DESCOVERING TIMBUKTU

Timbuktu, remote region, formerly university city located near a large river where arrives Azalaï, caravan charged with salt and manuscripts, is located between the 16° Northern latitude and the 5° Western longitude degree. Mysterious African city whose magic name caused burning vocations and embellished the dreams of scholars, poets and researchers. Tourist City par excellence, its powerful gravitational capacity caused the passion of famous travellers and explorers.

Already in 1353, Ibn Battuta, the Arab sphere trotter who visited the capital of Mali, while returning to Morocco, passed by Timbuktu. He was one of the first writers to make mention of the City: "we travelled afterwards, towards the town of Timbuktu. Between it and the Nile, there are four miles. The majority of its inhabitants are of Massufa, carrying the Litham (men veil). There is in this locality the tomb of the illustrious poet Abu Ishak Al Saheli, it’s there also the tomb of Siraj Al DIN Al Kuwayk, one of big tradesmen of Alexandria ".

Es Saadi, the author of " Tarikh Sudan" quoted by Delafosse (1972, 270), reports that as of the 14 th century an Arab scientist of the name of El Temini arrived at Timbuktu with the Emperor Kankou Moussa, in the intention to teach at the university of Sankoré. When he realized that he was late of a score of years on the jurisconsults of this Sudanese City, he decided then to return for improvement to the Moroccan city Fez. At the 16 th century, Mahmoud Kâti (1981,27) mentioned the cultural mission which the first Saoudi sherif carried out to El Hadj Askia Mohamed: "…Later, Moulaye El Abbas called upon Moulaye Essaqli to go to be established near the prince. Moulaye Essaqli went there in the year 1519, and his arrival among us coincided with the moment when we have just begun this work ".

The tourist function of Timbuktu was reinforced at the 19 th century with the massive arrival of European missionaries and explorers: Gordon Laing in 1826, Réné Caillié in 1828, Heinrich Barth in 1853 and Oscar Lenz in 1880. Among them, only the German Heinrich Barth devoted himself to a true modern scientific exploration, by the fruitfulness of his works, the extent of his discoveries and the duration of his stay in Timbuktu, approximately seven months. Nowadays, Timbuktu, City blessed of Es Saadi and Ahmed Baba, continues to exert a magic power on its visitors by the vestiges of its university, its architectural heritage, its high historical and cultural places, its original craft industry and its mysteries.

Legal and institutional framework of the Inheritance protection

 In 1988, the UNESCO’s Committee of the World Inheritance proceeded to the inscription on the list of the world inheritance of the mosques of Djingareyber, Sankoré and Sidi Yahia, as well as 16 cemeteries and mausoleums located for the majority inside the limits of the old town of Timbuktu.

The protection and development of the inheritance constitute an important stake for Timbuktu. Two (2) sets of provisions contribute to the regards of these objectives:

- at the international level, it is about the "Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural inheritance" to which Mali adhered in April 1977 ;

- at the national level, it is about the Law 85-40/ AN-RN of July 26, 1985 related to the protection and the promotion of the national cultural inheritance and Decree 92245 concerning classification of the old cities of Timbuktu and Djenné .

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