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Timbuktu--the name still evokes an exotic, faraway place even though its glory days are long gone. Unspooling its history and legends, resolving myth with reality, Marq de Villiers and Sheila Hirtle have captured the splendor and decay of one of mankind's treasures. Founded in the early 1100s by Tuareg nomads who called their camp "Tin Buktu," it became, within two centuries, a wealthy metropolis and a nexus of the trans-Saharan trade. Salt from the deep Sahara, gold from Ghana, and money from slave markets made it rich. In part because of its wealth, Timbuktu also became a center of Islamic learning and religion, boasting impressive schools and libraries that attracted scholars from Alexandria, Baghdad, Mecca, and Marrakech. The arts flourished, and Timbuktu gained near-mythic stature around the world, capturing the imagination of outsiders and ultimately attracting the attention of hostile sovereigns who sacked the city three times and plundered it half a dozen more. The ancient city was invaded by a Moroccan army in 1600, which began its long decline; since then it has been seized by Tuareg nomads and a variety of jihadists, in addition to enduring a terrible earthquake, several epidemics, and numerous famines. Perhaps no other city in the world has been as golden--and as deeply tarnished--as Timbuktu. Using sources dating deep into Timbuktu's fabled past, alongside interviews with Tuareg nomads and city residents and officials today, de Villiers and Hirtle have produced a spectacular portrait that brings the city back to life.… (más)
For many around the world, the mention of Timbuktu conjures images of a far-off land so remote that very few have even been there. Even the well-traveled have never been there. Many still consider it a mythical place. But for the 54,000 people who still live there, in a town mainly constructed from mud bricks, the city holds a rich place in the history of West Africa and Mali in particular. It was a part of the great Saharan trade routes, visited by the medieval explorers Leo Africanus and Shabeni, and ruled by the wondrous Mansa Musa during the 14th century. Marq de Villiers’s and Sheila Hirtle’s Timbuktu is a rich journey into this long-forgotten place.
No one really knows exactly how Timbuktu came to be or how it was named. Some say it is a Songhai construction meaning the “Wall of Butu.” Others propose it derives from the Berber timbouctou, meaning “a place covered by small dunes.” Others still point to a Zenaga phrase meaning “a hidden place.” In any case, the town of Timbuktu occupies a central place in the Malian countryside, having been a part of the Malian Empire since the early 1300s with the coronation of Musa I. Since then, with each new regime or leader, Timbuktu has absorbed a new culture and identity. Under Musa I, it became a center of learning and attracted many medieval scholars. Each one brought tales of the city to their homelands, and thus, the mystique of Timbuktu grew.
I read this one while on vacation and it was like a vacation in a vacation. De Villiers’s and Hirtle’s text is rich, expansive, beautiful, and a little sad all at the same time. While the city may not be much to look at today, they make it seem like the only place on Earth worth visiting. Their travels take them across Mali to learn and trade stories with other scholars. Each one offers a new and exciting piece of the puzzle of Timbuktu’s history and current place in the African landscape. While the luster of the city may have dimmed over the years, the stories have not. Any lover of medieval or African history will find this book thoroughly enjoyable. ( )
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Abdel Kader Haidara's Timbuktu home sprawls off an unnamed sandy alley - they're all sandy in Timbuktu, and none of them are named - in the southeast quadrant of the city.
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Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Their point is a simple one: in this world where the demons of intolerance seem once again to have been freed, in which suicidal killers can be called martyrs and in which the deadly technology of Western arms can be unleashed in cycles of atrocity and reprisal, Timbuktu still has lessons to teach.
Timbuktu--the name still evokes an exotic, faraway place even though its glory days are long gone. Unspooling its history and legends, resolving myth with reality, Marq de Villiers and Sheila Hirtle have captured the splendor and decay of one of mankind's treasures. Founded in the early 1100s by Tuareg nomads who called their camp "Tin Buktu," it became, within two centuries, a wealthy metropolis and a nexus of the trans-Saharan trade. Salt from the deep Sahara, gold from Ghana, and money from slave markets made it rich. In part because of its wealth, Timbuktu also became a center of Islamic learning and religion, boasting impressive schools and libraries that attracted scholars from Alexandria, Baghdad, Mecca, and Marrakech. The arts flourished, and Timbuktu gained near-mythic stature around the world, capturing the imagination of outsiders and ultimately attracting the attention of hostile sovereigns who sacked the city three times and plundered it half a dozen more. The ancient city was invaded by a Moroccan army in 1600, which began its long decline; since then it has been seized by Tuareg nomads and a variety of jihadists, in addition to enduring a terrible earthquake, several epidemics, and numerous famines. Perhaps no other city in the world has been as golden--and as deeply tarnished--as Timbuktu. Using sources dating deep into Timbuktu's fabled past, alongside interviews with Tuareg nomads and city residents and officials today, de Villiers and Hirtle have produced a spectacular portrait that brings the city back to life.
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No one really knows exactly how Timbuktu came to be or how it was named. Some say it is a Songhai construction meaning the “Wall of Butu.” Others propose it derives from the Berber timbouctou, meaning “a place covered by small dunes.” Others still point to a Zenaga phrase meaning “a hidden place.” In any case, the town of Timbuktu occupies a central place in the Malian countryside, having been a part of the Malian Empire since the early 1300s with the coronation of Musa I. Since then, with each new regime or leader, Timbuktu has absorbed a new culture and identity. Under Musa I, it became a center of learning and attracted many medieval scholars. Each one brought tales of the city to their homelands, and thus, the mystique of Timbuktu grew.
I read this one while on vacation and it was like a vacation in a vacation. De Villiers’s and Hirtle’s text is rich, expansive, beautiful, and a little sad all at the same time. While the city may not be much to look at today, they make it seem like the only place on Earth worth visiting. Their travels take them across Mali to learn and trade stories with other scholars. Each one offers a new and exciting piece of the puzzle of Timbuktu’s history and current place in the African landscape. While the luster of the city may have dimmed over the years, the stories have not. Any lover of medieval or African history will find this book thoroughly enjoyable. (