Timbuktu which country

Image source, Getty Images. The great mosque of Djenne is one of the continent's most notable landmarks. Read full media profile. The Niger River serves as the country's main transport and trade artery. French troops intervened after Islamists seized parts of Mali in Read full timeline.

This location helped the city become a center of trade. Quickly, ancient Timbuktu grew to be quite wealthy. As part of the Mali Empire, Timbuktu was also a place of learning. Students there studied Islam, law, history, geography, astronomy, and many other subjects. Many of them also acted as missionaries. They helped spread Islam throughout western Africa.

As more trade routes opened, the strength of the Mali Empire waned. In , Timbuktu was taken over by the Songhai Empire. Still, the city and its population of , continued to prosper. Have you ever traveled to a place very far away?

And for good reason! For centuries, European explorers heard stories about Timbuktu and tried to visit the city.

The long and dangerous trek proved too much for most of them. Starting in the 18th century, many Europeans tried to reach Timbuktu. Later, in , France invaded and colonized Timbuktu.

The nation of Mali gained independence from France in Timbuktu became one of its major cities. In the s, efforts to protect the ancient city began.

Most of these were focused on its three great mosques , which were built in the s. In , Tuareg rebels and Islamic militants took control of part of Mali. This included Timbuktu. Many of its historic monuments were torn down. The extremists also burned many ancient manuscripts , except for those smuggled out of the city by librarians.

Timbuktu was freed from the rebels and militants in Today, the city is recovering and rebuilding. The history of Timbuktu makes it a place that many people want to protect. Have you ever been to Timbuktu? The ancient city has faced many trials. What other ancient places are you curious about? You don't have to travel from here to Timbuktu to keep learning about this ancient city! Just ask an adult to help you try out one or more of the activities below.

Thanks for joining the discussion, trey! Sometimes our Wonder Friends get so excited to leave us a comment that they forget to read the text! Hey there, Wonder Friend Mason! Don't forget to check out the Wonder text above to learn all about Timbuktu! Hi, brandon! It is probably hot there. Africa is known for their hot weather. Maybe you could do more research about Africa's climate. It would be interesting to learn more. We like camels too! Come back and see us again soon!

Hey there, Wonder friend Jose! What other kinds of things do you Wonder about Timbuktu? Would you go there if you had the chance? Wonder on! Hey Wonder-buddy!

We think it is so cool that you think Timbuktu is interesting to learn about! Hi Abigail, great point! Many folks referred to Timbuktu as the middle of nowhere because it's just so far away - and even hard to imagine because of the distance! Hey Lauren, great question! The salt is from a mine and is broken down into smaller chunks - this salt might even be sold at your local grocery store!

It's amazing to think about how far it travels! We're so glad you enjoyed our Wonder, Anthony! Perhaps you will travel to Timbuktu some day - we hope you'll tell us all about it! We look forward to using our imaginations with you tomorrow! Hi Simon and Max, what fun to Wonder with you! This West African city—long synonymous with the uttermost end of the Earth—was added to the World Heritage List in , many centuries after its apex.

Timbuktu was a center of Islamic scholarship under several African empires, home to a 25,student university and other madrasahs that served as wellsprings for the spread of Islam throughout Africa from the 13th to 16th centuries.

Sacred Muslim texts, in bound editions, were carried great distances to Timbuktu for the use of eminent scholars from Cairo, Baghdad, Persia, and elsewhere who were in residence at the city.

The great teachings of Islam, from astronomy and mathematics to medicine and law, were collected and produced here in several hundred thousand manuscripts. Many of them remain, though in precarious condition, to form a priceless written record of African history. Now a shadow of its former glory, Timbuktu strikes most travelers as humble and perhaps a bit run down.

These 14th- and 15th-century places of worship were also the homes of Islamic scholars known as the Ambassadors of Peace. More than a hundred islets off the coast of Pohnpei form the ceremonial site of Nan Madol. Ruins of stone palaces, temples, and tombs dating from to A. In , Nan Madol was listed "in danger" due to mangrove overgrowth, storm surge, and stonework collapse. There is hope that libraries and cultural centers can be established to preserve the precious collection and become a source of tourist revenue.

Some fledgling efforts toward this end are now under way. This characterization had roots in reality and in fact continues to the present in much reduced form. Salt from the desert had great value and, along with other caravan goods, enriched the city in its heyday. A Scot, Alexander Gordon Laing, beat him to it by four years but is thought to have been murdered before he could leave.

Even today, when the world has become a much smaller place, it remains relatively remote. There is still no tarmac road to take travellers there. The first time he went, he hitch-hiked from Hampshire in England in , aged Like many others, we had thought it a mythical place and when we realised it wasn't, it seemed like a good place for two guys to go on a gap year.

The journey was tough and took nearly six weeks, ending with a four-day boat trip on the River Niger and a truck ride supplied by a local police chief. It felt like we had crossed an ocean, like we had skirted the edge of this huge continent. Timbuktu felt extraordinarily remote.