For the Love of Books: A Sarajevo Story – in pictures

When Sarajevo fell under siege in 1992, Mustafa Jahic, director of the Gazi Husrav Beg Library, decided that the 10,000 manuscripts it held must be saved. 'Saving the documents of civilisation is in my opinion, equal to saving human lives,' Jahic says. 'Books are our past, our roots. Without the past, we don't have a present or a future'
Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

A 19th century illuminated Koran by Serifovic Mushaf. Along with more than 10,000 other unique manuscripts, this beautiful book spent three years in dusty basements at the mercy of Serbian Nationalist shells Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

Lotumba Hussein, seen here at home with his family, is the night watchman at the library and risked his life to help save the collection during the siege. 'It would have been better to die together with the books than to live without them,' Hussein says. 'What would be the purpose of my life if I lost what I loved' Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

An illuminated edition of poems by the Persian poet Hafez Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

A student in the reading room at the Gazi Husrav Beg Library, Sarajevo Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

Stamp of the Gazi Husrav Library Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Jeremy Pollard

The History of Bosnia by Sallih Muvekkit. This unique manuscript, the earliest history of the nation dating from the late 19th century, spent the Bosnian war in Serbian occupied territory. Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

The History of Bosnia by Sallih Muvekkit was found among the ashes and ruins after the peace accords were signed Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

At the height of the siege, staff of the Gazi Husrav Beg began a project to make microfilm copies of all 10,000 unique manuscripts. Not an easy task when there is no hot running water and only intermittent electricity. These 'Heath Robinson' creations ensured a steady supply of both Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

Staff of the Gazi Husrav Beg library transported 10,000 unique manuscripts across the city of Sarajevo from hiding place to hiding place, under sniper fire and shelling. There was no means of carrying the books, so old banana crates were used Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

Bullet marks on the graves of Bare multi-denominational Cemetery. The only way Mustafa Jahic could get from home to see the books was through here, at the mercy of enemy snipers. 'Muslim graves are not much use to hide behind when the snipers are shooting, they are too thin and white,' he says. 'So I would run towards the Orthodox and Catholic parts of the cemetery, those graves saved my life' Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson

Many of the manuscripts in the Gazi Husrav Beg collection are still to be catalogued. Donations and acquisitions stretching back centuries are still being discovered. Photograph: Oxford Film & Television Ltd / Sam Hobkinson