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Timbuktu, the city
The Great Sahara Desert
The Tuareg people
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Timbuktu
Timbuktu – just that one word conjures up images.
For many, Timbuktu is simply used as an expression when trying to describe
the most remote, distant part of the world. Few people know that Timbuktu
is an actual city, located in Mali on the southern fringes of the Sahara
Desert. 
Great Commerce Center
Optimally located along the Niger River through what was
known as the trans-Saharan trade route, Timbuktu thrived as a city of
commerce. Slabs of salt mined from the north
were traded for gold and slaves brought up river from the south. Beads,
also of great value, were traded for gold, oil, or sometimes slaves.
Timbuktu, Center of Learning
Along with the great wealth and fame of the trade route,
Timbuktu emerged as an important educational location. People would come
from as far away as Saudi Arabia to study at Timbuktu’s vast offerings
of mosques, universities, and extensive libraries. Some of these buildings
still stand today, although a mere echo of its greatness during the golden
reign of the Songhay empire from the 14th through 16th century. 
Decline
Timbuktu’s wealth and importance declined nearly 400
years ago as alternate routes were found. Now that European merchants
had found an easier way of reaching West African coast cities on ships,
the arduous trip through the desert was no longer necessary. Having lost
its source of income and wealth, Timbuktu slowly eroded into the quiet,
sandy city seen today, merely a lost city to the rest of the world.
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