The Timbuktu A-rag

Founded in 1100 CE, Timbuktu is a West African city located in Mali on the edge of the Sahara desert. Historically it flourished as a center of Islamic learning and culture, as well as a lucrative trans-Saharan gold and salt trading post.  It is home to three of West Africa’s oldest mosques - The Djinguereber, Sankore, and Sidi Yahia which were built during the 14th and 15th centuries. The Malian emperor Mansa Musa built the Great Mosque Djinguereber and The Sankore Mosque after his pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. Timbuktu is also home to the University of Timbuktu, one of the oldest universities in the world. By 1450 CE The University of Timbuktu housed more than 25,000 Islamic scholars. Timbuktu became the epicenter of knowledge in West Africa.  Thousands of Black African scholars and leaders of the highest rank and nobility came out of this university. More than 700,000 manuscripts have been preserved here by Black scholars. In 1988, UNESCO designated Timbuktu as a World Heritage