The meanings of Timbuktu
Illustrations and maps
color illustrations
$80
Add to
Add to
Salt comes from the north, gold from the south, but the word of God and the treasures of wisdom are only to be found in Timbuktu. - 15th-century Malian proverb. In a joint project between South Africa and Mali, a library to preserve more than 200 000 Arabic and West African manuscripts dating from the 13th to the 19th centuries is currently under construction. It is the first official cultural project of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), the socio-economic development plan of the African Union, and when the library is built, the cultural role of Timbuktu will be revived, as it becomes the safehaven for the treasured manuscripts. The manuscripts prove that Africa had a rich legacy of written history, long before western colonisers set foot on the continent.
