TIMBUKTU, a city of the Sudan, Central Africa, in lat. 17° 37' N. and lon. 3° 5' W.; 6 miles N. of the Niger at the extreme N. point of its course. The town is triangular in shape, and at present is less than three miles in cir cumference, though formerly it was much larger. The wall or rampart which sur rounded it was destroyed by invaders in 1826, and has not been rebuilt. The streets are for the most part straight and unpaved, with a gutter in the center. Most of the houses are of clay, and some are two stories high, a very unusual thing in Negroland. On the outskirts there are a good many conical huts of matting. Of the mosques, two are es pecially noteworthy from their great size and imposing appearance, viz., that of Sankore in the N., and the great mosque in the W. angle of the town. The latter is 286 feet long and 212 feet wide. Tim buktu has also two markets. The cli mate is unhealthy, and the surrounding country being desert, or nearly so, all supplies of food are brought by the Ni ger from Sandsanding to Kabara, the port of Timbuktu. The manufactures
are confined to a little iron work, and to leather bags, pouches, cushions, etc., made by the Tuarick women. The place owes its importance entirely to its com mercial situation, which makes it the entreptit for the trade between the N. and S. of the Sahara. In addition to the Niger there are two main channels by which commerce flows to Timbuktu, viz., the caravan routes from Morocco on the N., and Ghadames on the N. E, The principal articles of trade are gold in rings, salt, English calico, red cloth, cutlery, looking-glasses, rice, ne gro corn, kola nuts (a substitute for coffee), ginger, tobacco, dates, and tea. Timbuktu was founded toward the end of the 11th century, and became known to Europeans in 1373. Pop. (1917), about 16,000.