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| Timbuktu library – a treasure house of centuries of Malian history | Timbuktu library – a treasure house of centuries of Malian history |
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| Timbuktu's main library, officially called the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Islamic Studies and Research, is a treasure house containing more than 20,000 manuscripts covering centuries of Mali's history. | Timbuktu's main library, officially called the Ahmed Baba Institute of Higher Islamic Studies and Research, is a treasure house containing more than 20,000 manuscripts covering centuries of Mali's history. |
| Named after the famous medieval writer and scholar, the manuscripts are housed in a purpose-built 4,600 sq metre (50,000 sq ft) complex completed in 2009 at a cost of around £5m. Designed by South African architects and replacing a crumbling 40-year-old building, the new institute features air conditioning to preserve the manuscripts and an automatic fire-fighting system. | Named after the famous medieval writer and scholar, the manuscripts are housed in a purpose-built 4,600 sq metre (50,000 sq ft) complex completed in 2009 at a cost of around £5m. Designed by South African architects and replacing a crumbling 40-year-old building, the new institute features air conditioning to preserve the manuscripts and an automatic fire-fighting system. |
| It is not known how much damage was caused to the building, which had reportedly been used as a sleeping quarters by the Islamist fighters who seized it. | It is not known how much damage was caused to the building, which had reportedly been used as a sleeping quarters by the Islamist fighters who seized it. |
| Timbuktu's famous manuscripts, believed to number in the hundreds of thousands, mainly date from the 14th to 16th centuries, when the city was an important hub for trade and Islamic knowledge. Often written in Arabic but also some local languages, they cover areas such as medicine and astronomy, as well as poetry, literature and Islamic law. Many were kept for centuries in private family libraries, passed down through the generations. | Timbuktu's famous manuscripts, believed to number in the hundreds of thousands, mainly date from the 14th to 16th centuries, when the city was an important hub for trade and Islamic knowledge. Often written in Arabic but also some local languages, they cover areas such as medicine and astronomy, as well as poetry, literature and Islamic law. Many were kept for centuries in private family libraries, passed down through the generations. |
| The city's huge and priceless cultural heritage, a legacy of its medieval status as an African equivalent to Oxford or Cambridge, complete with bustling university, was little known in the outside world, with even the French, Mali's colonial rulers until 1960, carrying away some manuscripts to museums but doing little to unearth the full story behind them. | The city's huge and priceless cultural heritage, a legacy of its medieval status as an African equivalent to Oxford or Cambridge, complete with bustling university, was little known in the outside world, with even the French, Mali's colonial rulers until 1960, carrying away some manuscripts to museums but doing little to unearth the full story behind them. |
| As outside interest began to grow, in part when the infamously remote city became more accessible, the Ahmed Baba Institute started to collect and preserve significant parts of this cultural heritage, protecting it from damage through poor storage or being sold to collectors. | As outside interest began to grow, in part when the infamously remote city became more accessible, the Ahmed Baba Institute started to collect and preserve significant parts of this cultural heritage, protecting it from damage through poor storage or being sold to collectors. |
| Separately, a Unesco scheme run by Norway and Luxembourg called the Timbuktu Manuscripts Project began to scan the documents to provide digital versions. | Separately, a Unesco scheme run by Norway and Luxembourg called the Timbuktu Manuscripts Project began to scan the documents to provide digital versions. |
| According to reports from Mali, many private owners have sought to save their own collections from destruction by hiding or removing their manuscripts, in some cases burying them in the desert. | According to reports from Mali, many private owners have sought to save their own collections from destruction by hiding or removing their manuscripts, in some cases burying them in the desert. |
| Mohamed Galla Dicko, formerly director of the Ahmed Baba Institute, told Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper: "The old pages can be damaged just by touching them. And the people who are moving them are not specialists in handling them." | Mohamed Galla Dicko, formerly director of the Ahmed Baba Institute, told Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper: "The old pages can be damaged just by touching them. And the people who are moving them are not specialists in handling them." |
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