Today, Timbuktu is an impoverished town, although its reputation makes it a tourist attraction, and it has an airport. It is one of the eight regions of Mali, home to the local governor. It is the sister city to Djenne (also in Mali). Mali is divided into eight regions and a district. ... The location of Djenne within Mali Djenne (also Dienne or Jenne) is a city on the Bani River in southern Mali with a population of about 12,000 (in 1987). ...
Timbuktu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. In 1990, it was added to the list of world heritage sites in danger due to the threat of desert sands. A program was set up to preserve the site and in 2005, it was taken off the list of endangered sites.
It was one of the major stops during Henry Louis Gates' PBS special "Wonders of the African World". Gates visited with Abdel Kadir Haidara, curator of the Mamma Haidara Library together with Ali Ould Sidi from the Cultural Mission of Mali. It is thanks to Gates that an Andrew Mellon Foundation Grant was obtained to finance the construction of the library's facilities, later inspiring the work of the Timbuktu Libraries Project. Unfortunately, no practicing book artists exist in Timbuktu although cultural memory of book artisans is still alive, catering to the tourist trade. It is also home to an institute dedicated to preserving historic documents from the region.
The city itself is in stark contrast to the rest of the country's cities, because it has more of an Arabic flair than of an African. The streets are made of sand (except one), and one has often to go down to get into the houses, because of the sand which has leveled the streets higher than the entrances of the houses.
Things to see in Timbuktu are certainly the Mosques (closed at hours of prayer. As of April 07, major mosques are closed to non-Muslim visitors). There are '''three main mosques''' in Timbuktu, the '''Djingareiber Mosque''', a world heritage site, which is probably the largest and most impressive, however as of Aug 2007 it is being repaired. When taking photos be careful not to take pictures towards the army barracks just to the south. The '''Sankore mosque''' has an impressive minaret and is worth a visit, the '''Sidi Yehia Mosque''' is not as impressive. All three are within a short walk of each other.
The Western explorers who were the 'first' to find Timbuktu all have their houses preserved and commemorative plaques are visible on each of them. The explorers are Alexander Gordan Laing, first Westerner to make it there, Rene Caillie, first Westerner to make it there and back, Heinrich Barth, Oscar Lenz and Berky. Only the '''Heinrich Barth house''' has a museum, a few old photos, the rest of the houses are all lived in.
The orginal well of Bouctou, now dry, is in someone's back garden along with the Timbuktu Museum which has an interesting mix of artifacts and contemporary folk art, albeit very dusty.
The '''Grand Marche''' is a two-story market with stalls and shops selling all kinds of things, it is well worth going just for the incredible view from the roof, across the whole of Timbuktu to the desert.
You can also hire a Tuareg and camels, however the "sunset tours" are too short to really appreciate the surroundings as the Tuareg camps are only a few hundred metres away from the edge of town. However it is interesting to visit one of the camps (usually just a small family group) and see the sun set over the desert. Even if you don't visit the camps it is worth walking to the dunes on the edge of the town just to see them. A tour over several days will however be fascinating. You may even go to do the 40 day trip to the salt fields. Negotiate with the Tuaregs themselves and not so-called "guides".
The flame of peace is a monument to the ceasefire of the Tuareg rebellion. It's just to the northeast of the Petite marche. Although it is pretty new it is clearly falling apart already.
It is not a bad idea to take a child as guide, it prevents you from being hassled as much.
Don't forget to visit the tourist office so you can get your passport stamped with a Timbuktu stamp.
Look out for the dead cats hanging on the telephone cables in the city. It is because you have to dry the fur of the cat before you eat it.
There is a shop (called 'objets artes boutique' or something similar) that sells the '''souvenirs''' to the sellers you see around town. If you head north from the hotel colom the road forks, take the left fork and about 100-200m down the road,on the left hand side, is this shop. Prices are 6-10 times cheaper here, you cannot barter but you may get a small (5-10%) discount for buying several items.
Another good idea is to get a '''postcard''' and post it, it will have the '''Timbuktu postal stamp''' on it. The Post office is down the main street south of the roundabout. The staff in there will give you the right stamps, you can sometimes buy postcards from there or from the many street vendors. Just don't expect to receive the postcard too soon, it can take a month to get through to the UK!