![]() The Djingareyber Mosque in Timbuktu, which is the oldest surviving house of worship in West Africa, dates back to his time. The burnt bricks, flat roofs and pyramidal minarets one sees in West Africa today, are a result of his influence. In the ensuing centuries, his works changed the design of buildings throughout West Africa. ![]() In the 14th century, under the famous Emperor Mansa Musa, it became an important centre of the Mali Empire for Muslim commerce, scholars and the African gold trade.Īfter making a pilgrimage to Mecca, the Emperor returned to Timbuktu, with an Andalusian Muslim architect, Abu-Ishaq Ibrahim-es-Saheli, who introduced Mali to a new style of architecture, especially in the building of its mosques and palaces. Yet, due to its geographical position, with no natural protection against invaders, it never became a capital of an African state.įounded in the 11th century as a seasonal camp for Tuareg nomads, Timbuktu gets its name, according to one of many legends, from the Berber “tim” (place of) and Arabic “bouctou” (a sand dune). The wealth generated by the caravan merchants gave Timbuktu the glamour that fascinated medieval Europe. Situated in Mali at the most northerly bend of the Niger River, near the southern edge of the Sahara, this renowned, land-locked, northwestern African city is also located at the end of ancient trans-Saharan caravan routes that once crisscrossed the immense, unforgiving desert. Those intrepid adventurers had to brave mile after mile of burning desert sand, inhabited by hostile tribes, to reach the Ultima Thule (or El Dorado) of desert travellers.Įven today, the name Timbuktu (also spelled Tombouctou) is still synonymous with travelling to the ends of the earth. Long associated with mysterious beauty, learning and wealth, this town once forbidden to Europeans, was for centuries a subject of unusual lore and mystery.įor hundreds of years, tales of this fabled golden city made it the Mecca of early European explorers. Even though my voyages had been many, I had not yet visited that fabulously historic African city of enigma, opulence and romance. The first six books are available to play through freely downloadable software available here.Published in the Summer 2008 Issue of Canadian World Travellerīy Habeeb Salloum ( Courtesy of Ministère de l’Artisanat et du Tourisme de la République du Mali ( When I told my friend that I had travelled to over a hundred countries in a dozen years, he asked me, “Have you been to Timbuktu?”ĭisappointingly, I had to respond in the negative. ![]() The authors have indicated that if these sell well, they will be able to complete the entire twelve-book series. In the United States, the books were released under the name Quest.Īll six books are being re-released starting in December 2010. Unfortunately, only 7 books are published out of the 12 planned for the series, leaving the world of the Fabled Lands incomplete. The overall effect made for a rich and detailed experience compared to the typical fantasy solo gamebook. Fabled Lands also provided for special events, encounters, and other opportunities to be tracked or initiated through the use of checkmark boxes and codewords. The unique system used by the Fabled Lands books allowed for more freedom of movement between locations as compared to the more linear style common to other gamebooks. Fabled Lands is a series of interconnecting fantasy gamebooks designed for solo play.
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