19/04/2024
The politics of time with Carolyn Smith
Photo 1: The Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia, founded by the legendary Muslim conquerer of North Africa ʿUqba bin Nafiʿ in 670 AD (rebuilt in the 9th century). It became the most important centre for learning and knowledge transmission in medieval Maghreb.
Photo 2: Precious Arabic manuscripts in danger of destruction in a local cultural centre in Tunis. There are hundreds of underfunded manuscript libraries and private collections across Tunisia.
Photo 3: Preservation of thousand years old manuscripts at the Centre for the Study of Islamic Arts and Civilisation in Raqqada, Tunisia. The Centre houses one of the oldest Arabic manuscript collections in the world.
Photo 4: Manuscript workshop at the National Library of Tunis. Making Arabic paper from scratch. The National Library’s Arabic manuscript collection is also one of the largest in the world.
Email: aq228@cam.ac.uk Twitter: @aslishahqurbani
These photos are dedicated to the students of manuscript heritage in Tunisia.
