93 A Fabled African Land

Sometimes people use the expression “going to Timbuktu” when they are traveling to a faraway, isolated place. Did you know that there really is a place called Timbuktu? Not only does it exist, but for centuries it was a very important city in Africa.

Timbuktu is located in the country of Mali, on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. It was established in around 1100 A.D. as a camp for nomads traveling across the desert. Within two hundred years, it had grown into a fairly large city. Scholarly and religious leaders of Islam, the religion founded by Mohammed, made Timbuktu their home. An important university was built there. There was also a palace for the ruler and many mosques where people could worship. Even when a nonreligious ruler took over, Islamic scholars were used as counselors in religious and legal matters. From Timbuktu, Islam spread across the entire African continent.

Located near the desert and the Niger River, Timbuktu was also a crossroads for trade. In its markets people traded gold, salt, horses, and cloth from all over Africa. The city was a center of learning, wealth, and culture. A visitor in about 1510 described Timbuktu. He observed large buildings, a canal system carrying in fresh water, and the use of pure gold nuggets for money.

After about 1600, Timbuktu began to decline. It was conquered again and again. Today it is a small, rather poor city with few visitors. But still standing are the remains of three huge mosques, symbols of its glorious past.

93 传说中的非洲之地

有时候，人们去偏远、与世隔绝的地方旅行时，会用“去廷巴克图”这个说法。你知道真的有个叫廷巴克图的地方吗？它不仅存在，而且几个世纪以来都是非洲非常重要的城市。

廷巴克图位于马里国，地处撒哈拉沙漠的南部边缘。它建于公元1100年左右，最初是穿越沙漠的游牧民族的营地。在两百年内，它发展成了一个相当大的城市。伊斯兰教（由穆罕默德创立的宗教）的学者和宗教领袖把廷巴克图当作自己的家园。那里建起了一所重要的大学，还有统治者的宫殿和许多供人们做礼拜的清真寺。即使是非宗教统治者掌权后，伊斯兰学者仍在宗教和法律事务中担任顾问。伊斯兰教从廷巴克图传遍了整个非洲大陆。

廷巴克图靠近沙漠和尼日尔河，也是贸易的十字路口。在它的市场上，人们交易来自非洲各地的黄金、盐、马匹和布料。这座城市是学术、财富和文化的中心。大约1510年的一位访客描述了廷巴克图：他看到了大型建筑、输送淡水的运河系统，还有用纯金块当作货币的景象。

大约1600年后，廷巴克图开始衰落，屡次被征服。如今，它是一个规模小、相当贫穷的城市，游客寥寥无几。但三座巨大清真寺的遗迹依然矗立着，象征着它辉煌的过去。