Timbuktu’s Priceless Manuscripts Return Home After 13 Years

Edited By: Widad WAHBI

 The historic manuscripts of Timbuktu have finally returned to their home city after more than a decade in storage in Mali’s capital, Bamako. The priceless collection — some dating back to the 13th century — was smuggled out in 2012 when al-Qaida-linked militants occupied Timbuktu, destroying over 4,000 manuscripts, nine mausoleums, and a UNESCO-listed mosque door.

Thanks to the bravery of local custodians, more than 27,000 manuscripts were saved. They were hidden in rice sacks and transported by donkey carts, motorcycles, boats, and 4×4 vehicles to safety in Bamako.

On Monday, the first shipment of over 200 crates — weighing 5.5 tons — arrived back in Timbuktu by plane. Officials say the city’s dry desert climate will help preserve the fragile documents better than Bamako’s humidity.

“These manuscripts reflect our civilization and spiritual and intellectual heritage,” said Timbuktu’s deputy mayor, Diahara Touré.

Malian authorities call the return “the first stage” of a larger plan. The military government has pledged to protect, digitize, and study the manuscripts, which cover theology, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, history, and geography.

UNESCO recognizes the manuscripts as part of the World Cultural Heritage, highlighting the intellectual richness of the Mali and Songhai empires.

Despite the cultural victory, Mali still faces security threats. Militants continue to operate in the region, and attacks near Timbuktu were reported as recently as last month.

For many Malians, however, the manuscripts’ homecoming is more than symbolic — it’s a reconnection with the city’s legacy as a historic crossroads of African and Islamic scholarship.