A view of the city, Tombouctou, Mali

"According to legend and oral tradition, Tombouctou (Timbuktu) was funded at the beginning of the twelfth century by Berber nomads involved in trans-Saharan traffic. In time the city became a seat of Islamic learning, but it also functioned in a commercial role. A feature common to all building technologies in West Africa is that primarly earthen, timber and vegetal materials are employed. Earth is used in applications ranging from tamped earth through sun-dried hand-moulded cylindrical bricks to rectangular cast bricks." [Frishman M. and Khan H.-U., 1994: The Mosque. Thames and London Ltd.]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17,1970.