Sankofa stage: Reconnect
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Timbuktu, at the edge of the Sahara in Mali, was an intellectual and spiritual capital in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Learning and trade
The Sankore university and many Qur’anic schools drew students, while the market traded salt from the north, gold, cattle and grain from the south, and manuscripts.
Three mosques
Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia recall the city’s golden age. Built of earth, they need regular restoration, and UNESCO notes that desertification threatens them.