The University of Timbuktu is a collective term for the teaching associated with three mosques in the city of Timbuktu in what is now Mali: the mosques of Sankore, Djinguereber, and Sidi Yahya. It was an organized scholastic community that endured for many centuries during the medieval period. The university contributed to the modern understanding of Islamic and academic studies in West Africa during the medieval period and produced a number of scholars and manuscripts taught under the Maliki school of thought.
Sankore Mosque, c. 2006
Djinguereber Mosque, c. 2005
Page from the Ta'rīkh al-Fattāsh
Timbuktu is an ancient city in Mali, situated 20 kilometres north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 54,453 in the 2009 census.
Image: Donkeys, Timbuktu
Image: Sankore Madrasah
Image: Tombouctou
Image: Timbuktu market women sellers