Yes, there is a real Timbuktu
May. 26th, 2010 09:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bex77One of my student workers is graduating and going off to work in Timbuktu with the "One Laptop per Child" project. It's not just a mythical term for "way the heck out there" but a real city in Africa! With a population of almost 32,000 people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu
It's in Mali, in Western Africa. The city is located on the southern edge of the Sahara, about 15 km from the Niger River, and is connected to it by a series of canals. It has three "mud" mosques, and one of the first universities in the world. In 1990, it was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in danger due to the threat of desert sands. A program was set up to preserve the site and, in 2005, it was taken off the list of endangered sites. However, new constructions are threatening the ancient mosques, a UNESCO Committee warn.
See more photos: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/timbuktu.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu
It's in Mali, in Western Africa. The city is located on the southern edge of the Sahara, about 15 km from the Niger River, and is connected to it by a series of canals. It has three "mud" mosques, and one of the first universities in the world. In 1990, it was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in danger due to the threat of desert sands. A program was set up to preserve the site and, in 2005, it was taken off the list of endangered sites. However, new constructions are threatening the ancient mosques, a UNESCO Committee warn.
See more photos: http://www.galenfrysinger.com/timbuktu.htm
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Date: 2010-05-26 01:29 pm (UTC)