3.6K views · 20 reactions | Timbuktu was a centre of Islamic scholarship under several African empires, home to a 25,000-student university and other madrasahs that served as wellsprings for the spread of Islam throughout Africa from the 13th to 16th centuries. | National Geographic UK | Facebook

1.3K views · 484 reactions | Aminatta Forna tells the story of...

The Fall of Timbuktu #Timbuktu #History #WestAfrica #SultanAhmadAlMansur #GoldenAge | Pyramid Secrets

The Librarian Who Outsmarted Al-Qaeda to Save 350,000 Ancient Manuscripts When jihadist groups seized Timbuktu in 2012, one man quietly organized one of the most daring cultural rescue missions of modern times. Abdel Kader Haidara, a local librarian and scholar, led a covert operation to save around 350,000 priceless manuscripts—some dating back to the 11th century—from almost certain destruction. A Treasure of Global Knowledge These manuscripts were far more than fragile old books. They contain