The most striking piece of modern architecture in Egypt: a vast disc tilted toward the Mediterranean, 160 metres in diameter, evoking a rising sun. The exterior walls are carved with letters and symbols from every known alphabet, ancient to modern. Inside, the main reading room steps down in eleven cascading terraces under a glass-and-aluminium roof.
The complex contains the main library (with capacity for 8 million books), four specialised museums (Antiquities, Manuscripts, Sadat, History of Science), a planetarium, and rotating exhibition galleries. The whole site is worth a half day — minimum — and is one of the few cultural institutions in Egypt that consistently mounts world-class temporary exhibitions. Tickets are reasonable; closed Friday morning. The famous outdoor sundial in the plaza in front of the library is calibrated so that you, the visitor, become the gnomon — stand on the marked spot and your shadow tells the time.