The DjinguereBer Mosque, Tombouctou, Mali

"The city of Tombouctou (Timbuktu) first won renown in the fourteenth century when Mansa Musa, the converted Malian king who made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324-27, returned via Timbuktu and ordered the construction of the DjinguereBer (Jingerebir) Mosque. Over the centuries, the DjinguereBer Mosque underwent many reconstructions and spatial reorganizations. The pyramidal tower-cum-minaret on the earliest side, now completely enveloped by subsequent extensions, innumerable re-renderings and stairway access, may very well have initially been a mausoleum or tomb which was subsequently expanded into a solid built-up earthen mass. It stands in balanced contrast with the conical pillar form which marks the currently extant semi-circular mihrab." [Frishman M. and Khan H.-U., 1994: The Mosque. Thames and London Ltd.]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Westinghouse Film and traveled to Africa from October 26, 1970 to end of March 1971.