Timbuktu's Manuscripts: A Threatened History

Abdoulaye Cissé and his team risked their lives to save thousands of ancient manuscripts from Timbuktu in 2009, as extremists took over the town. These fragile documents, holding the rich history of their people, were secretly moved by donkey carts, boat, and bus on a seven hundred and fifty-mile journey to Bamako. The manuscripts, challenging the idea of African history being mostly oral, reveal a vibrant past with written evidence of dealings between West African empires and tribes. The brutality of al-Qaidas arrival in 2012 led to the destruction of over four thousand manuscripts, but new efforts to protect Timbuktus treasures have been made, with nearly all the manuscripts now digitized and backed up on multiple servers. The Daily News Now! — Every city. Every story. AI-powered. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.