Inside the abandoned City of Libraries

Daily Mail ^ | 1st September 2015 | Michael Huniewicz

[the scotsman]

'The desert city of Chinguetti, sinking ever-deeper under the sands of the Sahara, is the last place in the world you would expect to find a library.

Yet this crumbling outpost in the west-African country of Mauritania is home to around 6,000 rare books and manuscripts, including some of the oldest Koranic texts in existence which date back to the 9th Century.

It was once the prosperous and bustling trade centre of several 'trans-Sahara' trade routes. Traders from all over Europe, north-Africa and the Levant would stop in Chinguetti before moving on to sub-Saharan Africa.

There, they would rub shoulders with poets, doctors, lawyers and scientists who sought wisdom at the 'City of Libraries'.

Photographer Michael Huniewicz travelled to this oasis of knowledge - home now to just 4,000 people - and heard nothing but silence.

The poets, scholars and tradesman are gone, but the library's guardians remain to protect the fragile texts from the harsh Saharan weather.

Its cultural past was considered so important that UNESCO granted it World Heritage Site status in 2000. Some experts believe that without help, the sands will bury city and its many relics within 'generations'.'

[ConservativeMind]

Ping.

[Safetgiver]

Could be the US in the future if we don’t eradicate these Seventh Century barbarians.

[texas booster]

“...will bury the city within generations”

Unlike globull warming which will destroy the world by 2012 or so.

Straight out of marketing 101, set a time limit on an offer to create a false sense of urgency.

In this case, wait generations or just wait until another Islamic cult comes through and burns them as heretical.

[Democratic-Republican]

Pretty cool article, unlike the lazy American media the UK papers/tabloids/newssites usually do some good reporting with great photos.

Of course they make some mistakes too. Did any catch this doozy for the photo of the old Minaret?

Here is the caption they use and ( presumably proofread ) ...

Relic: The minaret of the Ouadane Mosque, built in the 13th or 14th Century BC, is thought to be one of the oldest in the Muslim world

Yep, that would sure be "one of the oldest in the Muslim world". LOL!

[the scotsman]

LOL

Yes, I spotted that as well, lol. Methinks its an ancient Arab building of that era, rebuilt later as a mosque. Just as my local castle (well one of them lol) is circa 1604 but built on the foundations of a 4th C Celtic fortress.

[Caipirabob]

Koranic texts? Sounds like there’s a reason God is burying it.

[Bigg Red]

+1

[Chgogal]

BFLR

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ConservativeMind.

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[madison10]

Burn it...just like all the works of art and history destroyed by ISIS.

[SunkenCiv]