The phrase Timbuktu which is often used jokingly means ‘anywhere far away.’
Is Timbuktu a real place?
Most people think of Timbuktu as the most remote place on earth. Others think of Timbuktu as being a legend or place which existed only in people’s imagination. Timbuktu does actually exist & is located in the present-day Republic of Mali at the edge of the Sahara desert.
It was founded in the 11th century when the Tuareg people roamed the desert during the rainy & dry seasons in search of grazing lands for their herds & camels. During the dry season, however, the Tuareg people would camp a few miles from the Niger river in search of water & grass for their stock.
Whenever the desert becomes green, they would leave their heavy goods with an old Tamasheq woman called ‘TIN ABUTUT’ to keep watch over them which shortly thereafter became a wealthy warehouse/depot for commercial goods transiting from the desert & what would become The city of Timbuktu taking its name from this famous lady.
The city gained wealth from its access to & control of the trade routes which connected the central portion of the Niger River with the Sahara & North Africa, passing along gold, laborers, & ivory from Africa’s interior to the Mediterranean & sending salt & other goods southwards. The city’s golden period was in the 14th century CE when then ruler Mansa Musa (the wealthiest man to have ever lived. Check out his amazing story here) built mosques & established the first universities which gained the city international fame as a center of learning.
The city experiencing various subsequent rulers & various empires but continued to thrive until it was captured by Morocco in 1591. The medieval descriptions of the city’s wealth lingered long in global memory motivating European explorers to attempt looking for it, but with difficulty finding it & establishing the source of the Niger River, resulted in Timbuktu becoming one of the most mysterious places in world geography. Timbuktu is currently listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
