al-Qarawiyyin Library in Fez, Morocco, is the oldest library in the
world, but until last month, only researchers had access to it. Built in
859, the library was a beacon for scholars, poets, and theologians for
hundreds of years, but in recent years it had fallen into terrible
disrepair. Now a massive, three-year restoration effort hasn’t just
revitalized the building – it’s opened an ancient center of scholarship
up to a new generation of readers!
