Timbuktu At Last
July 14, 2007
Timbuktu is a fascinating city. It is probably about 1,000 years old. It was once the center of the Muslim empire. It was an extremely important trade center. Now it’s just so much sand.
In about the twelfth century, it was a Muslim center. There were several mosques and a university that had as many as 25,000 students. Mali at that time was rich beyond belief. They were in their prime gold mining years and could see no end to their good fortune. The Tourags rode their camels across the desert to Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Niger, and Burkina Faso. They brought back salt from the salt mines, precious metals and spices from the coastal nations, and whatever else they could find that might be worth something. All these things were brought to Timbuktu where they were sold and traded for dispersal throughout the country and throughout the world.
The Tourags are the ones that named the city. When the French occupied in the nineteenth century, they renamed it Tombouctu. This is how it appears on many maps today. The correct way to spell it however is: Timbuktu.
In the fourteenth century, Morocco invaded. They cleaned out the university, hauling all the manuscripts and books back to their homeland. They left behind a shell of a building which has never fully recovered. Some might say this was the beginning of the end for Timbuktu. Trade continued to happen, even as the gold reserves fell and salt became less precious. The Tourags found new commodities such as slaves to bolster their economy. They were an essential link in the slavery train; capturing West Africans and bringing them back to the city for sale to Westerners. When this trade became illegal in the late nineteenth century, things took a serious downturn.
The people are resilient, however, and continued to survive as they always had; living in the desert, raising livestock, caravanning their camels to the salt mines, and trading with surrounding countries. In the early seventies they were dealt a debilitating blow. It came in the form of a drought. It was so severe that it forever altered the course of the Niger River so that it no longer meanders through town. The Tourags began to have great difficulties maintaining their nomadic lifestyle. Their livestock died, their oases dried up, and they were forced to come back to the city to live. This was untenable for them so they turned to the government for help. The dictator at the time turned a blind eye.
This began a period of turbulence. The Tourags started raiding farms up and down the river valley. They stole sheep, cows, and anything they could use to survive. The government responded with force and the ensuing war lasted many years. Remember that the nomads never really considered themselves Malian. They speak Arabic and have more of a Middle Eastern look; they are not black Africans. They raided villages and sold off the inhabitants into slavery. Traditional Malians would say that the Tourags are arrogant and proud. At any rate, the war was no good for anyone.
In the Nineties a democratic government took over for the first time in history. One of the first things the new president did was to install a Tourag into his cabinet. Halis would say this was just for show as the man had no actual power, but it was a significant move nonetheless as it was unprecedented. It also helped to ease the tensions and create a common ground for peace talks. The result was the burning of the weapons that I previously mentioned. There is still a great deal of animosity between the Bombara people and the Tourags, but they live together today in relative harmony.
In the meantime, the desert has encroached upon the town. It is slowly recapturing the place, taking it back into the sand from whence it came. It is a typical Malian village; mud brick structures, open sewers, plenty of donkeys, and lots of trash. The main difference is the sand. In other places in Mali, the ground is hard packed red dirt. In Timbuktu, it is sand everywhere. When you gaze out over the rooftops, it is difficult to see where the town ends and the desert begins as the sand never stops.
For Halis and 35,000 others, it is home. He would never live anywhere else. He is fiercely protective of his village and his way of life and refuses to consider any other way. It is an admirable stand, even if I do not fully understand it.
MJR
Timbuktu is a fascinating city. It is probably about 1,000 years old. It was once the center of the Muslim empire. It was an extremely important trade center. Now it’s just so much sand.
In about the twelfth century, it was a Muslim center. There were several mosques and a university that had as many as 25,000 students. Mali at that time was rich beyond belief. They were in their prime gold mining years and could see no end to their good fortune. The Tourags rode their camels across the desert to Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Niger, and Burkina Faso. They brought back salt from the salt mines, precious metals and spices from the coastal nations, and whatever else they could find that might be worth something. All these things were brought to Timbuktu where they were sold and traded for dispersal throughout the country and throughout the world.
The Tourags are the ones that named the city. When the French occupied in the nineteenth century, they renamed it Tombouctu. This is how it appears on many maps today. The correct way to spell it however is: Timbuktu.In the fourteenth century, Morocco invaded. They cleaned out the university, hauling all the manuscripts and books back to their homeland. They left behind a shell of a building which has never fully recovered. Some might say this was the beginning of the end for Timbuktu. Trade continued to happen, even as the gold reserves fell and salt became less precious. The Tourags found new commodities such as slaves to bolster their economy. They were an essential link in the slavery train; capturing West Africans and bringing them back to the city for sale to Westerners. When this trade became illegal in the late nineteenth century, things took a serious downturn.
The people are resilient, however, and continued to survive as they always had; living in the desert, raising livestock, caravanning their camels to the salt mines, and trading with surrounding countries. In the early seventies they were dealt a debilitating blow. It came in the form of a drought. It was so severe that it forever altered the course of the Niger River so that it no longer meanders through town. The Tourags began to have great difficulties maintaining their nomadic lifestyle. Their livestock died, their oases dried up, and they were forced to come back to the city to live. This was untenable for them so they turned to the government for help. The dictator at the time turned a blind eye.
This began a period of turbulence. The Tourags started raiding farms up and down the river valley. They stole sheep, cows, and anything they could use to survive. The government responded with force and the ensuing war lasted many years. Remember that the nomads never really considered themselves Malian. They speak Arabic and have more of a Middle Eastern look; they are not black Africans. They raided villages and sold off the inhabitants into slavery. Traditional Malians would say that the Tourags are arrogant and proud. At any rate, the war was no good for anyone.
In the Nineties a democratic government took over for the first time in history. One of the first things the new president did was to install a Tourag into his cabinet. Halis would say this was just for show as the man had no actual power, but it was a significant move nonetheless as it was unprecedented. It also helped to ease the tensions and create a common ground for peace talks. The result was the burning of the weapons that I previously mentioned. There is still a great deal of animosity between the Bombara people and the Tourags, but they live together today in relative harmony.
In the meantime, the desert has encroached upon the town. It is slowly recapturing the place, taking it back into the sand from whence it came. It is a typical Malian village; mud brick structures, open sewers, plenty of donkeys, and lots of trash. The main difference is the sand. In other places in Mali, the ground is hard packed red dirt. In Timbuktu, it is sand everywhere. When you gaze out over the rooftops, it is difficult to see where the town ends and the desert begins as the sand never stops.
For Halis and 35,000 others, it is home. He would never live anywhere else. He is fiercely protective of his village and his way of life and refuses to consider any other way. It is an admirable stand, even if I do not fully understand it.MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 9:31 PM
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