a. A city where about 30,000 people generally live in poverty
b. Situated in the Tombouctou region
c. In the West African nation of Mali
d. At the southern edge of the Sahara Desert (hence, at risk of desertification)
e. 15km from the Niger river
Timbuktu on the map below.
Source: National Geographic Website
The video below gives a glimpse into what Timbuktu is like. The video is taken from Youtube. Hence, 100% accuracy is not guaranteed!
At 49secs, the montage shows Djinguereber Mosque, one of the three great mosques in Timbuktu. It does not look as spectacular as I expected. Then again, most of the houses there are made of mud. What will be seen is mainly desert landscape. Nothing impressive to this writer.
However, what lies beneath this sleepy town is a rich history and thousands of manuscripts packed with knowledge about the past, human wisdom to be passed on to future generations.
Next >> Origins of Timbuktu
