A CAIRO LIBRARY has been burned down during anti-military protests, and priceless manuscripts have been lost:
Library fire in Egypt clashes destroys 'irreplaceable' 200-year-old documents
From Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, for CNN
December 18, 2011 -- Updated 0459 GMT (1259 HKT)
Cairo (CNN) -- The new wave of bloody clashes between pro-democracy protesters and Egypt's security forces has left at least 10 people dead, including six by live ammunition -- even though the new prime minister denied that live fire was being used by his forces.
Meanwhile, 213-year-old Egyptian maps and historical manuscripts -- described as "irreplaceable" -- were destroyed after a library in Cairo was set ablaze during the clashes, officials said.
[...]
Destroyed in the fire were the original manuscript of the "description of Egypt" and "irreplaceable maps and historical manuscripts preserved by many generations since the building of the Scientific Center in August 1798 during the French Campaign," Ganzouri said in a statement.
Egypt lost a piece of "its national treasure" and "its rare history," the prime minister said.
The library was a scene of intense confrontation Saturday.
[...]
The Deutsche Press Agentur has more details:
Egypt loses rare text in anti-military violence
Dec 18, 2011, 12:58 GMT
Cairo- A 19th-century book compiled by French scholars was destroyed in a blaze triggered by violent clashes between army forces and anti-military protesters in central Cairo, Egyptian officials said Sunday.
Twenty volumes of Description de l'Egypte (Description of Egypt) were burned out when the fire erupted Saturday in the Egyptian Academy building near Tahrir Square, said the head of the state-run Egyptian National Library, Zein Abdel Hadi.
[...]
And Chuck Jones, who has been posting information on Facebook as it comes out, has a roundup post at AWOL:
The Fire at the Institut d'Egypte Cairo.