Medieval History
For centuries, Timbuktu has existed in the Western imagination as a byword for the most exotic, far-flung place conceivable. Situated on the southern edge of the Sahara, it acquired a near-mythical status in distant countries for its fabled inaccessibility, and for the accounts of the dazzling material and intellectual wealth to be found there.
Intrigued visitors continue to be drawn by the treasures that survive from the city's medieval golden age as an important academic, religious and mercantile center -- its great earthen mosques, and hundreds of thousands of scholarly manuscripts held in public and private collections.
The city, today part of present-day Mali and known as the "city of 333 saints" for the Sufi imams, sheiks and scholars buried there, was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.
But there are fears this carefully preserved legacy could be under threat from groups of armed rebels who have overrun the ancient city this month, in the vacuum left by retreating Malian government forces.
Click here to read this article from CNN
- Bulk Of Timbuktu Manuscripts Survived Occupation Unharmed
The majority of Timbuktu's ancient manuscripts appear to be safe and unharmed after the Saharan city's 10-month occupation by Islamist rebel fighters, experts said on Wednesday, rejecting some media reports of their widespread destruction. Denying...
- The Secret Race To Save Timbuktu?s Manuscripts
By Geoffrey York The Globe and Mail As rebels searched the bags of the truck passengers at a checkpoint near Timbuktu, one man was trying to hide his nervousness. Mohamed Diagayete, an owlish scholar with an eager smile, was silently praying that the...
- Islamist Fighters In Timbuktu Continue Destruction Of City?s Mausoleums, Heritage
Muslim extremists continued destroying the heritage of the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu on Monday, razing tombs and attacking the gate of a 600-year-old mosque, despite growing international outcry. The International Criminal Court has described the...
- Cordoba: Name Debate Echoes An Old Clash Of Faiths
The great mosque of Córdoba was begun by the Muslim caliphs in the eighth century, its forest of pillars and red-and-white striped arches meant to convey a powerful sense of the infinite. With the Christian reconquest of Spain in the 13th century, it...
- Durham In Line To Host The Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the world's great treasures, could be heading to Durham?s World Heritage Site in 2013. Durham is bidding to become the UK?s 2013 City of Culture and wishes to display the Gospels during that year. The British Library...
Medieval History
Timbuktu: Mali's treasure at risk from armed uprising
For centuries, Timbuktu has existed in the Western imagination as a byword for the most exotic, far-flung place conceivable. Situated on the southern edge of the Sahara, it acquired a near-mythical status in distant countries for its fabled inaccessibility, and for the accounts of the dazzling material and intellectual wealth to be found there.
Intrigued visitors continue to be drawn by the treasures that survive from the city's medieval golden age as an important academic, religious and mercantile center -- its great earthen mosques, and hundreds of thousands of scholarly manuscripts held in public and private collections.
The city, today part of present-day Mali and known as the "city of 333 saints" for the Sufi imams, sheiks and scholars buried there, was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.
But there are fears this carefully preserved legacy could be under threat from groups of armed rebels who have overrun the ancient city this month, in the vacuum left by retreating Malian government forces.
Click here to read this article from CNN
- Bulk Of Timbuktu Manuscripts Survived Occupation Unharmed
The majority of Timbuktu's ancient manuscripts appear to be safe and unharmed after the Saharan city's 10-month occupation by Islamist rebel fighters, experts said on Wednesday, rejecting some media reports of their widespread destruction. Denying...
- The Secret Race To Save Timbuktu?s Manuscripts
By Geoffrey York The Globe and Mail As rebels searched the bags of the truck passengers at a checkpoint near Timbuktu, one man was trying to hide his nervousness. Mohamed Diagayete, an owlish scholar with an eager smile, was silently praying that the...
- Islamist Fighters In Timbuktu Continue Destruction Of City?s Mausoleums, Heritage
Muslim extremists continued destroying the heritage of the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu on Monday, razing tombs and attacking the gate of a 600-year-old mosque, despite growing international outcry. The International Criminal Court has described the...
- Cordoba: Name Debate Echoes An Old Clash Of Faiths
The great mosque of Córdoba was begun by the Muslim caliphs in the eighth century, its forest of pillars and red-and-white striped arches meant to convey a powerful sense of the infinite. With the Christian reconquest of Spain in the 13th century, it...
- Durham In Line To Host The Lindisfarne Gospels
The Lindisfarne Gospels, one of the world's great treasures, could be heading to Durham?s World Heritage Site in 2013. Durham is bidding to become the UK?s 2013 City of Culture and wishes to display the Gospels during that year. The British Library...