举行的免费人工讲解,导游会用英语和法语带你走一些平时不对外开放的区域,让你更深入地理解这座建筑背后的政治和历史隐喻。
大部分时间周五是不对游客开放的,或者仅针对学者预约。周六通常会缩短开放时间,建议将参观计划安排在周日至周四,标准开放时间一般是早上9点到下午3点半,最晚入场时间通常在关门前45分钟。
主阅览大厅允许使用手机拍摄不带脚架的照片,但文物博物馆和手稿博物馆内部管控极严。如果你想携带单反相机或摄像机进入,可能需要额外支付250到400埃镑左右的摄影费,入馆时请务必咨询安检处以免被罚款。
普通门票里其实包含了定时段的导游服务,在大厅的服务台附近可以找到穿制服的讲员。每场讲解大约45分钟,会带你走过核心区域并讲解建筑构造,这比自己瞎逛要高效得多。
图书馆地下一层有一个小型自助餐厅,卖一些三明治和咖啡。如果想吃地道美食,出门走五分钟到海滨大道就有非常出名的希腊餐厅或海鲜店。可以坐在窗边,一边吹着海风,一边远眺盖特贝城堡。
Sena Khateeb I learned about the Alexandria Bibliotheca during my first year of architecture school, so I was super excited to finally visit it! If you’ve seen aerial pictures of the library, it seems like a hard concrete structure that occupies space. When you experience it on foot, it’s a lot softer and much more welcoming. The warm wooden interior gives away cozy vibes, too. There are also some interesting galleries you can visit inside the library; my favorite was Al Sadat gallery. I only went for a visit, but it also seems like a resourceful place and good spot to work or study.
Sena Khateeb I learned about the Alexandria Bibliotheca during my first year of architecture school, so I was super excited to finally visit it! If you’ve seen aerial pictures of the library, it seems like a hard concrete structure that occupies space. When you experience it on foot, it’s a lot softer and much more welcoming. The warm wooden interior gives away cozy vibes, too. There are also some interesting galleries you can visit inside the library; my favorite was Al Sadat gallery. I only went for a visit, but it also seems like a resourceful place and good spot to work or study.
irawan ns It's amazing to be in one of the world's oldest library and its survival story through change of civilization. It's established even far earlier than Christ Era. One of recommended spot when you visit Alexandria and Egypt as well when it comes to education, history-art & culture interests.
irawan ns It's amazing to be in one of the world's oldest library and its survival story through change of civilization. It's established even far earlier than Christ Era. One of recommended spot when you visit Alexandria and Egypt as well when it comes to education, history-art & culture interests.
Nader B The library is an Alexandria landmark. The architecture is really nice and the place is spacious and quiet. The security personnel is so exaggerated, certainly not needed for a library. It's an example of over-employment, and the staff are generally not polite and can snap instantly. They have interesting displays of printing presses, old arabic calligraphy, and manuscripts. For internet access, you need to have a phone with an Egyptian SIM card to get a message for activation, which is unnecessary. The place seems to be poorly maintained from a cleanliness point of view for a library that was built in 2002.
Nader B The library is an Alexandria landmark. The architecture is really nice and the place is spacious and quiet. The security personnel is so exaggerated, certainly not needed for a library. It's an example of over-employment, and the staff are generally not polite and can snap instantly. They have interesting displays of printing presses, old arabic calligraphy, and manuscripts. For internet access, you need to have a phone with an Egyptian SIM card to get a message for activation, which is unnecessary. The place seems to be poorly maintained from a cleanliness point of view for a library that was built in 2002.
Jessica Hajjar Landmark for Alexandria, a must visit. The staff are kind, the place is stunning and it is beautifully located overviewing the sea. There are many free exhibitions, a free indoor guided tour in 3 languages, and 2 paid museums. The ticket includes access to the library, seated desks with computers and all the books, the free exhibitions and others. There is also a membership option to access the books and all the other facilities. Additionally, outside the bibliotheca, there is a coffee shop that serves good coffee and dessert with a view of the sea.
Jessica Hajjar Landmark for Alexandria, a must visit. The staff are kind, the place is stunning and it is beautifully located overviewing the sea. There are many free exhibitions, a free indoor guided tour in 3 languages, and 2 paid museums. The ticket includes access to the library, seated desks with computers and all the books, the free exhibitions and others. There is also a membership option to access the books and all the other facilities. Additionally, outside the bibliotheca, there is a coffee shop that serves good coffee and dessert with a view of the sea.