Makkah
In the early twentieth century Makkah had two small public libraries beside Masjid al-Haram. One of them, in front of Bab Umm Hani, was the library of…
In the early twentieth century Makkah had two small public libraries beside Masjid al-Haram. One of them, in front of Bab Umm Hani, was the library of Shirvanizade Mehmed Rushdi Pasha, a former grand vizier who served as governor of the Hijaz. Its books, mostly in Arabic with some in Persian, Urdu, Turkish and Malay, covered grammar, fiqh, literature and history, and it had its own handwritten catalogue and librarians. The building no longer stands. Its site lies about 100 metres south of the Ka'bah, within the enlarged mosque.