Timbuktu: Top Photos

The legendary gold-and-salt city at the edge of the Sahara that sent scholars to Mecca

Timbuktu, founded around 1100 as a commercial center for trade across the Sahara Desert, was also an important seat of Islamic learning from the 14th century onward. The libraries of Timbuktu contain
Timbuktu, founded around 1100 as a commercial center for trade across the Sahara Desert, was also an important seat of Islamic learning from the 14th century onward. The libraries of Timbuktu… © Unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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