After more than a decade in exile, Timbuktu’s treasured manuscripts have begun their journey home, rescued from the shadow of militants.
In 2012, al-Qaida-linked fighters stormed the fabled desert city, torching over 4,000 texts dating back as far as the 13th century. They also razed mausoleums and sacred sites, erasing centuries-old markers of Mali’s intellectual and spiritual legacy.
More than 27,000 manuscripts survived only through the courage of local custodians, who smuggled them from the occupied city in rice sacks, on donkey carts, motorcycles, and boats. Their destination was Bamako, Mali’s capital, where the manuscripts lay safeguarded but vulnerable to the city’s humidity.
On Monday, a plane touched down in Timbuktu carrying over 200 crates—some 5.5 tons—of these priceless works, with more to follow in the coming days.
The city, perched on the Sahara’s edge, offers a dry refuge where the fragile parchments can endure. Local officials hailed the return as a restoration of identity, calling the manuscripts “a reflection of our civilization and intellectual heritage.”
Mali’s military government, which pledged their return in February, described the collection as a bridge between past and future—a record of astronomy, medicine, mathematics, theology, history, and geography from the Mali and Songhai empires.
Yet the road to full restoration remains perilous. Thirteen years after Timbuktu’s occupation, Mali’s security crisis deepens, with militant attacks continuing around the city. Despite the threats, officials vow to protect, digitize, and share these treasures with the world.
For Timbuktu, their return is more than a cultural victory—it is a testament to endurance, defiance, and the unbroken spirit of a city once called the “Pearl of the Desert.”
