Saving Egypt's precious fire-bombed books (BBC)
By Sarah Hashash
Cairo
Thousands of historical documents could be lost following a fire at the Institute of Egypt - which began during clashes in Tahrir Square last month - but an army of restoration workers is working day and night to save the country's written history.
The plain-clothes security guard in the dingy ground-floor office at Egypt's National Archives eyes my camera suspiciously.
On the desk in front of him lies a heavy black revolver. After a brief dispute with my guide and phone calls to his seniors, he reluctantly lets me in.
I am led into an adjoining room where, knee-deep in stacks of newspapers, men and women wearing face masks, rubber gloves and white lab coats are hard at work.
It looks like a cross between a hospital operating theatre and a newspaper printing plant. The smell of singed paper hangs in the air.
From this small room, a vast rescue operation is being mounted to save the ancient books and manuscripts, which were damaged after the country's oldest research institute - the Institut d'Egypte - was firebombed during clashes between demonstrators and the army in central Cairo in December.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16534331
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