Timbuktu’s Djinguereber Mosque

Just as a public clock might establish the rhythm of some towns and cities, the Djinguereber mosque has set the time for nearly 700 years. Only recent attention on northern Mali – including a 2012 Jihadist occupation – has disrupted the gentle routine built around five prayers a day and an annual “restoration week” that triggers a DIY frenzy in the city’s homes.

“We have not had to do major patching up since 2006 when the Aga Khan’s restoration programme began,” says the Djinguereber muezzin, Mahamane Mahanmoudou. “But I can see some small cracks now. We will have to do some work this year,” says the 77-year-old, who is also mason-in-chief of the mosque.

Timbuktu has never, to anyone’s knowledge, been the capital of any country. But its history, coupled with the pleasing sound of its three syllables, have made it a megalopolis in the human imagination ever since Emperor Moussa I built Djinguereber after returning from Mecca in 1327.

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