Timbuktu, Mali
The expression: Going to Timbuktu and back has always indicated travel to some destination that has fallen off the map.
Timbuktu, located in the heart of western Africa, 15 km from the Niger river, is indeed a remote, mysterious spot to travel to.
Not many know that this town was once properous, criss-crossed by several trade routes. Gold, ivory, salt and slaves passed through Timbuktu.
Nor do they know that the respected Qurani Sankore university and a clutch of mosques and madrassas made Timbuktu an educational destination in the 15th century.
Some facts you probably did not know:
Timbuktu is today no longer prosperous. Its monuments are in danger of being overwhelmed by the desert.
Timbuktu means a place far away. Another version: The place where a woman called Baktu lived. According to legend Baktu was a nomadic woman who kept the belongings of traders safe in their absence.
It was once said: Salt comes from the north and gold from the south, but knowledge comes from Timbuktu.
Image: The Djingareyber mosque in Timbuktu. Photograph: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images
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