Activities >> Sites

Mali: Timbuktu (Mosques)

The site

The 3 great mosques in Timbuktu were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988. They are part of this ancient mystical town charged with history and legends. Djingarey Ber, the oldest and also the largest of the 3 mosques was built from 1325. The other 2 mosques are Sidi Yahia and Sankore, home of a prestigious Koranic University in the 15th century. Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the expansion of Islam throughout the Sudan region. Its three great mosques speak of Timbuktu's Golden Age.
Made of soft materials (earth, wood, tender stones), the mosques have been conserved thanks to the great responsibility of the traditional masons and the participation of the entire town population to the annual one-day conservation event. Today, the 3 mosques are still in use and continue to benefit from the traditional maintenance practices.
However, these monuments remain threatened by sand-dunes, modern urbanisation and the change of mentality within the population.

Objectives

• analyse the state of conservation of the 3 mosques
• offer practical training to the artisans and technicians involved in the conservation of the mosques.

Allocated budgets (US dollars)

Results

Training
- 110 professionals trained to preventive conservation techniques
Conservation
- 1500 men/day of conservation works done on the 3 mosques (drainage, repairs on walls and roofs, sand removal…)
- valorisation of the mason's guild, real architects and guardians of the traditional know-how
- design of new technical details (to improve on the natural lighting and ventilation system)
- purchase of basic tools and equipment
Management
- recommendations done regarding the role of the "mission culturelle de Tombouctou"
- identification of the need to establish a management plan

Complementary activities within the Projet cadre

- participation of Mahamane Djitteye, staff at the "mission culturelle", Timbuktu to the Africa 2009 regional course held in Porto Novo, Benin, (28 August au 17 November 2000)
- participation of Dr. Téréba Togola, National Director for Arts and Culture at the Ministry of Culture, Bamako, to Africa 2009 Director's seminar held in Mombasa, Kenya (13 to 17 November 2000)
- participation of Ali Ould Sidi, of the "mission culturelle", Timbuktu to the Africa 2009 co-ordination committee from 1998 to 2000

Problems encountered

- difficulty to reconcile stakeholders with very different opinions and interests on this site still in use.
- difficulty to ensure the conservation of the sites in a changing environment where the will to modernise and solidify the structures is very strong
- conciliate tradition and modernity while preserving the authenticity of Timbuktu remains a great challenge

Implemented Activities