Introducing Timbuktu (Tombouctou)
Timbuktu, that most rhythmical of African names, has for centuries been synonymous with Africa’s mysterious inaccessibility, with an end-of-the-earth allure that some travellers just have to reach. It’s also the name we all knew as kids, but never really knew where it was.
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More than just a name, Timbuktu’s fame derived from its strategic location, at once on the edge of the Sahara and at the top of the ‘Niger bend’, from its role as the fabulously wealthy terminus of a camel-caravan route that has linked West Africa and the Mediterranean since medieval times, and from the vast universities of Islamic scholarship that flourished under the aegis of some of Africa’s richest empires.
Timbuktu is a shadow of its former self, existing as a sprawl of low, often shabby, flat-roofed buildings that only hint at former grandeur, while all the time the streets fill up with sand blown in from the desert. And yet, still the travellers come.
Last updated: Mar 2, 2009
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Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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RE: Pinasse Mopti to Timbuktu to get to festival in the desert
by torotaxi 13 September 2011
I would be up for that as well as i intend to be in Mopti then, i'm sure a lot of people will have the same idea as us! Hopefully one…
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RE: Pinasse Mopti to Timbuktu to get to festival in the desert
by Simsy 11 September 2011
I would phone ahead and ask anyway. The festival is popular and they will put you in touch with the fixers or may even organize things…
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RE: Pinasse Mopti to Timbuktu to get to festival in the desert
by nettag 11 September 2011
Sounds reassuring. Thanks for the tip Simsy. I stayed at the ya pas de probleme hotel 2 years ago, but was not aware that I could contact…
See all Thorn Tree forum discussions for Timbuktu (Tombouctou)
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