Timbuktu’s famed manuscripts return home
The Malian military government on Monday started returning home the historic and ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu, which were spirited out of their fabled northern city when it was occupied by al-Qaida-linked militants more than a decade ago.
Islamic radicals destroyed more than 4 000 manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th century, after they seized Timbuktu in 2012, according to the findings of a United Nations expert mission. They also destroyed nine mausoleums and a mosque’s door – all but one of the buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The majority of the documents dating back to the 13th century – more than 27 000 – were saved by the devotion of the Timbuktu library’s Malian custodians, who carried them out of the occupied city in rice sacks, on donkey carts, by motorcycle, by boat and four-wheel drive vehicles.
The first batch of the manuscripts were brought to Timbuktu by plane from the capital of Bamako, authorities said, adding that the return was necessary to protect them from the threats of Bamako’s humidity.
The shipment consisted of more than 200 crates and weighed some 5.5 tonnes. The rest would be shipped in the coming days, officials said.
The manuscripts, which UNESCO has designated as part of the World Cultural Heritage, are a testimony to the rich cultural heritage of the Mali and Songhai empires in West Africa.
Islamic radicals destroyed more than 4 000 manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th century, after they seized Timbuktu in 2012, according to the findings of a United Nations expert mission. They also destroyed nine mausoleums and a mosque’s door – all but one of the buildings on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The majority of the documents dating back to the 13th century – more than 27 000 – were saved by the devotion of the Timbuktu library’s Malian custodians, who carried them out of the occupied city in rice sacks, on donkey carts, by motorcycle, by boat and four-wheel drive vehicles.
The first batch of the manuscripts were brought to Timbuktu by plane from the capital of Bamako, authorities said, adding that the return was necessary to protect them from the threats of Bamako’s humidity.
The shipment consisted of more than 200 crates and weighed some 5.5 tonnes. The rest would be shipped in the coming days, officials said.
The manuscripts, which UNESCO has designated as part of the World Cultural Heritage, are a testimony to the rich cultural heritage of the Mali and Songhai empires in West Africa.
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