After 13 years in exile, Timbuktu’s treasured manuscripts are finally returning to their historic resting place. Smuggled out during the city’s 2012 occupation by al-Qaida-linked militants, more than 27,000 texts—some dating back to the 13th century—were saved by local custodians using rice sacks, donkey carts, and even motorcycles. Now, the first shipment of 200 crates has arrived from Bamako, protecting them from the capital’s humidity and restoring them to Timbuktu’s desert climate. The manuscripts, covering fields from theology to astronomy, embody the intellectual legacy of Mali’s empires and are recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage. Their return, officials say, is both a cultural revival and a call to preserve Mali’s history against modern threats.
AP
