Timbuktu's Treasures

by Vivienne Walt/Timbuktu

The people of Timbuktu, a remote town in Mali, have a priceless treasure: thousands of old books. Groups are working to save them.

The old books inside Fida Ag Mohammed's mud home are no ordinary volumes. Between the goatskin covers are hundreds of centuries-old pages of Arabic handwriting. "One of my ancestors from the 12th century began our family library," Mohammed says.

There are many collections like Mohammed's in Timbuktu, a town in Mali (see map). For centuries, its people have stashed manuscripts in their homes or under the desert sands. There are believed to be 50,000 of these manuscripts in Timbuktu.

With its remote location in the Sahara, Timbuktu feels like the end of the Earth. But it was once at the crossroads of Africa's gold and salt routes. The town had a university and was a center of learning.

A Rich History

Timbuktu's ancient books are putting the town back on the map. Aid organizations and governments are racing to save the collections from falling apart or from being sold and taken out of Africa. The government of South Africa built a museum for the books that will open later this year. One of the museum's goals is to showcase Africa's rich literary history. Among the papers are works on history, medicine, law and religion.

Timbuktu's manuscripts have been passed from one generation to the next. But will young people treasure the books or sell them? "We are trying to explain to each new generation why these are important," says Timbuktu's religious leader, Ali Imam Ben Essayouti.

In 1979, Mahmoud Zouber bought 25 manuscripts for about $25,000. Today, they are worth "10 times that amount," he says. Zouber and others hope that money will not tempt Timbuktu's young people to part with their centuries-old treasures.

Can you tell why Timbuktu is a famous city? What are the treasures they found in this city?