Timbuktu
A Saharan trading city and seat of learning whose family libraries hold manuscripts on law, astronomy and the use of protective texts.
Practised and told of here
Best time: November to February, if travel is advised at all.
Timbuktu was a centre of Islamic scholarship in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Its three great mosques, Djinguereber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Manuscripts
Hundreds of thousands of manuscripts survive in private libraries, many in Arabic and some in local languages. Most are on law, theology, poetry and medicine. Some are on astrology, geomancy and talismans, which scholars of the Sahel wrote as part of the education of a learned man. Beside them are charms in leather cases, worn by many people of the region.
Threat and rescue
In 2012 and 2013, Islamist groups took the city, destroyed tombs of saints and burned some manuscripts, calling saint veneration and shrines un-Islamic. Archivists and librarians had already moved thousands of texts to safer places. Mali's conflict continues, and travel to Timbuktu is not advised in most periods.
Visiting
Check government advice. Do not ask about the location of libraries; their guardians keep that closely.
A respectful visit to Timbuktu
Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.
- Djinguereber Mosque See the mud-built mosque from the outside.
- The Ahmed Baba Institute Learn about the research centre.
- The old saints' tombs Pay respects at the restored tombs.
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Timbuktu" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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