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Timbuktu lies in the heart of Mali. Mali is a country in western Africa. A large desert spreads to the north of Timbuktu. A river flows just south of the city.

Timbuktu has a long history. Hundreds of years ago, it was Mali's most golden city. Today, the city is a place of clay-colored buildings. Some reach up into the sky.

The marketplace is full of color. Women wear bright skirts. White rice and red tomatoes fill baskets. Fires burn orange in clay ovens.

In the marketplace sits an old man. He is a griot. That is a storyteller. Griots chant about kings and magicians. They tell about past wars and far journeys. History has been shared this way for ages. This griot's story goes back 700 years. He begins as he always does....

"Long ago, Mali was a powerful kingdom. Its king was Mansa Musa. He built a great mosque. It still survives. He made Timbuktu into the City of Gold. Now, the gold is gone. Yet another treasure remains."

The griot's story goes on. "Mansa Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca, a holy city. His wife, her servants, and a hundred camels traveled with him. Each camel carried a huge load of gold. Five hundred slaves went, too. Everywhere Mansa Musa went, he gave away gold. When he reached Mecca, the gold was gone. Now, it was the king's name that was golden."

"Mansa Musa brought back a different treasure: books. He brought back scholars and a building designer. With their help, he built mosques, libraries, and schools.

"Timbuktu became a center of learning, culture, and religion. It truly was a golden city," the griot says.

All that happened hundreds of years ago. Timbuktu is no longer a rich city. Yet it still has its priceless books. Many of the ancient books are wrapped in leather. Some are written on paper. Others are on tree bark or gazelle skin. Many are handwritten in flowing Arabic letters. Their pages are filled with science, history, and more.

Yet sand, weather, and even insects have damaged the books. Some crumble in libraries. Some lie buried underground or in caves. Others are in the leather trunks of nomads.

Now, scientists are working hard to save the books. They are storing them on computers and on the Internet. Someday, people anywhere on Earth will be able to learn from Timbuktu's great treasures.

A griot told you the amazing story of Timbuktu's past. Back then, gold and salt made the city rich. A wise king made it a center of learning. Now, modern computers are storytellers, too. They help Mali share its ancient books with the world. Which stories from Timbuktu will you take away and remember?

Gold and salt helped make the city of Timbuktu rich. The gold came from mines in the southern part of Mali. The salt came from the northern desert. Workers dug up large blocks of salt from the sand.

Gold was valuable. So was salt. Salt made food taste better. It made food last a long time. As a result, salt was worth as much as gold! People even used it as money.

Many other places had no salt. People there wanted it. So traders going to Europe, Egypt, and the Atlantic Ocean crossed through Timbuktu. They traded their goods for salt and gold. The king collected taxes, or money. So the kingdom grew very rich.

Article by Marissa Moss. Top-of-page photograph © Bartlomiej K. Kwieciszewski/Shutterstock. "Tales From Timbuktu" appears on page 12 of the March 2009 issue.